Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): EY442806 Registered with Ofsted: 15/08/2012 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 suitable progress from their starting points across different areas of learning. For example, they develop their communication, physical skills and social understanding over time. This includes moving from using single words to speaking in short phrases, gaining confidence in self-care and learning to share with support. Children follow simple instructions, enjoy listening to stories and demonstrate developing literacy skills. For instance, they independently look at books and confidently remember the story, retelling it in their own words when looking at books by themselves.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children play cooperatively alongside their peers and are developing positive attitudes to learning. They increasingly follow routines and manage aspects of their self-care with growing independence. Children, including those who may face barriers to learning, develop physical strength, coordination and confidence as they access physical activities. They listen attentively to instructions about how to keep themselves safe. Typically, children make sound progress from their starting points. They gain some of the knowledge, skills and confidence needed for the next stage in their learning. However, opportunities to maximise children's learning are sometimes missed because the environment is not consistently stimulating or organised effectively to promote their curiosity, creativity and development across all areas of learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children typically behave well and feel secure in the childminder's care. The childminder supports children effectively to develop positive behaviour and emerging independence. She encourages sharing and turn-taking during children's play. This helps children to build early friendships and learn to cooperate with others. Children follow simple instructions and are familiar with daily routines. For example, they help to tidy away toys and resources at the end of activities. The childminder acts as a positive role model. She consistently demonstrates positive manners and respectful interactions. As a result, children learn to be polite and considerate towards others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children generally engage in activities that interest them and demonstrate increasing levels of concentration. For example, they spend time exploring water play alongside their friends and remain focused on such activities. However, because activities are not always planned with clear learning intentions, opportunities to further extend children's thinking, curiosity and engagement are not consistent.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The routines are flexible and responsive to children's individual needs. The childminder responds sensitively to children's cues and provides comfort, reassurance and cuddles when needed. This helps children to feel safe and supported with their emotional wellbeing. The childminder promotes the importance of regular attendance and punctuality with parents and carers. This helps children to establish secure routines and benefit from continuity in their care and learning experiences.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder forms secure and nurturing relationships with all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This helps children to develop emotional wellbeing and feel happy and settled. The childminder offers children cuddles, calm words and praise. She models positive behaviour and creates a reassuring and emotionally supportive atmosphere.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder promotes healthy practices effectively. Children follow effective hygiene routines, such as washing their hands before eating after playing outside or using the bathroom. Typically, the childminder supports children's understanding of personal safety and physical wellbeing through everyday routines and outdoor play. She helps them to begin to meet simple safety expectations.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder shares information regularly and works in partnership with families to support children's individual needs. For example, she discusses toilet training with parents and carers to ensure a coordinated approach and provides practical suggestions to help maintain consistent strategies at home. This collaborative working supports children to make progress in their personal development and helps them to feel secure during periods of change.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Parents speak positively about the childminder and value the guidance and support she provides. They appreciate her advice and the regular communication she maintains, which helps them to remain informed about their children's experiences and development.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder gathers information from parents and carers to help establish children's starting points. This information helps her to understand children's interests, abilities and individual needs. She carries out observations and uses assessments to identify what children need to learn next. A gradual transition process supports children to settle at their own pace, while giving the childminder time to observe, assess and understand each child and any emerging needs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Although there are currently no children on roll with identified special educational needs and/or disabilities, the childminder demonstrates an understanding of how to support children's individual needs, including delayed speech and language development. She understands the importance of working in partnership with parents and carers and seeking advice from relevant professionals when concerns arise.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder uses the progress check for children aged between 2 and 3 years effectively to identify children's strengths and areas where they may require additional support. It includes identified next steps and suggestions for how parents can support their children's learning and development at home. This helps to promote continuity between home and the setting, and supports a shared approach to meeting children's needs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

However, while the childminder gathers useful assessment information and is able to identify children's next steps, this is not always reflected consistently in the delivery of the curriculum

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Needs attention

or teaching. As a result, opportunities to use this information to further promote children's learning and development are not consistent.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Although the childminder provides a range of activities and outings, she does not consistently plan these with clear learning intentions in mind. The focus is often on providing resources that children enjoy, rather than considering what children need to learn next.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

