Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2800910 Registered with Ofsted: 10/10/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Exceptional

The childminder's exceptionally high aspirations for individual children underpin her practice. Her extensive experience and expert knowledge are reflected in an inclusive curriculum that is meticulously tailored to children's needs, ensuring every child feels valued and included and develops a strong sense of belonging.

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Inclusion Exceptional

Rigorous systems for monitoring children's progress enable the childminder to identify individual needs at the earliest opportunity and take swift, decisive action to secure the precise support children need to thrive. As a result, children who need additional support make excellent progress from their starting points. For example, the childminder provides targeted support to promote children's physical development. Children are encouraged to challenge themselves as they negotiate an obstacle course in a variety of ways, developing strength, coordination and confidence. They also learn to ride scooters, building stamina, resilience and determination. This highly inclusive approach ensures that children who may require additional support are fully engaged in learning, achieve exceptionally well and flourish alongside their peers.

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Inclusion Exceptional

The childminder's highly proactive partnership working is exemplary. She forges remarkably strong relationships with parents and professionals in other settings that children attend, ensuring that information is shared promptly and used effectively to inform next steps in learning. Together, they develop ambitious and precisely targeted goals that provide a cohesive and consistent approach to children's development. In addition, the childminder contributes to professional assessments and proactively plans bespoke activities that support targets to be met. This highly successful collaboration enables children who need additional support to benefit from a rich, joined-up curriculum and supports them to make sustained and excellent progress.

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Inclusion Exceptional

The childminder is exceptionally reflective and demonstrates an unwavering commitment to continuous improvement. She undertakes focused research and engages in highly impactful professional development that is carefully informed by the identified communication and language needs of the children in her care. This means children who need support to catch up with their peers make excellent progress and are extremely well prepared for the next stage in their learning. The childminder has created a highly effective communication-rich environment where children are immersed in meaningful interactions and language-learning opportunities throughout the day. For example, children who arrived at the setting with limited language now confidently communicate their needs. For instance, they say, 'Can I have some more cucumber?' and join in play with others, saying, 'Can I be the little brother?'

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Achievement Strong standard

All children make excellent progress from their starting points and demonstrate curiosity, perseverance and independence in their learning, equipping them well for future educational success. Children communicate confidently and articulate their ideas effectively. They use newly introduced words accurately and independently in their play and conversations, demonstrating a deepening understanding of language. For example, a recent focus on birds has led children to develop in-depth knowledge about their prey snails. Children talk knowledgeably about snails and how to stop them eating the foods they are growing. Their vocabulary is advanced and subject specific. They use words like 'predator' and describe how snails' 'slimy foot' cannot move across sharp stones.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are particularly well supported. They develop increasing levels of confidence, and learn self-help skills and how to identify their emotions. They build independence throughout their time in the setting. Children make choices in play and take ownership of tasks in the house and garden. For example, children pick basil and 'give it a bath' before it is made into pesto. They confidently prepare garlic bread, developing preferences for the toppings of butter, parsley and cheese. Children use their excellent communication skills to find out other children's choices. They show tolerance and respect for one another, accepting differences and adapting their communication to meet the needs of their peers.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder has wonderful relationships with families and the children she cares for. She is nurturing and kind, consistently taking opportunities to teach children about respect and tolerance. This influences children's best possible behaviour. Children manage conflicts with increasing independence and are taught strategies that support this. For example, pre- school children use a sand timer to negotiate turn taking with toys. When younger children join play with older children, they are entirely welcomed into it. Older children take account of their needs and adapt games skilfully to ensure they are fully involved. Children learn to respect differences. They understand that some children 'feel things more deeply' and need different support to regulate themselves. They are wholly accepting of this and educate others about it.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder's oversight and leadership ensure that consistent and embedded routines help children to develop positive attitudes to their learning, and promote their positive behaviour. Children play an active role in the daily life of the setting and are encouraged to take responsibility for meaningful tasks. Children readily contribute to the smooth running of the setting through activities such as watering strawberries, covering potatoes with soil and helping to care for the garden. They also prepare the table for lunch, carefully counting the correct number of cups and pouring drinks for their friends. This consistent approach helps children develop independence, responsibility and consideration for others. As a result, children understand that their contributions are valued and that their actions have a positive impact on the wellbeing of the wider group. Effective relationships with parents and other

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

professionals contribute to the promotion of punctuality and attendance.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children's welfare and wellbeing are remarkably well supported in this nurturing setting. All children, especially those who face barriers to their learning, are extremely well cared for. The childminder has consistently high standards right from the start of children's time in her setting. She facilitates settling-in sessions that are individually tailored to support children's emotional wellbeing and prioritises supporting them to develop secure attachments. Children feel safe in her care.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder teaches children about their impact on the environment. Children litter-pick following play sessions in the woodland, ensuring they leave the area safe for wildlife and a space the whole community can enjoy. Children are encouraged to take appropriate risks in play. The childminder supervises them closely to keep them safe and helps them to learn about risk management. This helps them to learn how to keep themselves safe. The childminder teaches children that some plants can be harmful or sting, and children develop their knowledge as a result. The childminder prioritises children's autonomy. This is highly impactful on promoting their wellbeing.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder places a strong emphasis on healthy eating and nutrition. She provides nutritious, high-quality meals and uses everyday experiences to teach children where food comes from, how it is grown and how it contributes to their health and wellbeing. Children are actively involved in growing and caring for food plants and learn how to prepare food. For example, they enthusiastically select a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables for their meals, choosing foods such as bananas, peas, cucumber and strawberries to ensure they 'eat the rainbow'. They talk confidently about healthy choices, explaining that foods such as vegetables help them grow strong and that fruit provides vitamins to keep them healthy. For example, they remark that the strawberries they eat are making their heart healthy and they need 'more purple grapes' to help their brain remember. As a result, children demonstrate a

