Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2822253 Registered with Ofsted: 06/03/2025 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 Strong standard

Children make excellent progress from their individual starting points. They are very well prepared for their next stage in learning because the childminder monitors their development closely and uses this information to plan precise next steps. Children gain the knowledge and skills needed for their next stages of learning. This is supported by experiences that reflect their interests and stages of development.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children move confidently around the environment. They select resources independently and demonstrate a growing curiosity, motivation and focus in their play. Through well- planned experiences and purposeful daily routines, children build the knowledge and skills they need across the areas of learning. They develop secure self-care skills. For example, they learn to feed themselves and use the toilet independently. This helps to strengthen their coordination, confidence and independence. Children communicate with increasing confidence with others. Through conversations, stories and everyday experiences, they extend their vocabulary and become more confident in sharing their ideas and needs.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children persevere and take pride in their achievements. They show resilience when faced with challenge, trying different approaches and maintaining effort. As a result, children develop positive attitudes to learning. They secure the foundational skills needed for future success and their next stage of education.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder establishes warm, secure relationships that help children feel safe, understood and emotionally supported. She responds sensitively to children's needs. This includes noticing even subtle changes in their emotions and offering timely reassurance. Books and conversations about feelings are used purposefully. They help children recognise, label and talk about their emotions with increasing confidence. The environment is maintained to a high standard. It is safe, clean and well organised. This enables children to move freely and engage positively in play and learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children's curiosity and confidence in the wider world are enriched through daily outdoor experiences. They relish visits to the local park and surrounding areas. This helps to enhance children's physical development. Children learn how to keep safe, including in the sun. They recall prior learning to explain why they need shade and sun cream.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Healthy choices are promoted through snack routines and baking activities. Children's independence is supported through activities such as helping to prepare fruit. Children learn the importance of washing their hands as part of respectful care practices. They independently cut strawberries and bananas and discuss which fruits are 'healthy for our bodies'.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder manages children's care routines carefully to meet their individual needs. She follows agreed feeding, sleeping and personal care routines. The childminder works closely with parents to ensure continuity of care. Highly effective partnerships with families

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Expected standard

and receiving settings ensure continuity in children's care and learning. This helps to support smooth transitions and helps children feel secure as they move on to school.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder provides a highly ambitious curriculum that promotes children's learning across all areas of development. She demonstrates an insightful understanding of how children learn. The childminder uses this to plan a sequence of experiences that build knowledge securely over time. She swiftly identifies and addresses gaps in children's learning. This is through her precise, targeted teaching. This helps to ensure children benefit from consistently rich and purposeful learning opportunities.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Interactions are of a high quality. The childminder skilfully uses questions that help to extend children's thinking skills. In addition to the rich vocabulary, she carefully selects resources that enhance both fine and gross motor skills. For example, during water play, children introduce resources that reflect their interests. The childminder adapts her teaching to extend their learning through purposeful interactions.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Activities are planned thoughtfully around children's interests, fostering curiosity and deep engagement. She helps children to develop early literacy skills through expressive storytelling, puppets and songs that bring language to life. Daily routines are used exceptionally well to promote children's independence. Children confidently prepare their own snacks, manage self-care tasks and make choices about their play. This helps them to develop secure skills that prepare them well for future learning. The childminder's calm, nurturing approach supports children to feel safe, settled and ready to learn.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children benefit from the childminder's calm, kind approach. She sets high expectations for behaviour and encourages good manners, such as saying 'please' and 'thank you'. The calm, nurturing environment helps children feel emotionally secure. Children follow familiar routines with confidence. They receive steady reassurance and care. This helps them to manage their feelings and settle quickly. The childminder's expectations are appropriate for children's ages and stages. This helps them to cooperate during daily routines and to become increasingly independent.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The setting has a calm, welcoming atmosphere. The childminder promotes positive behaviour through frequent praise and by consistently modelling kindness. This helps children build warm, trusting relationships with her and with one another. They respond positively to encouragement, taking pride in their efforts and achievements. As a result, children's confidence grows.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder places a high priority on promoting good attendance. Clear expectations are shared with parents. The childminder explains how consistent support from families helps children become familiar with routines and prepares them well for the expectations they will experience at school.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder ensures her practice is inclusive, and she supports all children. The childminder has not yet cared for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, children known to social care or children receiving additional funding in this setting. She demonstrates an awareness of how she would adapt to be inclusive of individual children. For example, she can use 'now and next' cards and more structured routines to help children understand transitions between activities. However, she has limited professional development or engagement with specialist services to deepen her knowledge and confidence in meeting the needs of children who may face additional barriers.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder works effectively with other professionals and partner settings to support children and promote smooth transitions. She engages with families through a collaborative approach, sharing advice and practical ideas to help parents support their children's learning at home.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder understands how early years pupil premium funding can be used to enrich children's experiences. For example, she explains that it could help provide opportunities children may not otherwise access at home.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has a clear understanding of the setting's context. She knows the areas she wants to improve and takes a proactive approach to developing her practice. She manages her workload effectively and avoids creating unnecessary additional tasks. The childminder has considerable experience and knowledge of early years practice and child development. The childminder is always looking at ways to improve. She keeps up to date with training through the local authority and new information from networking. She is keen to build on these skills. For example, she regularly reflects on her work, seeks feedback from parents and accesses advice and training when she identifies gaps in her knowledge. This reflective approach ensures improvements are purposeful and closely linked to children's emerging needs.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has good relationships with parents, who speak very highly of her. They feel well informed about their children's development and daily experiences in the setting.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Parents say their children's language skills have improved significantly. They comment that their children are now thriving and that children enjoy attending the setting, including how they benefit from a wide range of enriching experiences.

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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 arrive eager to explore the thoughtfully planned activities on offer. They engage with a wide range of experiences that promote all areas of learning. For example, at the water table, children use tools such as spoons, brushes, bottles and pumps, experimenting with petals to make 'soup'. They explore with confidence, and the childminder skilfully extends their learning through well-timed interactions. Children are polite and keen to share their achievements.

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

Children take part in a range of activities that further develop their existing skills. For example, they use pegs and circular card to create a moon, building on their learning about space through stories and songs. During the activity, the childminder and children enjoy singing together. This helps to support communication and strengthens their shared engagement.

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

Children make connections with the wider world through their play. For example, after filling a fire engine with water, children sprayed red flowers in the garden while calling, 'Fire, fire!' They are given meaningful opportunities to develop life skills, such as cutting up their own fruit, helping to prepare them for later life. They sing nursery rhymes and listen to stories using props. This helps to support the development of new vocabulary and communication skills.

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

Healthy choices are consistently taught and embedded. Children use this knowledge daily when selecting their snack. During baking activities, they explore different fruits and learn about nutrition in practical, enjoyable ways.

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About this setting

Operating hours: Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 17:30

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Facts and figures used on inspection

Children are recognised as unique individuals and communicate with confidence and respect. Parents and carers say their children enjoy attending the setting and benefit from a wide range of enriching experiences.

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Next steps

The childminder should further develop professional learning and strengthen links with external specialists to build knowledge and confidence, particularly in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other barriers to learning.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, children and parents 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. 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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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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