While children are happy and engaged in their play and do develop some important skills, the childminder does not consistently extend and deepen their learning. For example, children enjoy playing with water in the garden. However, there is limited consideration of how this activity can be used to further promote children's learning, such as by introducing mathematical concepts through the use of funnels and containers or modelling language related to capacity, size and measurement. As a result, the curriculum is not implemented with sufficient precision, and children's learning is sometimes left to chance. This increases the risk that gaps in children's knowledge and skills may emerge over time. The childminder does not yet review the learning environment sufficiently well to ensure that all resources consistently support high-quality learning. Some toys and materials are of poor quality, are not presented effectively and offer limited opportunities to extend children's play and

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder provides effective support for children who need additional help to manage their emotions. She helps children to recognise and understand their feelings and supports them to regulate their behaviour. The childminder teaches children to take turns and consider the needs of others. She models language clearly and engages children in conversations, helping to develop their vocabulary.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Since her last inspection, the childminder has undertaken professional development to strengthen her knowledge of child development, teaching and learning. She reflects on her practice and seeks to improve the quality of her provision. The childminder uses local authority advisors, the special educational needs and/or disabilities team and speech and language services to seek advice and support children's development. She uses the help received to support children's individual development, and is able to discuss children's progress confidently. However, she does not yet use this guidance systematically enough to evaluate the overall effectiveness of her provision and identify priorities for improvement. As a result, strategic improvement planning is not as robust as it could be.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder works effectively with parents and carers, who value the advice and support she provides. She keeps families informed about children's care, experiences and progress, and works closely with them to promote consistency between home and the setting. Parents appreciate the practical guidance she offers on matters such as sleep, healthy eating and toileting, which contributes positively to children's health and wellbeing. Parents speak positively about the childminder and the care that she provides.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Where she works with assistants, the childminder provides guidance and support to help them carry out their roles effectively. She maintains open communication and takes account of their wellbeing and workload when organising practice.

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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

While the childminder is able to identify what children can do and discuss their next steps in learning, she does not implement the curriculum and teaching with sufficient precision. As a result, opportunities to build on children's learning and development are not consistent, and children's progress is not maximised across all areas of learning.

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

Children are happy in this setting and attend regularly. The childminder has suitable systems in place to monitor attendance. She knows children and their families well. Children benefit from warm and caring relationships with the childminder and any assistants she works with. This helps children to feel safe, secure and valued.

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

Children are settled and comfortable in the home. They confidently move around the setting and seek reassurance, comfort and support from familiar adults when needed. Children understand daily routines and increasingly manage age-appropriate tasks for themselves. For example, they help to tidy away resources, wash their hands before meals and develop independence in self-care routines.

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

Children generally enjoy their play and make choices about the activities they access. They take part in outings and experiences that broaden their experiences, and enjoy spending time playing alongside their peers. Outdoor play helps children to develop physical skills as they run, balance and negotiate slopes and steps with increasing confidence. Children particularly enjoy active play opportunities, such as using the small trampoline under adult supervision, where they learn to follow safety rules and take turns.

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

Children develop positive social skills. They learn to share, take turns and consider the needs of others with support from the childminder. They benefit from the childminder modelling calm and respectful interactions. This helps children to begin to understand and manage their emotions. Children enjoy healthy snacks and meals and engage in conversations about food and healthy lifestyles. This helps to promote their understanding of healthy choices.

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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

improve the curriculum by identifying clear learning intentions for activities and experiences, using effective teaching strategies to extend children's learning, and ensuring that resources and the learning environment consistently support children's progress 30/09/2026

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Action Completion Date

develop a more rigorous approach to self-evaluation, using information from professional partnerships and day-to-day practice to identify clear priorities for 30/09/2026

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About this setting

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

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About this setting

Local authority: London Borough of Waltham Forest

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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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Action Completion Date

development and improve the effectiveness of the provision

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, her assistant, parents and carers, 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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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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