Haigh, Maisey Ann

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2849899 Registered with Ofsted: 21/07/2025 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 Strong standard

Children show genuine pleasure and pride in their own achievements. For example, after being encouraged to persevere when riding a car across the grass, children exclaim, 'I did it, I did it!' Such experiences help children to develop resilience, confidence and a positive attitude towards challenge. Children build confidence from the childminder's sensitive and responsive interactions. The rich range of opportunities and experiences helps the children make significant progress in their learning and development. Children are given the support and opportunities they need to overcome barriers to learning, actively participate, develop their skills and reach their full potential.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children continually develop their communication and language skills through regular music sessions and story times. They enthusiastically join in with familiar songs and repeated refrains. They confidently fill in missing words and phrases during stories. Their animated participation demonstrates their growing vocabulary, understanding and familiarity with language.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder works closely with parents to promote regular attendance and punctuality. She recognises that consistent routines provide children with the stability, security and predictability they need to thrive. By supporting families to establish reliable routines, she helps children arrive ready to learn and develop positive habits that support their wellbeing and development.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children develop genuine and positive relationships with one another. They show kindness and consideration towards their friends and actively seek each other out in their play. When children need support with sharing or taking turns, the childminder responds sensitively. She helps them to listen to each other, find compromises and resolve difficulties. Children behave exceptionally well. The childminder promotes children's understanding of how their actions can affect others. She responds calmly and sensitively when behaviour could potentially cause harm. For example, she helps the children to understand why certain behaviours are unsafe and the possible impact on others. This consistent approach supports children to develop self-awareness, empathy and an understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children have a deep sense of belonging and feel genuinely included in the childminding setting. For example, the childminder actively involves the children in creating house rules. They have created a poster to reflect these rules, with older children writing their shared expectations. Included in the list are the words 'help' and 'hug', indicating that children can always ask for help or a hug when they need one. This helps children feel emotionally secure and know that the practitioner is available to support and comfort them when needed.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder knows the children well. She understands how to provide thoughtful, individualised strategies that promote their emotional wellbeing and self-regulation. Children have access to a cosy, quiet space where they can retreat, calm themselves and manage their emotions when needed. She carefully adapts settling-in sessions to reflect each child's individual needs. This helps them to build secure relationships, develop confidence and feel safe and valued. The childminder is highly attuned to children's emotions. She responds with warmth, sensitivity and understanding. She is quick to recognise and acknowledge how children are feeling, helping them to feel heard and understood. For example, when children find it difficult to share, she sensitively acknowledges that sharing can sometimes be hard. This empathetic approach reassures children that their feelings are valued and accepted.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder establishes consistent routines that support children to develop good hygiene practices. She embeds safer eating practices and works closely with parents to promote healthy eating. The childminder ensures children's individual dietary needs are understood and met. Even at a young age, children are supported to recognise and communicate their own allergies and intolerances. This enables children to take increasing responsibility for their own health and wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder provides a carefully considered and highly ambitious curriculum that enables children to progress across all areas of learning. She builds a clear understanding of each child's individual needs by gathering information from parents and carrying out regular, ongoing assessments. This ensures that planned activities are purposeful, responsive and well matched to children's next steps in learning. The childminder considers not only what she wants children to learn, but also the most effective ways to support them in achieving this. For example, to develop children's understanding of shape, she plans purposeful adult-led activities and encourages them to recognise and talk about shapes in their everyday environment. This consistent approach helps children make important connections in their learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

