Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2850172 Registered with Ofsted: 19/08/2025 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

The quality of teaching is typically effective, and children are making good progress in all areas of the curriculum, particularly in communication and language. Children who had little language when they first start improve quickly with the childminder's support and close working relationship with the parents. Children use mathematical language with the childminder as they play, discussing how the container is full or empty as they play with the edible 'soil' in the tray.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children are confident communicators, with even the youngest children making their needs and wants known. They are learning to be independent. However, this could be extended further by allowing children to start to wash their own hands before eating. All children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, are learning at a steady pace and are gaining the skills they need for the next stage in their education.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children behave very well. The childminder is a skilled role model, playing with children and supporting them to share and get along. She has a very positive attitude towards behaviour, calling her behaviour policy a 'positive relations policy'. She likes to explore with children about why negative behaviour may have occurred, how it has made them and the other child feel and what they could do next time.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder has regular routines, so children feel secure in what is happening next. However, she is flexible with her routines to ensure that she is meeting the needs of all children, including those that may face a barrier to their learning. For example, if children are showing signs they are hungry, she will move mealtimes earlier to meet their needs. Even the youngest children understand what is happening next, as they happily toddle over to the table when they are asked if they would like lunch.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder understands the importance of regular attendance so that children benefit from all activities and routines. Any absence is quickly explored with parents. She shares all aspects of the children's day with parents and works with them, so children have consistency in their care.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder is very attentive to the children in her care and has warm caring bonds with them. She supports all children very well, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She quickly identifies anything that may be a barrier to children's learning and works with parents to overcome these barriers. This may include giving children extra support or bringing in outside specialists. She links closely with parents when children first start to ensure that she can find out all she can about the child, so she is best able to support their learning and development. When babies start, she ensures that she speaks with parents about weaning and what foods the baby has at home, ensuring that she is working with the family. She ensures that she follows babies' own routines, such as when they need to sleep and eat.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

She supports children to manage their feelings well. If children do have a falling out, she discusses with them how they would feel if someone grabbed something from them. This helps children start to become aware of others' feelings. She is very attentive to the children and gets down to their level to play with them. She really notices when babies are communicating with her and works hard to discover what they want. She is very enthusiastic when she plays with them, showing a real interest, which makes children excited to want to play and learn too.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder supports children to learn many skills needed for later in life. However, the current routine does not allow younger children to have opportunities to practise their hygiene practices independently before eating.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder has a creative well-balanced curriculum for the children in her care. She understands their different needs well and plans what children need to learn next, accurately assessing what their next developmental needs are. She takes into account their interests and follows their leads on the day. She differentiates her activities to suit the different aged children in her care. For example, when playing with blocks, slightly older children count them and look at the colours as they build, before excitably knocking them down. While younger children build one or two blocks, which the childminder counts for them, before they knock them over, too impatient to wait any longer.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

All children, including those that may face barriers to learning, have many opportunities to hear new words and to increase their vocabulary. For example, the childminder provides a running commentary as young children play, giving them words to their actions. She introduces new words such as 'archaeologist' as children enthusiastically dig through the dirt, strengthening their hand muscles. She is quick to praise them, helping them to have a high sense of self-esteem.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder provides all children with a wide range of experiences and opportunities to acquire and practise the skills they need for all areas of their learning and development. For example, children develop their physical skills as they play in the garden, climbing up the ladder of the slide, balancing on stepping stones, riding on trikes, digging and kicking balls into the football net.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder is generally very inclusive. While she does not currently have any children in her care who receive funding, she understands how she would use this funding to break down any barriers to learning the children may have. She knows children and families well and uses this knowledge to ensure that children are meeting their developmental goals. She has high expectations for all children. For those who are slightly below where they should be, she links with parents and puts procedures in place to support children to make progress. For example, if children start with her with little language, she works with parents to make changes to hopefully increase language development. She shares words they are working on in the setting and suggests children only use dummies for sleeping. If children do not make improvements, she knows how to access specialist support.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder is skilled at supporting the whole family, signposting parents who are new to the area to playgroups and support services, helping them to feel more settled. However, she could do even more to help all children feel included, for example, by incorporating some words in children's home language into her setting.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is committed to providing quality care for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She evaluates her setting to identify what is going well and what are priorities for improvement. For example, she decided that she wanted to find a better way of communicating with all parents, sharing children's achievements and giving them a space to share what is happening at home, so she has researched and decided on a new online system for this. Although it is early days, she is confident this will further improve communications with parents, particularly with parents she rarely sees. She is committed to ensuring that her own professional development is up to date, so she can provide good care and education for the children in her care.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

She is aware of changes in legislation, such as the new safer sleeping requirements, and ensures that she is fully meeting these. She links well with parents, shared settings and outside professionals and is aware of how to get children and families extra support, if needed. She successfully works with her co-childminder, sharing knowledge on their different children and discussing early years 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

Children show they are safe and happy with this caring childminder, as they confidently explore their environment. They seek her out for reassurance when needed, before continuing on with their play. The childminder knows the children well and uses this knowledge to plan activities based on the children's interests. The childminder works closely with parents when new children start, finding out all about their needs and interests. She provides a flexible settling-in process, getting to know the families and children well, ensuring that both are happy before commencing their full hours. Parents who have never left their children in the care of anyone before find this process reassuring, giving them confidence to leave their children.

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

Although most children have not been in the childminder's care for long, they are already making progress from their starting points. Children benefit from the childminder linking with parents and sharing strategies she is using to support their learning, so they receive consistency of care. For example, children who had little speech when they started have found their language has greatly improved since starting with the childminder. She has linked with parents to ensure that they are using the same strategies to support children. Parents receive regular verbal updates on their children's care and progress, and she is introducing electronic based communication too, making it even easier for parents to know how they can extend their child's learning at home.

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

Children play alongside their peers well, sharing resources in an age-appropriate way. Behaviour is very good. If altercations do arise, the childminder is quick to step in and to support the young children to resolve it. Children benefit from the childminder's enthusiastic approach, which helps to keep them engaged and interested in activities. Children have a range of experiences when in the childminder's care, including visiting local parks and playgroups in the local community.

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About this setting

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

The childminder should develop inclusive practice further so that children's home languages are recognised and valued within their everyday experiences. The childminder should ensure that routines allow all children to develop good hygiene practices, particularly before eating.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and the co-childminder 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. This data is from 18 September 2026

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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. 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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