Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2829796 Registered with Ofsted: 03/04/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR

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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

Babies and young children typically make appropriate progress from their starting points. Communication skills and language are emerging. Babies experiment with sounds and babble to communicate their needs. Children respond to familiar words and some simple requests. They listen as the childminder talks to them during play. For example, children hear new vocabulary such as 'pineapple', 'scrunch' and 'runny' during activities.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make appropriate progress in physical development. For example, babies progress from crawling to pulling themselves up on furniture. They develop hand strength and coordination as they grasp and squeeze sensory resources. They make marks in sand and manipulate materials. Furthermore, children's personal, social and emotional development is progressing. Children form secure relationships with the childminder. They seek reassurance when needed and show increasing confidence to explore and make choices.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children are developing the knowledge and skills appropriate for their age and stage of development. They show emerging independence through feeding themselves, drinking from cups and attempting to use spoons. They encounter early mathematical ideas through play, such as counting toy fish. Their increasing confidence, engagement and ability to explore support their readiness for their next steps in learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Babies and young children typically experience calm and consistent routines. The childminder uses respectful language, such as 'please' and 'thank you', and models positive behaviour. Children respond well to these interactions and develop an emerging understanding of routines and expectations. Attendance is monitored, and parents and carers are encouraged to inform the childminder if children are unable to attend.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children have positive relationships with the childminder and typically seek her out for reassurance and cuddles. They show that they feel secure and settled in her care. When children become tired or unsettled, the childminder recognises their cues and responds sensitively. For instance, she uses stories, cuddles and gentle rocking to help babies regulate their emotions. This helps them to settle.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Babies and young children are typically engaged and motivated in their learning. They repeat actions that interest them, such as pressing buttons to activate sounds and clapping along to music. Children show increasing confidence to explore independently while returning to the childminder for reassurance. The childminder uses praise and encouragement to support children to persist with new experiences and responds to their individual needs and developmental stages.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Babies and young children receive care that supports their health, safety and emotional wellbeing. The childminder typically follows children's individual care routines and works closely with parents and carers to maintain continuity. She provides intimate care respectfully and in privacy. Babies sleep safely, in line with safe-sleep guidance. The childminder remains attentive to their individual needs.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children are supported to develop healthy habits and increasing independence. During mealtimes, the childminder supports babies and young children to wash and dry their hands. She checks food temperatures and cuts food appropriately to support children's safety. She supervises children throughout mealtimes and supports babies to feed themselves finger foods and use spoons. She understands how to support children with allergies and provides suitable drinks to keep them hydrated.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Babies and young children typically feel safe and secure in the setting. The childminder recognises when children are tired or unsettled and responds with reassurance, cuddles or gentle rocking. She supports babies to develop awareness of their own physical safety, such as holding onto furniture and lowering themselves gently to the floor. During outdoor play, she provides shade when temperatures rise, such as using a small tent. This helps children to develop an awareness of sun safety.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder typically plans experiences around babies' and young children's ages, stages, interests and next steps in learning. She uses observations and tracking to identify progress and what children need to learn next. Children's interests inform the curriculum. For instance, ducks and dinosaurs are incorporated into sensory and messy play. Regular outings to beaches, country parks and local allotments broaden children's experiences and support their understanding of the world.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teaching is typically warm and responsive across the different areas of learning. The childminder supports communication and language by talking to children throughout play. She names objects, repeats words and introduces vocabulary, such as 'scrunch', 'hard' and 'runny', to describe sensory resources. The childminder supports children's physical development through gloop, sand and movement activities, such as opportunities to grasp, squeeze, crawl, pull themselves up and take supported steps. In the ball pit, she introduces early mathematical language by counting toy fish. She uses words such as 'in', 'out' and 'splash' as children explore. She supports personal, social and emotional development through praise, encouragement and sensitive responses to children's cues.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, babies and young children have appropriate opportunities to learn through play. The childminder adapts experiences when children lose interest and provides additional support as children develop new skills. However, her professional knowledge around supporting babies and younger children specifically, and, therefore, the consistency of their learning experiences, is still developing.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder typically considers the individual starting points of babies and young children and their developmental stages and individual interests when planning experiences. She uses observation and tracking to identify progress and next steps. The childminder adapts activities to help children participate. For example, she uses gloop and sand play to develop young children's hand strength, coordination and control. She models actions and repeats language to help children understand and join in.

