Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2794704 Registered with Ofsted: 16/07/2024 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 Strong standard

Children achieve highly from their individual starting points and approach learning enthusiastically. Children who are new to the setting settle quickly, confidently make choices and become absorbed in their play. Children develop increasingly rich language. They recall stories and experiences, sustain conversations during imaginative play and explain their ideas clearly. They count objects reliably to five, compare the height of towers and use mathematical language relating to size, weight and capacity. Children predict and describe changes when mixing colours and solve practical problems, such as finding ways to secure natural objects. They develop physical control and coordination as they manipulate dough, use utensils, make purposeful marks, climb and participate in ball games.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children become increasingly independent and socially confident. They manage their belongings, feed themselves, follow healthy hygiene routines and cooperate successfully with others. Children with health needs participate fully alongside their peers and access the same learning opportunities. Consequently, children develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need for their next stage of learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder has established clear and consistent expectations that help children feel secure, behave well and become ready to learn. She adapts her guidance to children's ages, stages of development and individual needs. She uses calm explanations, emotional language and sensitive support to help children recognise their feelings and understand how their actions affect others. When minor disagreements occur, children learn to express what they need, consider their friends and return quickly to cooperative play.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children form secure relationships with the childminder and each other. They listen attentively, follow instructions and treat others with respect. Children share resources, take turns and sustain their interest in activities. They confidently select toys and books, follow their own ideas and make purposeful choices. They also participate enthusiastically in established routines, including helping to tidy resources after use. These routines are fully embedded and enable children to develop responsibility, independence and consistently positive attitudes to learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder promotes regular attendance through close work with parents. She accurately records children's arrival and departure times, follows up unexplained absences and reviews attendance patterns. She discusses concerns promptly with parents and considers what support may help. This careful monitoring supports children's welfare and enables them to benefit consistently from the learning experiences provided.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder places children's welfare and wellbeing at the centre of her provision. She knows their care needs in detail and establishes secure attachments through flexible settling-in arrangements and familiar routines. Close partnerships with parents provide continuity in children's sleep, personal care and emotional support. Consequently, children feel safe, seek comfort when needed and confidently explore.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children develop an excellent understanding of how to care for their bodies. They wash their hands, brush their teeth after snacks and learn how these routines protect their health. At mealtimes, children sit securely, feed themselves and cut soft fruit into manageable pieces. The childminder follows safer-eating guidance, supervises closely and provides nutritious meals and water. Her highly effective allergy arrangements include following an action plan, preventing cross-contamination and keeping emergency medication accessible to adults, but out of children's reach. These adjustments enable children with health needs to participate fully and safely.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Daily outdoor play and outings develop children's stamina, balance and coordination. Stories, mirrors and emotion cards help them recognise, express and regulate their feelings. Children who need to sleep have a suitable sleep space and receive regular physical checks. These fully embedded practices protect children's health and safety while developing their independence, emotional security and understanding of how to keep themselves well.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder designs a highly ambitious and inclusive curriculum around what children need to know and be able to do. She prioritises communication and language, personal, social and emotional development and physical development, taking account of children's interests, starting points and emerging needs. She selects books that support and connect the intended learning. For example, experiences linked to the story of 'Elmer the Elephant' enable children to explore colour, pattern, natural materials and number while acquiring and using new vocabulary. Children revisit this learning during stories, conversations and play, which helps them remember and apply what they have learnt in different contexts.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder uses interactions throughout the day as opportunities for teaching and assessment. She narrates children's play, models clear sentences and repeats vocabulary in meaningful contexts. She gives children time to recall previous learning and adapts her questions in response to their answers, ideas and misconceptions. When children build towers, younger children count blocks while older children compare height and quantity. In the 'outdoor restaurant', children predict the results of mixing colours and investigate how to create lighter and darker shades. Children consequently communicate confidently, sustain concentration and apply their mathematical knowledge independently.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Through observations, conversations and information from parents, the childminder establishes what children know and can do and identifies any gaps in their learning. She responds by adapting experiences and interactions without unnecessarily interrupting children's sustained play. Children revisit important knowledge through stories, role play, dough, movement and outdoor exploration. This helps them remember and use vocabulary, refine their skills and make secure connections between previous experiences and new learning.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder creates an inclusive environment in which she identifies and responds to children's individual needs. She gathers information from parents about children's development, routines, home languages, health and interests. She uses observations and discussions with parents to identify emerging concerns and adapt experiences.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder knows how to seek advice from the local early years service and work with health visitors, speech and language therapists and other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who receive early years pupil premium funding. She understands how additional funding should address an individual child's barriers. Her previous experience includes adapting routines and the environment for children who find emotional regulation difficult. Visual prompts, predictable routines, sand timers and a quiet reading space help children communicate feelings and manage change.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder makes precise adjustments for children with multiple food allergies. She follows the medical action plan, provides safe alternatives and works closely with parents. She reviews the impact of support and changes it when necessary. Consequently, children participate fully and families are confident that individual needs will not prevent children from learning or thriving.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder demonstrates a clear commitment to improving her knowledge and provision. She regularly evaluates her work and uses professional research, parental feedback, discussions with other childminders and advice from a local early years adviser to identify improvements. Her flexible, mainly paper-free approach keeps assessment proportionate and her workload manageable while maintaining a secure understanding of children's progress.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Professional development and a wealth of training has deepened the childminder's understanding of children's emotional development. She now uses stories, mirrors, visual prompts and calming strategies effectively. As a result, children increasingly recognise, express and regulate their feelings. She evaluates the quality of her provision and implements effective procedures and risk assessments that help keep children safe. She knows how to respond to welfare concerns or allegations. Drawing on her previous teaching experience, the childminder plans purposeful experiences that build on children's interests, starting points and next steps. She thoughtfully adapts activities, routines and the environment to reduce barriers and enable all children to participate fully in learning.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Partnerships with parents are highly productive. Parents receive frequent updates, contribute information and use suggested activities at home. She also uses local parks, libraries, playgroups and the allotment to enrich children's experiences. Parents value her nurturing care, outdoor curriculum and attention to individual needs. Her highly reflective leadership has a significant impact on children's care, 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 are happy, secure and eager to learn. They form warm relationships with the childminder and approach her confidently for reassurance or help. A flexible settling-in process, familiar resources and close work with parents help children, including those who are new, quickly develop trust and a sense of belonging.

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

Children make purposeful choices from well-organised resources and sustain their interest in imaginative play. In the outdoor restaurant, they mix coloured water, add natural materials and talk about ingredients and flavours. The childminder introduces words such as 'smooth',

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About this setting

Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR 'crunchy', 'mixture' and 'half full'. Children remember this vocabulary and use it as they explain their ideas. They count objects, compare size and weight, predict what will happen when colours mix and solve practical problems.

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About this setting

Children behave respectfully and readily follow familiar routines. They take turns, tidy resources and understand that toys left on the floor may cause someone to trip. They persevere when putting on shoes and coats and take pride in managing these tasks independently. Regular visits to forests, parks, libraries, gymnastics sessions and an allotment extend children's language, physical skills and knowledge of their community.

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About this setting

Children benefit from the childminder's close monitoring of attendance and prompt follow-up of unexplained absence. Parents say that children feel safe, are engaged in their learning and love attending. Children make secure progress from their starting points and gain the communication, social and self-care skills they need for their next stage of learning.

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Next steps

The childminder should sustain and evaluate the impact of her successful work over time so that all children, including those facing barriers, achieve exceptionally well.

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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. Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 08:00 - 18:00

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About this inspection

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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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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