Childminder in North SomersetOfsted report card, 15 Sept 2026

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2802193 Registered with Ofsted: 17/09/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR

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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 make meaningful progress from their starting points. Those who began with developmental delays have made substantial gains in the prime areas. They become increasingly mobile and independent, develop spoken language and conversation, communicate their feelings more clearly and manage more aspects of their own care. For example, children learn to put on their own coat, remove items of clothing and communicate personal-care needs. Parental feedback also confirms that children have made significant developmental progress over time.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children are developing the foundational knowledge and skills they need for their next stage of learning. They are increasingly able to communicate, move confidently, make choices and manage aspects of their independence.

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Achievement Expected standard

The childminder's assessment of achievement is secure across the prime areas. She recognises the need to strengthen her understanding of children's progress across the full breadth of all areas of learning and development.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children's individual care needs are met sensitively. The childminder provides a calm, nurturing environment and adapts her care in response to children's needs. Children form warm and trusting attachments with her and confidently seek comfort and reassurance. When children become upset, the childminder responds calmly and sensitively, helping them to feel secure and regulate their emotions.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children's physical wellbeing is promoted through opportunities for movement, increasing independence and positive daily care routines. The childminder supports children to become increasingly independent in managing aspects of their own care. The childminder works closely with families around children's eating and encourages them to try a wider range of foods.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Care routines are calm and familiar. Children sit at the table for meals and benefit from warm interaction and conversation. Quiet story and sleep routines help children relax and settle. The childminder understands safer-sleeping requirements and provides appropriate sleeping arrangements for babies. She is attentive to children's changing care needs and responds flexibly throughout the day. She recognises the importance of strengthening how she uses everyday routines to develop children's understanding of healthy food choices, oral health and hygiene.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder has a clear understanding of the broad aims of her curriculum and provides opportunities across all areas of learning and development. She gives particular attention to children's communication and language, physical development and personal, social and emotional development. She identifies relevant next steps for children, although she is not

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Needs attention

always precise about what she intends children to learn from planned experiences or how this learning builds over time.

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Needs attention

Teaching is typically responsive and purposeful. For example, the childminder uses children's interest in trains to introduce mathematical language, such as 'big' and 'small', and extends vocabulary through questioning, repetition and modelling. She responds to children's emerging needs and adapts her interactions to support communication, physical skills, emotional regulation and independence.

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Needs attention

The childminder uses observations and developmental tracking to inform her teaching and identify what children need to learn next. Her knowledge is particularly secure across the prime areas. However, her understanding of children's learning across the full breadth of the curriculum is less precise, and the sequence of knowledge and skills she intends children to develop is not always clearly defined.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

The childminder does not consistently establish and maintain clear expectations and routines. Children are asked to tidy away resources but are then allowed to continue playing and access more toys. As resources accumulate, the play space becomes cluttered. This limits opportunities for children to learn responsibility, understand boundaries and develop positive habits. Children are also not always prepared in advance for transitions, so expectations about what will happen next are not consistently clear. As a result, they do not always have the opportunity to anticipate changes in the routine and develop increasing independence in managing everyday transitions.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

The childminder is sensitive to children's emotional needs and gives them freedom and choice. However, expectations are sometimes lowered rather than adapted while remaining clear and consistent. This means that children do not always receive the predictable boundaries they need to understand what is expected of them.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

There are positive features in children's behaviour and routines. Children respond well to calm reassurance, praise and warm interactions. Mealtimes are calm and familiar, and children are supported to sit at the table and participate in established routines. Story time provides a settled transition before sleep and children confidently make choices about books and play. The childminder also provides opportunities for children to develop confidence in social interaction with others. She has positive and trusting relationships with families and maintains regular communication about children's care and development. This supports regular attendance and continuity in children's experiences.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder does not yet work closely enough with other settings and professionals to support children who face additional barriers to their learning or wellbeing. She identifies emerging concerns, including aspects of children's communication, social interaction and physical development, but does not routinely share these with other settings or seek their input. As a result, she does not always have a sufficiently comprehensive understanding of children's development or know whether concerns, support and next steps are consistent across settings.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder has not established whether eligible children receive additional funding or how this is being used to support their needs. This limits how effectively additional funding can be used to reduce barriers to children's learning and wellbeing.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Within her own provision, the childminder responds sensitively to children's needs. She adapts activities, interactions and care to support children's communication, physical development, emotional regulation, independence and social interaction. She uses observations and developmental tracking to monitor progress and identify next steps. She works positively with families, has experience of working with other professionals and knows where to seek further advice.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder does not yet have sufficiently secure oversight of some key responsibilities relating to assessment, information sharing and additional support. She has not established regular communication with other settings about children's learning and development and does not yet consistently obtain and use relevant assessment information or understand how additional funding can be used to support children's individual needs. As a result, important information about children's development, emerging concerns and additional support is not always used effectively to inform decisions and ensure consistent support.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder is reflective and shows awareness of some strengths and areas for development in her provision. She values providing a calm, nurturing environment, is receptive to feedback and is willing to seek advice when unsure. She has also identified areas of her curriculum practice that she wants to strengthen.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder keeps aspects of her professional knowledge up to date, including recent changes to the early years foundation stage. However, gaps in her understanding of assessment, information sharing and additional funding mean that her professional knowledge does not yet support consistently effective practice in these aspects of her role. This limits how effectively she can use available information and resources to respond to children's emerging needs.

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

Children do not always benefit from consistent support across the settings and professionals involved in their learning and development. The childminder has not established effective information sharing and does not routinely exchange information about children's progress, emerging concerns, assessments or next steps. Consequently, she cannot always ensure that important information about children's needs and support is shared and used consistently. This particularly affects children who face additional barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.

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

Children do not always experience clear and consistent expectations. The childminder is sensitive to children's emotional needs. However, her expectations are not always followed through. For example, children may be asked to tidy away toys but continue to access further resources. This can result in a cluttered play space and limits opportunities for children to develop responsibility and understand boundaries. Children are also not consistently prepared for transitions. In contrast, routines around mealtimes, stories and sleep are calm and familiar.

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

Children feel safe, valued and emotionally secure. They confidently seek the childminder for comfort and reassurance, and she responds warmly and sensitively. This nurturing approach supports children's sense of security and belonging. Children enjoy choosing their play, and the childminder extends their learning through their interests. For example, train play is used to introduce language about size and develop vocabulary through questioning, repetition and modelling. Children make meaningful progress in communication, physical development

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About this setting

and independence. Families value the childminder's support and the positive contribution she makes to children's wellbeing and development.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

establish and maintain regular information sharing with other providers and relevant professionals so that children's developmental concerns, assessment information, support and next steps are effectively coordinated 15/03/2027

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Action Completion Date

embed clear, consistent and age-appropriate routines, boundaries and expectations so that children understand what is expected and are supported to manage their behaviour, transitions and environment appropriately 15/03/2027

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Action Completion Date

ensure a clear understanding of and compliance with early years foundation stage requirements for assessment and information sharing, so that relevant information is routinely obtained, shared and used to coordinate children's support 15/03/2027

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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. Unique reference number (URN): 2802193

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About this inspection

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 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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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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