Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2817468 Registered with Ofsted: 13/12/2024 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 make appropriate progress from their individual starting points. Their communication and language skills develop as they begin to use a wider range of words, communicate their needs and follow increasingly complex instructions. The childminder recognises children's achievements and shares significant milestones with families, helping parents and carers to understand the progress their children are making. Children also develop physical and social skills that support their future learning and increasing independence. Where children face barriers to learning, partnership working with families and other professionals supports their continued progress.

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Achievement Expected standard

However, the childminder does not yet have a consistently precise understanding of what children know and can do across all 7 areas of learning. She has a clearer understanding of children's progress in some areas than in others. Consequently, emerging gaps in children's knowledge and skills may not always be identified quickly enough. This limits how precisely the childminder can identify what children need to learn next to prepare them for future learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder creates a positive environment where children understand expectations for their behaviour. She models kindness and respect and uses positive praise to reinforce positive behaviour. For example, she encourages children to use good manners, help to tidy away resources and consider the needs of others. She recognises and praises these behaviours as they occur, helping children to understand what is expected of them. Opportunities to socialise with other children at childminding groups and during outings help children to cooperate and develop positive relationships with others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children form warm and trusting relationships with the childminder. They confidently approach her for support and respond positively to her guidance and encouragement. The childminder considers children's ages, stages of development and individual needs when communicating her expectations. Familiar routines help children to understand what is expected of them and become increasingly independent. The childminder recognises that some routines can be embedded further to provide children with greater consistency in their daily experiences.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder promotes regular attendance and punctuality through clear expectations in her policies and regular communication with families. Positive relationships with parents and carers enable her to discuss attendance arrangements and any changes that may affect children's attendance.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children typically benefit from warm and responsive care that meets their individual needs. The childminder responds sensitively to children's emotions and encourages them to express how they feel. Children are supported to become increasingly independent in managing their personal needs, including managing their belongings, taking responsibility for their drinks and being encouraged to put on their own shoes.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder generally promotes healthy lifestyles through everyday experiences. Children are physically active each day through outdoor play, walks and outings. She models healthy eating and provides experiences such as a healthy eating tuff tray to introduce children to different foods and healthy choices. She works closely with families to understand children's dietary requirements and support individual feeding needs, including introducing a wider variety of foods. The childminder recognises the importance of continuing to help children understand why healthy choices support their health and wellbeing.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Care routines are responsive to children's individual needs. Safe sleeping practices include regular checks on sleeping children, monitoring the temperature of the sleeping environment and responding to children's individual comfort needs. Close communication with families helps the childminder to maintain care routines that reflect children's needs and support their physical and emotional wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder provides a curriculum that typically builds on children's interests, starting points and stages of development. She places particular emphasis on communication and language. She models words, uses repetition and asks questions while allowing children time to think and respond. She encourages children to talk about their experiences and express how they feel, helping them to become increasingly able to understand and manage their emotions and behaviour. Mathematical learning is woven into everyday play through counting, comparing size and introducing relevant vocabulary.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children's physical, personal, social and emotional development are prioritised. The childminder provides regular opportunities for children to develop their strength and coordination through active and outdoor experiences. She uses praise, modelling and sensitive interactions to build children's confidence and adapts her interactions in response to children's interests and individual needs. Her observations and knowledge of children inform the experiences she plans.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

However, the intended learning within planned activities is not always sufficiently clear. At times, children move away from activities without sustained engagement or interest because the purpose of the activity is not clearly explained or modelled. Consequently, teaching is not consistently focused on precisely what children need to learn. As a result, some planned learning does not consistently build precisely on what individual children need to know or learn next.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder creates an inclusive environment where children's individual needs are identified and supported. She establishes children's starting points when they join and uses observations and discussions with families to identify emerging needs. She adapts activities and the support she provides to meet children's individual needs and stages of development. For example, she adjusts the level of challenge for older children and provides additional support or different ways to participate where needed.

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Inclusion Expected standard

When concerns emerge, the childminder takes appropriate action to reduce barriers. For example, when concerns about speech and language were identified, she worked with the family and provided additional experiences and resources to support communication and social development, including books and activities selected to support communication. She also sought advice from external professionals and shared relevant information with another setting to support continuity during transition. She continued to monitor progress as children's communication developed.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder is committed to enhancing her knowledge of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and has identified further professional development in this area. She understands how additional funding, including early years pupil premium, can be used to support disadvantaged children. She considers children's individual needs, interests and next steps when deciding how funding could be used to provide appropriate resources and experiences and reduce barriers to their learning and development.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is ambitious for children and understands the strengths of her provision and where practice can develop further. She reflects on the quality of her work and takes action to improve. For example, she has identified special educational needs and/or disabilities as an area for further professional development and has arranged additional training to strengthen her knowledge. She also attends childminding groups and seeks opportunities to extend her professional knowledge. The childminder takes pride in keeping her policies and procedures under review and communicates relevant updates with families, helping to maintain effective oversight of her provision.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder makes decisions with children's individual needs at the centre and uses information from families, her own observations and professional reflection to inform how she develops the provision. Parents value these positive relationships and the regular information they receive about their children's experiences, achievements and next steps.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder considers her own wellbeing and workload. She is receptive to feedback and accurately recognises where aspects of her curriculum and assessment practice can be strengthened further.

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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 settled in the childminder's care. They develop warm and trusting relationships with her and confidently seek cuddles, comfort and reassurance, demonstrating that they feel safe and secure. Children learn to be kind and considerate towards others. For example, they are encouraged to share and take turns, and the childminder uses positive praise to recognise their efforts. Children generally understand familiar routines, such as helping to tidy away toys and following established hygiene

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Inspector:

Megan Hooper routines before mealtimes. The childminder encourages children to take an active role in these routines, helping them to become increasingly independent.

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Inspector:

Children enjoy a varied range of play and learning experiences that reflect their interests and stages of development. Children particularly enjoy books and stories. The childminder builds on this through singing, repetition and conversations to develop children's vocabulary and communication. During animal-themed play, children count, identify animals and explore mathematical concepts such as 'big' and 'small'. The childminder extends children's learning through experiences linked to their interests, such as visits to see local wildlife. She also promotes children's physical development through regular outdoor play, walks and visits to parks. However, the childminder does not always identify precisely enough what children need to learn next across the full breadth of the curriculum. As a result, some planned activities are not sufficiently focused on the specific knowledge and skills children need to

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Inspector:

Children's individual needs are valued and generally well supported. The childminder works closely with families and seeks external advice when concerns about children's development emerge. She shares relevant information with other settings and professionals to help provide continuity of support. Parents and carers speak very positively about their experiences. They describe their children as happy to attend and value the progress they see in their children's development, particularly their speech, confidence and interactions with others.

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Next steps

The childminder should strengthen how she monitors children's progress across all areas of learning, so that emerging gaps are identified and appropriate next steps are precisely targeted. The childminder should ensure planned activities have clear learning intentions, so that teaching is consistently focused on what children need to know or learn next.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with 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.

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About this setting

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