Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2833593 Registered with Ofsted: 24/07/2025 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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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder forms exceptional bonds with children and their families right from the start. Subsequently, children separate from parents with ease and settle quickly. The childminder thoughtfully sets clear, age-appropriate behavioural expectations. These are understood by all staff at the setting and consistently embedded. Children know the childminder's routines, and this predictability helps children to feel secure and gain a sense of belonging.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children play harmoniously together. They are extremely kind and excellent at taking turns to support each other as they play and learn. For instance, they readily take turns on ride-on vehicles in the garden without adult support. This creates a lovely, nurturing environment. The childminder provides consistent high praise for their achievements, saying, 'Great job, we are really proud of you!'

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children thrive under the childminder's care. Her consistently high expectations and enthusiastic encouragement reinforce respectful behaviour choices and positive attitudes towards learning. Children eagerly embark on challenges, such as crossing balancing stepping stones, and relish the praise that they consistently receive for their achievements.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

During the settling-in period, the childminder emphasises the importance of punctuality and attendance. Subsequently, children establish firm bonds with adults, become familiar with daily routines and are incredibly eager to attend the setting.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder quickly establishes firm attachments with all children and responds attentively to their needs. Children freely make these known through gesture, signing or speaking. Children feel safe, and their wellbeing needs are met extremely well.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder is highly effective at promoting children's health. She ensures that nutritious, well-balanced home-made meals are prepared. The childminder uses mealtimes to discuss healthy choices and why these are important for our bodies. She works collaboratively with families to effectively support children's weaning and sleeping needs safely.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children spend lots of time outside benefiting from the fresh air and opportunities to be physically active. They are encouraged to move in a variety of ways, and, when ready, build their stamina on walks in the local area and on school runs. During these outings, they learn about road safety and how to manage other risks in their environments.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children are taught to recognise their emotions extremely effectively. Resources, songs and activities highlighting these help children to identify how they feel in a fun and engaging way. The childminder skilfully identifies cues in children who find regulating their emotions challenging, and acts swiftly. Consequently, all children learn to manage their feelings and build positive relationships with their peers.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder has embedded a highly positive culture of inclusion. She gains a thorough understanding of each child's developmental stage through a comprehensive settling-in process, where she gets to know children well. This allows her to proactively make adaptations to best support those facing barriers to their learning, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). She carefully tracks each child's progress through ongoing observations and assessments to determine any gaps in their knowledge or understanding and establish next steps.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder consistently provides highly effective targeted support to children with SEND or other barriers to their learning. She works closely with other professionals, such as occupational therapists, to gain advice when planning strategies to best meet children's needs. She consistently implements effective communication between herself, parents and other professionals. This unwavering support ensures that children receive the very best support precisely when they need it, allowing them to succeed and thrive.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder is highly effective at using additional funding. She consistently assesses how to meticulously use this to best support unique care and learning needs. This includes providing training opportunities for herself and her assistants, allowing them to learn new skills to provide highly effective support for the children in her care.

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Achievement Expected standard

All children, including those who face barriers to their learning or wellbeing, make progress from their starting points.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children delight in singing rhymes and joining in with action songs. This helps to develop their listening and speaking skills. The childminder encourages children's independence and self-care skills and supports them in becoming confident to express their needs, feelings and wishes. Children confidently make decisions about what they want to do and play with, and they do this collaboratively with their friends. For instance, children choose their favourite books and share them together.

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Achievement Expected standard

The childminder makes careful adaptations to her setting and practice to help reduce any barriers to learning that children may face. She implements targeted support to ensure that all children access the provision equally. Activities are age- and stage-appropriate, which helps to prepare children for their next stage of learning and development. However, at times, next steps are not consistently planned for during activities. Consequently, at times, rates of progress are limited for some children.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder's ambitious curriculum is systematically organised. Well-planned activities help children to build on what they already know and can do. At times, planning does not always target specific next steps in learning. This means that rates of progress are constrained on occasion for some children.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder promotes children's language and communication skills through positive interactions, singing and sharing books. Children delight in joining in with repeated phrases from stories, and the childminder skilfully leaves gaps for children to shout out the missing rhyming words. The childminder has recently engaged all staff in Makaton training. This supports all children to build friendships and express their needs and wants.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children feel safe and secure at the setting and demonstrate high levels of confidence. They readily ask for resources, help or cuddles for reassurance. The childminder has fostered positive relationships between children, staff and parents. This promotes continuity of care for children.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children's physical development is well supported. They practise their gross motor skills when playing in the garden, as well as refining their fine motor skills when mark making. Mathematical opportunities, such as counting and comparing sizes, are carefully woven into day-to-day learning. Adaptations are in place to support those facing barriers to their learning. These include the use of sensory tents to help with children's self-regulation. All children make sound progress.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development. She works closely alongside 2 other childminders, and they provide support and advice for each other. She also seeks advice from the local authority and other professionals when appropriate. These partnerships enable her to share good practice.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder places significant emphasis on ongoing professional development for herself and her assistants. She uses appraisals every 6 months to identify each assistant's strengths and areas for development. Her assistants feel highly supported and very happy in their work.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

All training opportunities are based on improving experiences for children at the setting. The childminder and her team complete online and face-to-face courses and implement their new ideas and skills. The childminder measures the impact this has on the setting's provision and children's learning and involvement over time. This ensures that children remain at the heart of all she does.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is dedicated to supporting children who face barriers to their learning. She ensures that her provision is highly inclusive and that any additional funding is spent to excellent effect, benefiting the individual children hugely.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder maintains excellent relationships with parents. She keeps them fully informed about their child's experiences and ongoing progress. The childminder is forming links with local pre-schools and schools in order to forge positive relationships, supporting smooth transitions for children.

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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 benefit from this warm and nurturing environment where they are treated with kindness and respect. Their individual needs are carefully considered right from the beginning of their time at the setting. The information that the childminder obtains from parents about their children's routines and preferences, as well as any barriers to their learning, helps children to settle swiftly. Parents and carers consistently speak very highly of the childminder and her attentive care of their children.

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Inspector:

Zoe Abraham Children move freely around the setting, confidently making choices about their play. This indicates that they feel secure. Their interests are considered throughout the inclusive curriculum at the setting, and so there is always something that entices and engages them. Children enjoy a range of experiences, including visits to nature reserves and animal parks. This helps them to become confident in a variety of environments and sparks their curiosity about the natural world.

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Inspector:

Children's independence skills are supported well, preparing them for future learning experiences. For instance, they relish opportunities such as handing out water bottles at mealtimes, or tidying up toys and resources when they have finished with them and putting them away. They demonstrate high levels of restraint and perseverance when facing challenges, with just a little encouragement required. Children persist when attempting to fill pots and pans in the mud kitchen, using small utensils until they achieve their goal. They take pride in completing tasks and find joy in the high praise they receive from the childminder and assistants. This supports children in becoming independent and resilient learners.

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Inspector:

Children's communication and language development is supported well. The youngest children, and those with speech and language difficulties, benefit particularly well from their play and actions being systematically narrated by adults. Children consequently learn new words, and what they mean, in a very natural way.

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Next steps

The childminder should refine the curriculum planning so that children's knowledge and skills consistently and precisely build on what they know and can do, so as to enhance children's learning experiences even further.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke to the childminder, assistants, parents 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 : 07:30 - 16:30

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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

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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