A childminder based in Newark has hit back from a string of Ofsted reports that found her services to be rated 'inadequate', to the latest inspection finding all areas of her services 'good'.
A childminder is a person who looks after children in their own home for a fee.
The services Laura Marie Richards provide with assistants were first found to be 'inadequate' by education regulators Ofsted in April 2019, and two further inspections in September 2019 and March 2020 found the same outcome.
But the latest report, which inspected services in November 2021 and was published this month, have since found her services 'good'.
Ms Richards has 21 children on her roll, all of whom are aged between 0-13, and she first registered in 2008.
In a previous scathing report published by Ofsted, when an inspection took place in March 2020, every area of provision was rated inadequate, which includes quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.
That report, published in June 2020, said: "This is the third consecutive inspection where the childminder has failed to meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage.
"A significant number of breaches of requirements at this inspection were breaches at previous inspections.
"The childminder is not demonstrating that she has the necessary knowledge and skills to bring about improvements.
"She does not identify and minimise all hazards in the environment to ensure children are protected from harm; for example, children place their fingers inside the bars of the rabbit cage, and the radiators are extremely hot to the touch.
"The childminder does not ensure that equipment is hygienically clean; children use other children's dummies and sit in high chairs that have dried food stuck to the tray.
"She fails to identify and minimise all risks on the premises, for example, there is a television balanced on the windowsill that topples forward easily when touched."
On the back of this, enforcement action was taken, requiring Ms Richards to complete tasks, such as risk assessment effectiveness and promoting good health and hygiene, by a certain date, with a Welfare Requirements Notice issued.
But since then and in the latest inspection, every area this time around was rated 'good'.
This report, published in January 2022 said: "The childminder has made significant improvements since her last inspection, and is using knowledge gained from a forest school training course to improve outdoor learning experiences for children.
"The childminder gives her assistants coaching tips to improve their practice, and her assistants share that the childminder has helped them to improve their interactions with children.
"The childminder and her assistants complete safety checks of the premises and garden, and children have plenty of space to play in a safe and clean environment.
"Children are developing skills that they need for their next stage of learning."
There is still room for improvement though.
The latest report says Ms Richards should 'improve planning to give children more choice and even better focus on their learning', and 'improve organisation of routines, such as lunch, so children's learning and wellbeing needs are met more consistently'.
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