Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): EY555480 Registered with Ofsted: 05/06/2018 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

All children achieve well and make steady progress from their starting points in readiness for the next stage in their learning. Children climb up and down ladders to access a trampoline. They bounce with impressive coordination, practising and refining their emerging physical skills. Children scoot and push mobile toys around the garden at speed and with great navigational skills. They change direction and avoid obstacles in the garden, learning dexterity and spatial awareness. Children's development in their large physical skills is notable.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children enjoy using their imagination and developing their ideas. They role play with toy dolls and make sense of the world around them through their games. Children dress their dolls, developing and practising their personal self-care skills through play. Children enjoy playing with toy animals, extending their critical thinking and problem-solving skills as they categorise animals who live at the farm or jungle. Children discuss different animals' habitats and develop their language skills as they converse. Importantly, younger and older children experience slightly different learning as their games are adapted to meet their needs.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children benefit from a rich array of toys and plenty of fun activities. The childminder's home has a dedicated classroom space, which is stocked with lots of bright and enticing resources. There is something to satisfy everyone's interests in this stimulating environment.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder plans and provides a well-sequenced curriculum. Learning starts simple and slowly becomes more difficult. This steady incorporation of challenge helps to keep children enthused in their learning and supports gradual progress. The childminder offers children a mix of adult-led and child-initiated play. This provides children with opportunities to practise and master what they already know and learn new skills. The curriculum is well designed and all children are supported to progress.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder skilfully extends children's communication and language skills through her quality interactions. The childminder and her assistants pose simple questions to engage children in conversations and discussions. Children who are less confident in their speech benefit from adaptive teaching. Narration and repetition help younger and less confident children to develop language skills.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder proactively seeks the support of several different professionals to help support children's individual needs. She makes quick and decisive referrals to wider agencies to ensure all children and families receive the support they require. The childminder welcomes professional information and follows their expert advice to benefit children. The childminder supports a diverse range of families, each with unique needs and backgrounds. She treats everyone as unique and celebrates them as individuals. Her attitude and approach to inclusion are commendable.

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Needs attention

The childminder observes children and monitors their progress. Her assessment means she has a detailed awareness of children's abilities and needs. She uses this knowledge to make timely interventions to narrow gaps in all children's development quickly.

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Needs attention

The childminder uses wider funding carefully. She personalises how the money is spent to ensure that it has the greatest impact on children and families. The childminder strives for every child, including those who are disadvantaged, to have the best start in their lives.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Behaviour management is not consistently effective. At times, staff lack confidence in managing children's disagreements and escalating behaviour. For example, sometimes, children experience different rules and boundaries from different adults. This means children do not always have a clear understanding of what is expected of them, and responses to behaviour are not consistent or effective. As a result, children do not always receive the clear and predictable guidance they need to manage their behaviour successfully.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Despite these weaknesses, the childminder and her assistants are attentive, kind and caring towards children. They respond promptly when children need help and use humour and energy to engage children in play. Children are generally happy and enjoy positive interactions with adults and their peers, laughing and giggling as they play. Adults model polite and courteous behaviour, regularly using 'please' and 'thank you' and encouraging children to do the same. Children are helpful and demonstrate a developing sense of responsibility. For example, they work together to tidy away toys when asked and take care of their belongings.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder and her assistants do not consistently promote children's health through effective hygiene routines. Children are not always supported to wash their hands thoroughly before snack time. Snack includes fresh fruit, which children eat with their fingers, increasing the risk of germs being transferred. As a result, routines to protect children's health are not consistently followed at all times of the day.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

At other times, staff are attentive to children's personal care and physical health needs. For example, on very hot days, staff apply sun cream and encourage children to wear sun hats to protect their skin. Handwashing is also observed to be embedded and effective at lunchtime, with children routinely washing their hands before eating. However, this good practice is not applied consistently across the day.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder completes daily risk assessments and checks her home to identify potential hazards. She takes sensible steps to protect children from possible harm and maintains close supervision. However, as changes occur in the environment throughout the day, she does not always respond promptly enough to emerging risks. This means that arrangements to keep children safe are not consistently effective. Suitable sleeping equipment is provided for children and babies. However, cots are not always accessible or ready for use because they are used to store toys. Consequently, children may have to wait while cots are cleared and prepared when they need to sleep, meaning their individual needs are not always met promptly. Despite this, arrangements for children when they are sleeping are secure. Staff check sleeping children regularly and closely monitor their position and temperature to support their continued safety and welfare.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder does not hold a valid and appropriate safeguarding training certificate, which is a requirement of registration. This training certificate has recently expired. Despite this administrative oversight, she has secure safeguarding knowledge and understands how to identify and respond to safeguarding concerns to protect children from possible harm. The childminder has an adequate overview of the quality of her provision, including weaknesses in her practice, and shows a positive attitude towards making necessary improvements.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder has accessed some training, such as a recent course on supporting children's language development. This has had a positive impact on the quality of her teaching in this area. However, she does not consistently access targeted training to develop her knowledge and skills where gaps have been identified. The childminder's assistants have some skills relating to food hygiene procedures and behaviour management, but their practice in these areas is inconsistent. Training and professional development need attention to ensure staff develop the knowledge and skills required to provide consistently effective practice and improve outcomes for children.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Parents comment positively about the setting and their experience of the childminder's service. They report that regular communication is reassuring and helps them remain informed about their children's experiences. Children benefit from this positive two-way communication, supporting consistency between home and the setting.

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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 experience a warm and welcoming environment. The childminder and her assistants provide nurturing and kind attention, greeting children with friendly smiles and encouragement as they arrive. Children enter happily and are ready to engage in their experiences. They have freedom to move between the indoor and outdoor spaces, choosing where they would like to play. This gives children meaningful opportunities to follow their interests and preferences and supports their growing independence.

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

Children remain actively engaged throughout the day. The curriculum, designed and delivered by the childminder, provides a varied range of experiences that support children's all-round development. Children have opportunities to explore their interests, play with others and develop new skills through a range of activities. Mealtimes are also positive social occasions, with children sitting together and talking about their daily experiences as they eat.

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

Some aspects of children's experiences require attention. The childminder and her assistants are not consistent in their approaches to managing behaviour. Different expectations and boundaries mean that children are not always clear about what is expected of them. At times, this affects children's engagement and ability to fully focus on their learning and play.

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

Children's health is also not consistently promoted through effective hygiene routines. For example, handwashing procedures are not followed at snack time before children eat fresh

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About this setting

fruit with their fingers. This compromises children's health and means that otherwise positive routines are not consistently maintained.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

ensure that handwashing procedures are thoroughly implemented, particularly prior to eating, to fully support children's health 10/09/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that risk assessments are updated and reviewed more frequently to quickly respond to changes in the environment throughout the day 10/09/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that any assistants have access to targeted training to raise their skills and knowledge in areas of practice identified, including in behaviour management and food hygiene 10/09/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that a valid and relevant safeguarding training course is completed and ensure that this is renewed every 2 years. 10/09/2026

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, children, parents and assistants 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. Unique reference number (URN): EY555480

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About this inspection

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 07:00 - 18:00,Friday : 07:00 - 17:30

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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

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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