Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2803464 Registered with Ofsted: 11/09/2024 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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Achievement Expected standard

Children generally achieve well from their different starting points, particularly in their communication and language. Those who arrive at the setting with limited speech make steady progress as they hear and practise words and phrases throughout the day. For example, younger children use sounds with different tones, facial expressions and gestures to communicate their wants and needs. Older children demonstrate growing confidence and social skills. They offer to help their peers, asking politely before supporting younger children to use the portable sink unit and explaining what to do.

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Achievement Expected standard

Overall, children develop the skills they need for the next stage in their education. They gain a sense of pride in their achievements and increasing independence as they successfully complete care tasks for themselves. That said, children's learning is not always fully maximised because the childminder does not consistently build on what they already know and can do. For instance, when older children identify a tomato plant while watering it, the childminder does not extend their understanding further, despite their readiness to learn more. In addition, children move frequently between a vast array of experiences rather than sustaining their engagement. In this way, children do not always make the best possible progress across all areas of the curriculum.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children typically behave well in this home-from-home setting. They develop social skills, learning to share and take turns. The childminder supports this by anticipating when minor conflicts may potentially arise and intervenes appropriately.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children form warm, secure attachments because the childminder invests time to get to know them. She carefully considers each child's needs, helping them feel included and involved. The childminder responds sensitively to children's cues, offering comfort and reassurance that help children regulate their emotions. Children show positive attitudes to learning and typically engage in activities that appeal to them. However, the wide range of activities and resources available at one time means they do not always remain purposefully engaged. As a result, children sometimes lose focus and move quickly between activities.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Well-established routines help children feel secure and understand what is expected of them. Visual prompts support children with speech delay to understand daily routines effectively. Even the youngest children know that after washing hands, they sit at the table and wait patiently for their meal. Older children demonstrate kindness and consideration towards others. For example, they independently collect water bottles and each child receives the correct one. The childminder monitors children's attendance accurately and works with parents and carers to promote regular attendance and punctuality. This helps children establish consistent routines that support their readiness to learn.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder gives priority to children's welfare and wellbeing. Children form warm, positive relationships with her and demonstrate that they feel safe, valued and emotionally secure. The childminder knows children and their individual family circumstances, enabling her to respond sensitively to their individual care needs. Typically, children know that their choices are respected and readily taken on board, such as when they ask to go outdoors. The childminder manages children's dietary requirements and implements routines that promote their ongoing wellbeing and safety. She works with parents and carers to respond to children's changing needs, such as supporting families to reduce dummy use.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The nurturing, calm childminder helps children to begin to recognise and manage their feelings. She helps older children, including those with barriers to learning, understand the emotions of others and develop appropriate strategies to regulate their own feelings. For example, when children become tired or overwhelmed, the childminder responds promptly by offering reassurance and encouraging them to take time to relax or enjoy a story until they are ready to rejoin activities.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder promotes children's health and physical wellbeing effectively. Through daily routines and meaningful discussions, children learn about healthy eating, consistent hygiene practices and the importance of physical exercise. Care routines are implemented with sensitivity and respect. As a result, children feel secure, confidently express their needs and develop independence and emotional wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder creates a curriculum that is generally well sequenced, particularly in communication and language, personal, social and emotional development, as well as physical development. She regularly assesses what children know and can do in order to help adapt her teaching to meet their individual needs. For example, to help minimise minor disputes between children of different ages, she shares fruit fairly at snack time, reinforcing turn-taking by consistently saying, 'one for you ' as she hands out each piece. However, planning and assessment is not always used consistently or sharply enough to build on children's existing knowledge and skills in some other areas of the curriculum.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

