Childminding quality indicators: Safeguarding and child protection

‘Very Good’ culture of safety and wellbeing

The childminder’s ethos sensitively and effectively promotes children’s rights and equality. Childminders and, where applicable, their assistants are motivated to continuously improve safeguarding and child protection practices. Childminders understand their responsibility in ensuring that babies and children live safely and are supported to thrive.

Childminders effectively support assistants (where applicable) to ensure they have a deep understanding of their shared responsibilities. They ensure any volunteers or covering assistants are fully aware of our arrangements for safeguarding and child protection. Childminders have a culture of accountability and continuous learning, driven by robust reflective practice. They understand that transitions for children, as part of daily routines or periods of significant change, can affect children in different ways. Childminders’ strong rights-based and trauma-informed practice ensures they anticipate and respond promptly and sensitively to safeguard children.

Childminders understand the needs and experiences of children and families are varied. They prioritise fostering partnerships within their community and with families to ensure that they work well together to keep children safe. Childminders proactively share information about available family supports that can offer early help in a sensitive way, to prevent escalating needs and risks to children.

‘Weak’ culture of safety and wellbeing

The childminder’s ethos does not effectively uphold or promote children’s rights. Approaches which enable them to actively listen to children and develop trusting relationships are not embedded. Children’s views are not taken into consideration or respected. Children and families do not feel listened to.

Childminders have not identified or addressed their own training needs, or those of their assistants (where applicable), in relation to wellbeing, safeguarding or child protection. Shared responsibility for continuous professional learning and self-reflection is not in place. When training is provided, they do not effectively apply new learning or update practice.

Concerns that arise may not always be recognised or responded to in a timely or sensitive manner. Childminders have not yet established consistent approaches to uphold children’s rights to safety and protection.

‘Very good’ legislation, policy and guidance in practice

Childminders have a comprehensive understanding of their safeguarding policies, which they apply consistently across their practice. Childminders and assistants (where applicable) work closely to identify, record and respond to concerns effectively. Safeguarding arrangements are well implemented and monitored. They use their knowledge of best practice and internal procedures in areas such as recruitment and whistleblowing to keep children safe.

Childminders are committed to protecting children from harm. They have well established and clear procedures that enable assistants and volunteers to report concerns about a colleague or the childminder themselves, if they pose a risk to a child. Policy and procedures empower everyone to escalate child protection issues that are not being handled appropriately.

Childminders’ robust approach to self-evaluation fully informs their arrangements for recognising, responding to, recording and reporting concerns about children’s wellbeing or safety. Childminders use legislation, national guidance and policies to support their self-evaluation. They proactively take account of new information, policy developments and emerging issues to improve their practice.

Childminders have highly effective safeguarding and child protection processes to support their communication with other agencies. They are confident in using these procedures. Childminders have a clear understanding of their role and responsibility to keep children safe and when to share information with others.

The childminder’s proactive approach carefully considers the strengths, needs, risks and protective factors for individual children and their families. They pay particular attention to the unique needs of individual children, including those with additional support needs or who are care experienced. Childminders consistent application of clear procedures supports them very well in developing and sustaining effective partnerships. Children’s and families' views fully inform their well-judged decisions and actions.

‘Weak’ legislation, policy and guidance in practice

The childminder’s limited understanding and ineffective implementation of national guidance mean that policies and legislation are not applied effectively. A lack of clearly defined roles and shared responsibilities in safeguarding and child protection has the potential to compromise children’s safety and care.

The safeguarding and child protection policy does not clearly outline how to manage allegations or concerns made against any adult in the childminder’s home, including the childminder, their family members or any assistants. Families that use the service and (where applicable) assistants are also unclear about what to do if a child protection issue is not being handled appropriately.

Childminders’ record-keeping practices are inconsistent and fail to adequately capture how different types of harm can create or heighten risk to a child. Opportunities to ensure support is in place, or appropriate action is taken, are missed. Agreed next steps are not consistently followed through, which limits improvements to children’s wellbeing. Information required to keep children safe is not available to assistants (where applicable) or shared appropriately with partner agencies. These gaps may place children’s safety and care at risk.

‘Very good’ empowering children and assistants

Childminders apply a trauma-informed lens to all of their practice and interactions with children, their families and people within or outside of their team. They nurture trusting and respectful relationships with children, families and the local community. Childminders’ interactions are underpinned by children’s rights. They know individual children very well. Childminders communicate respectfully with families and one another to develop a holistic knowledge of children and their wellbeing needs. This enables them to identify children and families who may be at risk of harm and respond appropriately.

Childminders are highly skilled with a deep understanding of safeguarding and child protection practice, which they use to create a safe and trusting environment for all. Children feel secure in expressing their views, sharing worries and asking for help. Childminders prioritise listening with sensitivity and responding with care. They are empathetic leaders who encourage openness and value the importance of their own wellbeing and that of any assistant.

Childminders regularly provide motivating opportunities where children assess and manage appropriate risk and learn about how to keep safe. Through their responsive interactions and well-judged support, they help children build skills and learn to keep themselves safe. Children develop their resilience and their understanding of physical and emotional safety very well.

The childminder’s thoughtful approaches support families well to learn about safeguarding and children’s rights. This includes high quality opportunities for children and parents/carers to develop their cyber resilience and internet safety skills.

‘Weak’ empowering children and assistants

The childminder does not understand or respect the different ways children communicate their views and experiences. They rarely notice what children express through their actions, as well as their words. As a result, important signs that a child may need protection or support may not be identified or acted upon.

The childminder does not recognise their role in supporting children to build resilience. Stable, consistent routines are undervalued. Frequent changes to assistants and inconsistent approaches can make it difficult for children to form secure, trusting relationships with assistants (where applicable).

The childminder does not consistently demonstrate a working knowledge of safeguarding or child protection practices. They are not proactive in recognising, responding to, reducing, or removing potential harm to children. Processes for escalating concerns are unclear or not consistently implemented.