Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2825060 Registered with Ofsted: 12/05/2025 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 Expected standard

Children typically develop their communication skills and sometimes use simple sentences and phrases to express themselves. Children speak simply about their interests. For example, children use their knowledge of dinosaurs to describe what might hatch from a dinosaur egg. Children often repeat sentences and phrases frequently modelled by the childminder. However, they have fewer chances to compose their own sentences and independently express their ideas.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children strengthen their physical skills through carefully chosen experiences. They are developing strength and dexterity as they play with small objects and use tools, such as tweezers, with greater precision. Children develop early mathematical knowledge, including learning to recognise and use small numbers. They also develop thinking skills as they complete increasingly challenging puzzles and match pictures, shapes and colours. Overall, children, including those with barriers to their learning, make steady progress from their starting points along their individual pathways. They gain knowledge, skills and confidence that help prepare them for their next stage of learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children develop warm relationships with the childminder. They are happy and confident in her company and readily involve her in their play. Overall, the childminder treats children with kindness and care, and provides plenty of individual attention. The childminder has clear expectations for children's behaviour. She teaches children to use good manners, share with others and tidy toys after playing. Children often respond positively to these expectations and generally behave well. The childminder uses consistent boundaries and works with parents to support children's behaviour at home.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children develop positive attitudes towards learning. They typically concentrate on activities and persevere when they find something tricky. For example, children carefully examine pictures, shapes and colours as they complete increasingly challenging puzzles. The childminder encourages them to keep trying and celebrates their achievements.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder establishes routines that reflect children's individual circumstances. She adapts these when children are tired or have experienced disrupted sleep. This helps children remain comfortable and ready to participate in their day. The childminder promotes regular attendance and explains its importance to parents. Parents value the provision and communicate with her when children will be absent or arrive later than expected.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Overall, children are cared for in a safe and welcoming environment. The childminder knows their individual care needs and adapts routines to reflect their circumstances. She provides flexibility when children are tired and need additional rest. The childminder promotes children's physical health through regular outdoor play and outings. Children run, jump and explore the natural environment. They visit parks and open spaces, where they experience nature and learn about animals and wildlife.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children typically develop personal care skills through familiar routines. The childminder supports their developing independence with toileting, dressing and oral health. She responds to children's individual needs and helps them feel comfortable and secure.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder takes appropriate steps to protect children's safety. She often supervises children closely and considers potential hazards when planning activities. She checks that equipment is suitable for children's ages and abilities. The childminder also takes steps to reduce choking risks when preparing food. The childminder is attentive to protecting children from potential harm. At times, this reduces opportunities for children to encounter and consider manageable risks during their play. Consequently, children have fewer opportunities to decide what feels safe and develop confidence in managing age- appropriate risks themselves.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, the childminder plans a broad curriculum that reflects children's interests, individual needs and stages of development. She typically identifies appropriate next steps and considers what children need to learn next. She provides experiences aimed at helping children develop their communication, physical, mathematical and personal skills. The childminder often uses children's interests to motivate them to learn. For example, the childminder has bought resources linked to children's interests so that they can strengthen their hands and fingers. This supports children's developing physical skills. Children also develop their knowledge through puzzles, books, animals and experiences in the natural world.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder generally supports children's learning effectively. She helps them concentrate, introduces new vocabulary and provides increasing challenges as their skills develop. The childminder provides a range of toys and resources that are visible and accessible to children. Children show clear preferences and interest in what they want to play. At times, the childminder directs which resources children can use rather than allowing them to select these independently. This reduces opportunities for children to make choices and develop greater autonomy in their play.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder often says simple sentences for children to repeat in order to support their speaking skills. However, this prevents children from choosing their own words and having a go at speaking independently. Overall, children develop their communication skills appropriately, their speech is becomingly increasingly clear and they use simple phrases and sentences.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder welcomes children and families and takes time to understand their individual circumstances. Typically, she considers factors that may affect children's learning, development and wellbeing. Overall, she uses this knowledge to adapt her provision and provide appropriate individual support. The childminder identifies when children may face barriers to their learning. For example, she recognises when children may need further health and medical assessments. She works with families to seek appropriate professional advice. This helps children receive appropriate support, access experiences and continue making progress.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder understands the importance of working with parents and other professionals. She generally shares information about children's development and encourages families to seek additional advice when appropriate. She knows how to access support from relevant services when children need additional help.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder has high expectations for all children and identifies suitable next steps for children's development. She understands that children sometimes need learning broken down into smaller, achievable steps. This helps her adapt experiences to children's individual starting points and support their continued progress. As a result, all children make progress at the childminder's setting.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder develops the setting's policies, reviews guidance and new requirements. She assesses children's development and identifies next steps for children's learning. The childminder reflects on her practice at times, and considers how she can improve the experiences children receive. She undertakes training and reading to develop her professional knowledge and skills. Her professional development has not yet focused sufficiently on how children's speaking skills develop. This means she does not always support children to become independent and expressive speakers.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Overall, the childminder establishes positive partnerships with parents. Parents value the regular communication they receive from the childminder about the activities children experience and their learning. The childminder supports parents with strategies to positively promote children's behaviour at home and consistency between setting and home. The childminder typically prepares children and families for transitions to other settings. She shares relevant information with parents to support children's continuing learning as they start at their new setting. She also creates resources that help children become familiar with their next setting.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is proactive and works with other professionals, as the need arises, to help children and their families secure the support they need. The childminder encourages regular attendance and asks parents to communicate if children are going to be late or absent. This helps her monitor children's attendance and welfare.

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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 comfortable in the childminder's care. They develop warm relationships with her and receive plenty of individual attention. Children confidently involve the childminder in their play and seek her help when they need it. Their individual circumstances are understood and routines are flexible around their care needs. Children attend the setting regularly, and, as a result, benefit from the childminder's broad curriculum.

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

Children enjoy activities that reflect their interests. They excitedly investigate dinosaurs and speak simply about what they know about them. Children proudly explain that a dinosaur egg might hatch a Tyrannosaurus Rex. They enjoy looking closely at pictures and remembering dinosaur names they have encountered previously. They find out about dinosaurs through sharing information books and looking at information on posters with the childminder.

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

Children develop curiosity about the natural world. They watch birds and squirrels and encounter bugs and other creatures. Children enjoy outings to parks and open countryside, where they have space to explore and be physically active. They enjoy making dens and playing at camping with the childminder. Children learn about the world around them, different places and different people, through this broad range of experiences.

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

Children benefit from outings and group activities with other children. These experiences help them to develop important social skills and start to learn to play together in larger groups. In the setting, children learn useful social skills and understand familiar expectations. They learn to tidy resources, share with others and use polite language. Children generally behave well and respond positively to the childminder's clear boundaries.

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

Children make positive progress from their individual starting points. They increasingly communicate using simple sentences and develop clearer speech. Children strengthen their hands and fingers through enjoyable physical experiences. They gain confidence in using small objects and develop important physical skills.

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Next steps

The childminder should further strengthen her knowledge of speech development to support children to express their own ideas and develop greater independence in speaking. The childminder should review the curriculum to provide children with more opportunities to make independent choices about their play. The childminder should provide more opportunities for children to explore manageable risks and learn how to assess risks for themselves.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and children, and sought feedback from 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 : 07:30 - 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

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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