From an early age, children develop highly effective communication and language skills. The childminder listens attentively to children, giving them the time and space they need to express their thoughts and respond. She consistently makes the most of everyday experiences to introduce and reinforce new vocabulary. For example, children learn the word 'pumpkin' and develop their understanding of what a pumpkin is through meaningful discussions. The childminder also skilfully introduces mathematical language, including comparative vocabulary. For example, when reading 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears', children are encouraged to talk about who is the smallest and biggest in their own families. These purposeful interactions extend children's vocabulary and give them confidence to use new language in different contexts.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Children have consistent and varied opportunities to develop their physical skills through both planned experiences and everyday play. In addition to making full use of the large, well-prepared garden, children regularly visit local parks and woodlands, playgroups and the library. This provides them with opportunities to be active, explore different environments and develop confidence in the wider community. Children learn about the natural world by growing fruit and vegetables. They learn to care for plants by watering them, helping them develop an understanding of nature and responsibility for living things.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder works closely with parents and relevant professionals to identify and respond effectively to children's individual needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and barriers to learning. She builds secure partnerships with families to ensure that appropriate support is put in place promptly and consistently. Her previous health care experience strengthens her ability to recognise when a child may require additional medical support and to respond appropriately.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder skilfully adapts her practice to meet the individual needs of each child. She identifies ways to overcome potential barriers to their learning and development. For children who find it difficult to remain engaged for extended periods, the childminder gradually builds their ability to sustain attention. This enables children to participate successfully without feeling overwhelmed. This thoughtful and inclusive approach ensures that individual needs are met while also enabling all children to benefit from the experiences and opportunities available to them.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder places a clear emphasis on promoting diversity. She regularly takes children to a local toddler group in an area of cultural diversity, where they have valuable opportunities to play and interact with children from a wide range of backgrounds. This helps children to explore similarities and differences and develop a respect and understanding for others. The childminder also makes thoughtful use of children's own experiences and family backgrounds to enrich their learning. For example, when children visit families from different countries, she asks parents to bring back items associated with the country for children to share with others. This helps children feel that their culture and heritage is valued and develops children's curiosity about the wider world.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder is highly reflective and routinely evaluates her practice to identify priorities for improvement. She uses ongoing self-evaluation to strengthen the quality of her provision. She responds to children's changing needs and ensures that her practice continues to develop. For example, she has used her recent training on schemas to adapt and plan activities around children's current interests and patterns of play. She also completes training in creating inclusive environments and supporting children's individual needs and differences. This helps children to feel understood, valued and included.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder builds trusting relationships with parents, creating a positive partnership. They work collaboratively and consistently in the best interests of each child. Through regular, meaningful assessment, she keeps parents informed about their child's learning, progress and development. This enables parents to understand their child's individual needs and interests and extend learning at home. The childminder also works closely with other settings and professionals involved in children's care and education. She shares relevant information to support smooth transitions and ensure consistency in children's experiences. This supports adults to understand the children's needs, interests and development. This consistency helps children feel secure and confident, enabling them to make sustained progress in their learning and development.

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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 feel safe, secure and emotionally supported within this warm and nurturing environment. They confidently engage in conversations with their friends, the childminder and visitors. For example, while watching squirrels gathering nuts in the garden, children

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Inspector:

Nina Fortuna eagerly share what they know about how squirrels prepare for winter. Children feel comfortable expressing their ideas and sharing their knowledge. The childminder responds sensitively to children's emotional and physical needs, offering comfort and reassurance when they hurt themselves. This helps children to develop secure relationships, build confidence and know that they can rely on the adults around them for support.

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Inspector:

Children develop great independence and resilience from an early age. They willingly help to tidy the environment and persevere with tasks such as putting on their own shoes. This supports children's determination and a growing confidence in their abilities. The childminder provides appropriate encouragement and consistently allows children time to attempt tasks for themselves rather than doing things for them. As a result, children develop a positive attitude towards challenge, learn to persevere when things are difficult and become increasingly independent in managing their own needs. This helps children, including those with barriers to learning, develop the skills and confidence they need to be prepared for their next steps in learning.

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Inspector:

Children build positive relationships with one another and genuinely enjoy sharing experiences and celebrating each other's achievements. For example, they clap and cheer for their peers as they take turns hiding and finding the ball. All children are encouraged to participate and have their voices heard, with opportunities to make meaningful choices throughout the day. For instance, each child chooses a story before sleep time. This gives children a sense of ownership and helps them develop confidence, decision-making skills and an understanding that their preferences are valued.

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Next steps

The childminder should ensure continued improvement in the setting's successful work to remove barriers for children who need extra help to realise a transformational impact on all children's achievement and wellbeing.

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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.

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About this setting

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

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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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