Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2855207 Registered with Ofsted: 16/09/2025 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 make excellent progress from their starting points across all areas of learning. They gain the essential knowledge and skills needed for their next stage. Parents highlight how much children have progressed in their communication and confidence in interacting with others.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children show a well-developed understanding of language. Children request familiar songs in both French and English and show delight as they engage with new vocabulary and actions. Children listen and join in with the childminder as they count to 10 in French while washing their hands, supporting their communication, understanding of the world and personal hygiene.

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Achievement Strong standard

Throughout their play, children demonstrate impressive engagement, focus and problem- solving abilities. For example, while playing with treasure boxes, the children actively explore how they can open and close them and patiently master different lock mechanisms.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children explore independently, making confident choices and taking great pride in their achievements. As a result, they show high levels of curiosity and positive attitudes towards their learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder creates a joyful and homely setting where children feel safe, secure and motivated to learn. The childminder has high expectations for children's behaviour and models these consistently. She actively models kindness and cooperative play in a supportive, calm and nurturing manner. As a result, children use these positive behaviours towards one another during play, preparing them well for their next stage in education.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder establishes structured daily routines and positive boundaries, giving children a strong sense of predictability and clear expectations throughout the week. The childminder has positive, open and trusting relationships with parents and actively encourages the importance of attendance and punctuality to support children's regular and consistent learning and development.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children's manners and respect towards one another are exemplary. They listen to the childminder as she models turn-taking and then use these skills independently in their play. Children are kind and helpful towards one another and to the childminder. For example, children help the childminder without being asked, by opening the door for her when she is putting the high chair away.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children take care of their environment, actively help to tidy away resources and use books and resources with care and consideration. The childminder supports even the youngest children in learning how to respect each other and the learning environment.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder places children's welfare and wellbeing at the heart of everything she does. She fosters a warm, calm and nurturing setting, where every child feels welcome and truly valued. The childminder provides a gradual, child-centred settling-in process that involves working closely with families to ensure that children transition successfully in to the setting.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder knows each child exceptionally well and carefully plans and organises her environment to suit the needs, interests and abilities of each child. For example, the childminder adds books about potty training to the book selection to provide an opportunity to discuss and celebrate children's recent potty-training milestone.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder is highly skilled at supporting children's emotional wellbeing. She recognises when children may need extra reassurance and is well attuned to their needs. The childminder skilfully embeds opportunities for independence into the daily routine. For example, the childminder ensured accessibility for children in the bathroom to build confidence in their personal care.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children's safety is consistently promoted and a priority for the childminder. She maintains close supervision and assesses risks throughout the day, ensuring that children are safe in their learning environment. Highly effective sleep and feeding routines have been established, ensuring that every child's needs are met. The childminder uses her knowledge gained from a recent training course to promote safe, comfortable and restful sleep for children during nap times.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder plans and provides a broad and balanced curriculum that systematically builds on what children already know and can do, including their personal interests and experiences. For example, knowing a child has developed an interest in planes, the childminder plans a local trip to an airfield to develop their knowledge further.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Teaching places a committed emphasis on communication and language. The childminder introduces new vocabulary throughout the day and extends children's language through high-quality interactions, effective questioning and consistent modelling. The childminder is passionate about creating a language-rich environment, including opportunities for her first language to be shared with the children, as well as English vocabulary. Children demonstrate impressive recall as they share familiar stories together, repeating sounds, matching characters with puppets and cross-referencing animals in other stories they have shared together.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Early mathematics is embedded seamlessly into routines, play and conversation. During play with blocks, children explore concepts of height and pattern. The activities are naturally differentiated by the childminder to provide opportunities for sharing and enjoying play together, while ensuring that children are sufficiently challenged for their developmental stage. For example, 2 children enjoy exploring a number activity together. While the younger child enjoys recognising the animals, their sounds and colours, the older child is recognising numerals and counting the number of animals in each house.

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Expected standard

The childminder purposefully plans her week and carefully selects groups for her cohort to attend, ensuring they benefit all children and support their individual next steps in learning. Children enjoy playing outdoors during walks, visits to parks and local areas of interest, in the garden and when helping to care for a neighbour's chickens. Children recall their visits to the chickens and comment on the care they provide by feeding them and collecting eggs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder knows the children in her care very well and recognises each child's individual needs. During the settling-in process, she works with families to gather information about their starting points, interests and routines. She uses this information to plan effectively so that every child feels included, safe and settled. For example, to support children who speak English as an additional language, she arranges social interactions with familiar families who speak the same home language, providing opportunities to develop communication and confidence.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Although no children with special educational needs and/or disabilities currently attend, the childminder closely monitors children's learning and identifies gaps effectively. Overall, she adapts the curriculum and daily experiences to meet children's individual needs. For example, she offers quiet one-to-one focus time throughout the week for children who are more reserved, to share their ideas vocally in a busier environment. This helps to build confidence and prepare them for the next stage of learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder understands the support available for children and families and knows how to access advice from external professionals, should additional support be required. She shares relevant, helpful information with parents so they understand their children's progress. Generally, the childminder understands the procedures to follow if concerns arise. However, she recognises that further professional development is needed to strengthen her knowledge of learning strategies for children with emerging developmental needs.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Overall, the childminder evaluates her practice accurately and has an understanding of its strengths and areas for development. The childminder demonstrates a positive commitment to improving her practice. She completes training, keeps up to date with changes in the early years sector and works collaboratively with other childminders to share ideas and effective practice.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is reflective in her approach and recognises the importance of continually developing her skills for the benefit of the children in her care. However, the childminder is yet to focus her professional development on strengthening her knowledge of supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to benefit her understanding of learning strategies to support children in her care in the future. The childminder maintains regular communication with parents and carers, sharing detailed information about children's learning alongside practical advice and guidance to help parents support children at home. For example, she shares up-to-date advice regarding screen use and online safety with parents to support children's safety and wellbeing. Parents speak highly of the childminder's warm approach, feel well informed of their child's progress and report that their children feel settled and happy to attend each day. Overall,

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

these effective partnerships promote continuity in 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 thrive in this warm, welcoming and nurturing home-from-home setting. They develop strong and secure bonds with the childminder, which gives them the confidence and reassurance they need to explore with enthusiasm. Children feel safe and well cared for, knowing their voices are listened to and valued.

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

Children benefit from well-established routines and thoughtfully organised environments that help them to understand expectations and feel confident in their surroundings. Children are encouraged to be independent in their self-help skills, such as accessing their water when thirsty and using cutlery at mealtimes.

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

Children form close relationships with their peers and play harmoniously together. Children are supported with their understanding of sharing and turn-taking during play activities and respond happily to the childminder's guidance. Positive social skills, such as kindness and teamwork, are modelled by the childminder expertly, helping children develop good relationships and positive behaviour.

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

Children develop their communication and language skills as the childminder models new vocabulary and extends language through skilled questioning. Children have opportunities to explore their interests as the childminder plans her activities, focusing on the children's current interests and abilities. For example, she plans a trip to the airfield to watch planes take off and land after a child has begun noticing the sounds of planes in the sky during local walks.

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

Children seek out the childminder for reassurance, comfort and encouragement, demonstrating the secure attachments they have formed. Children demonstrate positive attitudes towards learning and develop the knowledge and skills they need for the next stage of their learning and development.

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Next steps

The childminder should seek out professional development opportunities to deepen her understanding in targeted intervention strategies, ensuring that she is fully prepared to support a broader range of individual needs, should they arise.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and children during the inspection and read testimonials written by parents.

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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

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 17:00

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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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Our grades explained

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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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

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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