Priory School

St Joseph's Nympsfield Out Of School Club

Inspection report for early years provision

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St Joseph's Nympsfield Out Of School Club

101856 Unique Reference Number 24 January 2007 Inspection date Shirley Ann Jackson Inspector

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St Joseph's Nympsfield Out Of School Club

Nympsfield, Glos, (All correspondence to go to Chairs home address), GL10 3TY

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E-mail

St Joseph's Out of School Club Registered person Childcare Type of inspection Out of School care Type of care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

The quality and standards of the care are satisfactory. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

St. Joseph's Out of School Club opened in 1999 and operates from their own room in St. Joseph's Roman Catholic School. It is situated in the centre of the village of Nympsfield, near Stroud. The club is open each weekday from 08:00 to 08:50 and 15:15 to 17:30 during term time only. Children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 103 children aged from four to eleven years on roll. Children who use the club attend the school. The club currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties or disabilities. There are no children attending who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The club employs five staff. All staff, including the manager, hold appropriate early years qualifications to least level 2.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children begin to learn about positive hygiene through established daily routines. For example, they wash their hands as soon as they come into the group ready to eat snack. Staff have procedures in place for dealing with accidents. However, no members of staff working with the children hold current first aid certificates. This does not promote children's health and well-being. First aid equipment is readily available for the staff to use.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are offered a wide range of healthy snacks. Children help themselves to this from a selection prepared by staff. These take into account children's dietary requirements to ensure children stay healthy. Children sit together to eat, so enjoy social interaction. This promotes a snack time experience which is relaxed and friendly. Children are able to freely help themselves to a selection of drinks during the session.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's physical health is not well supported as there are infrequent opportunities for children to take part in large physical activity. Children tend to use the outdoor play areas in good weather. The room where the group operates does not have the space to enable this to take place indoors. This means that children do not always get to enjoy fresh air and exercise. When outdoor play is offered children have access to tennis, rounders, footballs and a parachute.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children are cared for in a clean, bright and well maintained environment. However, children spend considerable time indoors and this space can be a little cramped. This restricts children's movement and limits play space. The group has only recently looked into using other areas of the school, such as, the school hall. Children move safely within the room as staff supervise them well when indoors and outdoors.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are offered a suitable range of resources. These are good quality and are well maintained. Some resources are easily accessible to children as they are stored in low-level storage. Other resources are available on request and staff offer additional equipment to support individual children's play needs. Children begin to take responsibility for keeping themselves safe as they are encouraged to help to tidy resources away when they have finished with them.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Premises are secure when the children are present. This helps to prevent unauthorised entry and the risk of children leaving un-noticed. The group has a child protection policy in place which is shared with parents. However, the procedures if an allegation is made against a member of staff are very brief. There are no staff working with the children who have current safeguarding children training. This does not promote children's safety and well being.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is satisfactory. Children enjoy their time at the club. Staff offer a satisfactory range of activities, such as, word searches and craft activities. Children's play is well supported by staff as they become involved to extend and develop it, for example, when making the balloon models. Through encouragement and praise children's self-esteem and confidence are raised.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The staff build positive relationships with the children and the children have obvious friendships within the group. Children are cared for in one large group, and occasionally this can mean that children do not get access to the resources they want to use, such as, the computer. Staff do not have any methods in place which helps children regulate the time spent on this so that everyone can have a turn.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children make some choices about which activities they would like to take part in. However, they do not have an active role in contributing ideas for future activities. This does not help the children to feel part of the setting.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. Children become aware of the wider community through the posters displaying positive images of society. They also have the opportunity to celebrate different festivals. The group has a suitable range of resources which show positive images of the world. This helps children to learn about diversity and to value others.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children have friendly relationships with staff and with their friends attending the group. Staff are positive role models for the children. Children follow this lead and behaviour is generally good. Staff ensure they have consistent expectations by using the same behaviour management strategies as the school. This ensures that children do not receive conflicting information and they are aware of staff expectations.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents receive useful information when they first approach the group. When parents come to collect their children, they are happy to come in and chat to staff. This friendly relationship benefits the children as they see this partnership working in practice. The manager at the group has a suitable knowledge of what to do if parents have a complaint about the service offered. However, this is not supported with a complaints log.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The staff team work well together giving children support and help in their play. However, due to recent staff changes the role of person in charge of the group is now shared. One of the members of staff does not have a suitable qualification to lead the group.

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Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Organisation of indoor space is limited. Coats and bags litter one area of the floor as there are not enough hooks for the children to use. This limits the free play space which the children have access to.

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Organisation

Policies and procedures are mostly up-to-date and readily available. However, the group does not have a written complaints log which must be made available to interested parties. Overall, the setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the group agree to make sure that the child protection policy includes procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation made against a member of staff.

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Improvements since the last inspection

The child protection policy has been reviewed and a section added to include the procedure if an allegation is made against a staff member. However, this is very brief and does not include enough detail to give parents confidence in the group's practice.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

The quality and standards of the care are satisfactory. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • ensure staff working with the children have appropriate qualifications and training for this role. Put in place and implement an action plan showing how the person in charge will achieve a level 3 qualification • provide children with more regular opportunities to access large physical play equipment • ensure that methods are put in place to give all children access to the more popular resources • produce a complaints log which is made available to all interested parties

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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