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Inclusion Expected standard

There are currently no disadvantaged children attending the setting. The childminder understands how additional funding could be used to provide specific resources or experiences to meet individual needs. She works closely with parents and carers to understand children's routines and care needs. She provides additional comfort when babies are tired or unsettled. This helps them to regulate and remain emotionally secure.

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Inclusion Expected standard

There are currently no children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) attending. The childminder understands that she should discuss emerging concerns with parents and seek professional advice if required. No children are attending who are known, or previously known to, children's social care. The childminder understands her responsibilities should this change. Although her knowledge is sufficient and she wishes to develop her understanding more, she has not completed any further training to support children with SEND or to focus specifically on babies and younger children.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder typically has a clear oversight of the care and education she provides. She uses observations and assessments to understand children's starting points and progress. She reviews children's development and identifies appropriate priorities, such as developing physical strength, coordination and independence. She reflects on her practice and considers how to adapt activities to maintain children's engagement.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has completed mandatory training, but not anything further focused specifically on babies and younger children to strengthen her knowledge and understanding of their development and individual needs. She has accessed advice from local authority early years professionals to evaluate and improve her practice and is receptive to guidance. She understands how to use additional funding to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Furthermore, the childminder knows the procedures to follow if a child becomes known to children's social care. There are currently no children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) attending. However, the childminder has expressed an interest in SEND training to develop her knowledge.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder typically works well with parents and carers. She provides daily updates and uses information about children's routines, sleep and dietary needs. This helps to provide continuity of care. She provides parents with information about children's progress to share with other early years settings they may attend. However, she has not established direct partnerships with these settings to share information about children's development and needs.

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

Children feel safe, secure and valued in the childminder's care. Babies and young children build warm relationships with the childminder. They seek her out for cuddles and reassurance. They respond positively to the childminder's calm and nurturing approach. This demonstrates they are comfortable and settled in the setting. The childminder works closely with families. She welcomes their views and uses information about children's individual routines, interests and needs to provide consistent care.

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

Children enjoy a range of experiences that reflect their interests and developmental stages. They explore sensory materials, such as gloop and sand, and investigate resources in the ball pit. For example, they enjoy finding hidden objects and pulling hook-and-loop fastened fruit apart. Children also enjoy regular outings to local parks, beaches and allotments. These experiences help them to explore their environment and develop their curiosity. The childminder adapts experiences and provides resources to reflect children's individual needs and interests. This helps to reduce barriers to their participation and learning.

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

Babies and young children make progress from their individual starting points. For instance, they experiment with crawling and pulling themselves up on furniture. Children develop emerging physical skills through movement and play. They are increasingly independent when feeding themselves, drinking from cups and making choices. Additionally, they experiment with sounds, and babble and respond to some familiar words and simple requests.

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:30 - 16:00 Children typically behave well and enjoy their experiences. They respond positively to the childminder's calm, respectful interactions, praise and encouragement. Children develop an understanding of routines and expectations. They receive sensitive support when tired or unsettled. Parents and carers share information about children's routines, interests and needs. This supports continuity of care. The childminder works with families to promote regular attendance and respond to any barriers that may affect children's attendance. Overall, babies and young children are happy and engaged and develop confidence and a sense of belonging. This helps them to thrive.

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Next steps

The childminder should focus professional development to further develop her knowledge and understanding of supporting babies, younger children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The childminder should establish partnerships with other settings that children may attend, strengthening information-sharing and continuity in children's learning and care.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke to the childminder 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. Local authority: Southampton

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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. 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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