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

strong understanding of the importance of a balanced and nutritious diet and make positive food choices independently.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder plans a highly ambitious curriculum that builds sequentially. The learning environment is carefully considered to enable children to practise their skills and deepen their understanding. As children play, the childminder uses effective teaching strategies to extend their learning and respond to their individual needs. For example, children revisit a familiar story using a range of supporting props. They identify rhyming words, such as 'boat' and 'goat', and the childminder skilfully builds on their ideas through thoughtful questioning, helping them to develop their language and early literacy skills. The childminder reflects on her practice and identifies opportunities to strengthen her teaching further, so children continually benefit from engaging and responsive learning experiences across all areas of the curriculum.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Mathematics is seamlessly woven throughout children's play, daily routines and learning experiences. Children confidently apply their mathematical understanding during self- chosen activities, demonstrating how well they have embedded key concepts. For example, they independently create board games, carefully counting the number of steps their character takes along a trail. They also thoughtfully set the table, ensuring there are enough cups for each child present. These meaningful opportunities enable children to use and strengthen their mathematical knowledge in purposeful and practical ways.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder fosters highly positive attitudes to learning, encouraging children to be curious, motivated and active participants in their own learning. For example, children develop strong enquiry skills as they learn to use books and other resources to research topics and find answers to their questions. Following a growing interest in snails, children embarked on a group project to investigate their habitat, predators and prey. The childminder skilfully nurtures children's curiosity and perseverance, encouraging them to ask questions, share ideas and seek out new information. As children's interests develop, she thoughtfully introduces new concepts and vocabulary to extend their thinking and deepen their understanding.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Children's experiences broaden what they already know and have experienced at home. The childminder plans opportunities for children to engage with other groups, for instance during joint trips with other childminders to the woodland. The childminder engages in ongoing research to ensure that her practice is informed by a secure knowledge of child development, and supports children's learning effectively. For example, during music sessions, she incorporates action rhymes that encourage children to move their bodies in different ways. These enjoyable activities help children develop coordination and physical control while strengthening the connections between different parts of the brain. This supports children to process information more efficiently and builds important foundations for future learning.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder is highly reflective and has a clear understanding of her setting's strengths as well as a focused view of her priorities for development. The childminder successfully embeds principles of sustainability and community throughout the curriculum. The childminder has ambitions to reduce food waste, use recycled rainwater for play, and teach children how to grow and nurture their own foods. As a result, children develop a growing understanding of environmental responsibility and the importance of contributing positively to their local community. They learn to care for the world around them and recognise that their actions can make a difference.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder's work and engagement in the community teach children about their responsibilities as citizens. She is passionate about children being immersed in nature and reflects on the benefits this has for children who become anxious in overstimulating indoor environments. The childminder demonstrates strong leadership beyond her own setting through her commitment to sharing good practice with others. She leads woodland play sessions and actively supports fellow childminders, particularly those at the start of their careers, by modelling effective practice and sharing her professional expertise. This contributes to improving the quality of experiences available to a wider group of children within the local early years community. As a result, the positive impact of her work extends beyond the children in her care, helping other practitioners to enhance outcomes for the children they support. The childminder is further developing this aspect of her work by

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

exploring opportunities to make woodland play sessions accessible to more families, broadening children's access to high-quality outdoor learning experiences and strengthening community engagement.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder plans a highly inclusive curriculum. Her support for children and families is incredible. Her considered and purposeful interactions with children teach and challenge them individually and support all children to feel included and like they belong. Parents report that their children are now thriving at a setting where they are valued and included in everything.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children who attend this setting leave as confident, capable learners with a high level of independence. They are very well prepared to make the transition on to their next stage of education. Children are empowered to have a voice and make choices in their play. They

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Inspector:

develop critical thinking and enquiry skills as they follow their interests and form in-depth knowledge about a chosen subject. For example, children show an interest in and learn about snails. They wonder and question to find out about how snails move on their 'slimy foot' and the trail that they take.

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Inspector:

Children are fully engaged in everything that they do. They take leadership roles in the setting, caring for the garden, preparing food and pouring drinks for friends. This helps children learn how to be responsible and promotes their health and wellbeing. Children spend much of their time outdoors, immersed in nature. Woodland play sessions enable children to engage in risky play and challenge their physical skills. They learn how to stay safe during such play and to respect nature and the community. They are responsible citizens, ensuring they litter-pick following their play sessions to support the habitat for wildlife and ensure the woodland is a place all can enjoy.

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Inspector:

Children develop healthy mindsets and healthy lifestyles. They have in-depth knowledge about the effects foods have on their bodies. They aim to 'eat the rainbow', ensuring that their bodies get the nutrients they need to grow strong by eating different-coloured fruits and vegetables. They understand that these help different parts of their bodies to be healthy. They are eager to try new foods and take an active role in growing food and preparing it to eat. Children learn about British values. The curriculum for personal, social and emotional development is woven seamlessly throughout the daily routine, with the childminder using every interaction and activity as an opportunity to support children's development. This means children learn to be respectful and tolerant of difference and diversity. They follow rules to take turns, and share and adapt their play to meet the needs of children who join in

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Inspector:

their games. Children develop a sense of belonging, and this contributes enormously to their welfare and wellbeing.

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Next steps

The childminder should continue to reflect on how teaching is organised to ensure exceptionally high standards can be sustained over time for all children.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, parents and children during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage. Leah Selfridge

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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