During children's play, the childminder generally introduces early mathematical ideas, such as naming shapes, counting objects and talking about size and colour. Children enjoy exploring and investigating independently. However, the childminder is sometimes too quick to intervene as they begin to test out their ideas. She asks extra questions or suggests alternative ways to play before children have had sufficient time to think through problems for themselves. This limits opportunities for children to develop their critical thinking and independence.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder uses the outdoor environment to promote children's physical development. For instance, there are many opportunities to balance, pedal on wheeled toys, water plants, squeeze water from sponges and experiment with mixing coloured water. However, the large number of activities available at one time reduces the space for children to engage purposefully with any one experience. As a result, children do not consistently have sufficient opportunities to practise and refine their skills through sustained play.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder creates an inclusive, nurturing environment, where children and families are well known. She identifies children's individual needs through her secure knowledge of their starting points, ongoing assessments and discussions with parents and carers and external professionals, including local authority advisers. In general, the childminder uses this information effectively to identify when children require additional support to make progress. Collaborative working helps ensure that children with gaps in their development, such as speech delay, receive targeted support. For example, children use visual 'now and next' boards to help them understand daily routines. Younger children who arrive with limited language benefit from the childminder consistently modelling key words alongside gestures. As a result, they begin to use signs, such as 'please', to communicate their needs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder demonstrates a sound understanding of how to structure support for children, who face barriers to learning. She completes research to strengthen her knowledge of referral processes and works effectively with other professionals to meet children's individual needs. Targeted support helps children make steady progress in their communication, language and social skills. However, teaching is not yet as precisely focused across other areas of learning. The childminder recognises the need to deepen her knowledge so she can deliver a broader, sequenced curriculum that consistently promotes children's sustained progress across all areas of learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Overall, the childminder has an appropriate understanding of the setting's strengths. For example, she places a firm emphasis on children's wellbeing and personal, social and emotional development, while maintaining effective partnerships with families. Parents speak positively about the regular communication they receive, which helps them to understand and support their children's learning and development at home. However, the childminder has not yet sharply identified and addressed specific areas of improvement to consistently benefit children's outcomes.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

On the whole, the childminder reflects on some aspects of her practice and generally engages in professional development to enhance her knowledge and skills. For example, she has successfully implemented targeted strategies to support children, who require additional help with their communication, physical development and social skills. However, the childminder has not yet fully identified the need to strengthen her planning, organisation of the environment and delivery of the wider curriculum to support children to make the best progress.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder manages her workload and benefits from positive, collaborative working relationships. She engages well with other professionals, making timely referrals, when needed, to help reduce gaps in children's development. In addition, the childminder regularly takes children to local groups, woodland areas and activities with other childminders. Experiences such as these help children to socialise with a wider group of people, develop confidence and build the skills they need to participate successfully in their local community.

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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 are happy and confident at this warm, welcoming setting, where they are extremely well cared for. They develop positive and trusting relationships with the childminder, who knows them and their families well. Children play independently and alongside others, learning to play cooperatively, share and consider each other's feelings. They readily offer help to their friends. For instance, older children willingly turn on the tap and pass soap to younger children before meals. Children feel extremely safe, secure and valued, showing an impressive sense of belonging.

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

Children achieve well from their starting points, particularly in communication and language and personal, social and emotional development. They demonstrate increasing levels of curiosity, motivation and enthusiasm as they engage in activities of their choice. Younger children develop patience as they wait for their turn while older children, who initially arrive with limited speech, make steady progress in building their vocabulary, such as when they talk about pictures in a familiar book.

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

Children are highly independent and confidently follow routines. They manage their personal care with growing confidence, such as washing their hands, tidying away resources, preparing snacks and putting on their shoes. They take pride in their achievements. For instance, children balance on beams in the garden, regain their balance when they wobble and celebrate their success with delight.

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

Overall, children benefit from an inviting indoor and outdoor environment that provides opportunities for exploration, investigation and sensory experiences. However, at times, the wide range of activities available to them makes it difficult for children to sustain concentration. Regular outings in the local community help children develop their social skills, learn about the natural world and adopt healthy lifestyles. Effective monitoring of children's attendance further supports their wellbeing and learning. Consequently, children develop the skills they need for future learning in this caring and inclusive setting.

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Next steps

The childminder should review the planning and organisation of activities to ensure that learning experiences build more precisely on children's existing knowledge and skills. The childminder should strengthen teaching to consistently support children to think critically and lead their own learning. The childminder should refine her use of reflective practice to evaluate the curriculum and her practice to identify clear priorities for improvement.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, children and read feedback from parents.

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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.

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 16:00

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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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