Early Birds, Night Owls and Apple Tree Pre-school

Early Birds And Night Owls out of School Care Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY337657 Inspection date 20/11/2009 Inspector Charalambos Loizou

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Setting address Windhill Primary School, Windhill, BISHOP'S STORTFORD, Hertfordshire, CM23 2NE Telephone number 07745262676 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 08456 404040, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 08456 404040 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

Children only attend this setting before and/or after the school day and/or during the school holidays. The judgements in this report reflect the quality of early years provision offered to children during those periods.

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Early Birds & Night Owls After School Club and Holiday Hedgehogs Holiday Scheme is privately owned. It opened in 2006 and operates from two classrooms and a large hall within Windhill Primary School in Bishops Stortford. A maximum of 60 children between the ages of three and 11 may attend at any one time. The breakfast club is open from 7.30am to 8.30am and the after school club from 3.00pm to 6.30pm during term time only. The holiday scheme is open from 8.00am to 6.30pm for nine of the school holiday weeks each year. All children share outside play areas, which include suitable spaces and resources for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. There are currently 63 children on roll, which includes six four-year-olds. The holiday scheme is open to anyone in the age group. The club supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities as well as a small number who speak English as an additional language. The club

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Description of the setting

employs 23 staff and of these, 14 hold appropriate early years qualifications. The club is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The accommodation provides suitable access for children and families with disabilities.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The children benefit enormously from this outstanding before and after school club. They thoroughly enjoy an excellent range of stimulating and challenging activities at this highly inclusive setting. The staff value the contributions the children make and ensure that they are extremely well cared for in this extremely well managed club. There are robust systems in place to ensure the children’s safety and wellbeing. The staff are committed and very well organised and demonstrate outstanding capacity to sustain improvement in the future.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 adopting a systematic process of self evaluation, audit and review to establish clear priorities for improvement that will maintain the outstanding outcomes for the children

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the early years provision

The staff have established excellent working relationships with the host school, parents and other organisations and schools in the area. The children and their families are regularly invited to comment on the club by posting requests and observations in the suggestion box. This complements a good process of self This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 evaluation and a good start has been made in routinely noting down improvements as part of the self evaluation procedures. There is now further scope to develop more systematic self evaluation that builds on what is already a thorough process of audit, review and risk assessment in order to highlight the most important priorities for improvement. The staff set themselves very high expectations. They are reflective and respond to any concerns raised by children and families. This accounts for the very high level of satisfaction expressed by parents, carers and

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the early years provision

children and the fact that there have been no complaints made since the last inspection. Although, there were no Early Years Foundation Stage children present during the inspection, older children behaved extremely well, demonstrating that they are mature, considerate and responsible when asked to work and play with younger children. There is a calm and productive working environment with resources laid out that are suitable for all ages, including sand and water areas, as well as a ‘home corner’ for role play activities that are suitable for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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the early years provision

The club is extremely effective and well ordered so the children are kept very safe and secure. The staff are vigilant, ensuring that their responsibilities and supervision rotas are well planned to ensure that the children thoroughly enjoy their time both indoors and outdoors. Cooking activities are regularly planned with suitable equipment and ingredients used for younger children, including careful attention to the varied dietary and medical needs of all the children. The club is highly inclusive, with children working extremely happily and productively together, for example, to support children with special educational needs or disabilities. The children are learning how to use sign language so they can communicate with children who either have a hearing impairment or disability that inhibits their spoken language. Children who are learning English as an additional language are fully included and settled into the routines of the club. In addition to the well

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the early years provision

organised key worker system for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, the staff have a well established buddy system so that all the children know who they can work with and who is there to support them if they have any worries or concerns. Parents are also very clear who their children’s key worker is and confidential records, for example, that list a child’s medical or physical needs and abilities, are kept very secure.

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the early years provision

The staff have a very good knowledge of the club’s strengths and areas for improvement and, like the last time the club was inspected, continue to show outstanding capacity to improve still further. There is excellent information provided for parents and carers that is accessible and useful so that the children and their families know what is happening.

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the early years provision

The staff are well qualified and have attended a very good range of training, for example, for a paediatric first aid qualification, which prepare them extremely well to meet the needs of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. All the staff have been checked as to their suitability to work with children. Planning is thorough so that resources and activities are well matched to the needs of the children, including an excellent range of books, puzzles and outdoor equipment that are particularly suited to the needs of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Resources and activities are carefully tailored to reflect ethnic, social and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 religious diversity so the children benefit from the experience of extending their knowledge of the local and wider community.

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and outcomes for children

The staff are very skilled and effective in laying outstanding foundations for children’s learning, development and wellbeing. The staff provide enjoyable and carefully tailored activities that ensure the children make excellent progress. Consequently, the children thrive, are happy and feel safe because the staff are vigilant and take excellent care of them. There are excellent routines that help the children to settle quickly so they play and work indoors and outdoors with equal success. A stimulating range of activities, such as drama, role play, cooking and themed celebrations of religious or cultural festivals help the children to develop and thoroughly enjoy their time at the club. Activities provide appropriate challenges for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Although, there were no under fives present at the time of the inspection, planning and the deployment of resources reflect a secure and productive learning environment for the whole

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and outcomes for children

Books and games are set out very well and are accessible to the children, with circle times and role play used very well to contribute to improving the children’s understanding of traditional stories and fairy tales, as well as poems and rhyming songs. Challenging puzzles and problem solving tasks successfully develop the children’s knowledge of numbers and shapes, such as piecing together building blocks to match a particular shape or completing jigsaws. The staff diligently assess how well the children are doing and assessments are used extremely well to plan the next stages of the Early Years Foundation Stage children’s development. There are, for example, carefully recorded age related assessments of the outcomes arising from each activity, including those that the children choose for themselves, such as devising rules or role playing in the home corner. The children have very good opportunities to explore the outdoor areas safely and productively

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and outcomes for children

which improves their physical and creative development. They play and work cooperatively and the staff are vigilant in ensuring that older children can support and work with younger ones in the Early Years Foundation Stage age group.

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and outcomes for children

All the staff are highly committed to providing equality of opportunity by planning activities and events that celebrate different cultures and customs as well as ensuring that children with disabilities have access to all areas. The children also benefit from a wealth of resources and activities that promote cultural and racial diversity, for example, when celebrating the Hindu festival of Diwali, or American ‘Thanksgiving’. They make a significant contribution to their club and wider community, for example, when cooking cakes to raise funds for the recent ‘Children in Need’ charity. The staff are very active in ensuring that the children learn about their own local cultures and customs as well developing the children’s knowledge of diversity in Britain today.

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and outcomes for children

The children behave extremely well and treat each other with respect and courtesy. There are well devised arrangements in place to ensure that older This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children look after those in the Early Years Foundation Stage, for example, through a buddy system and cooperative play in each designated area of both of the rooms used for learning and recreation. Healthy lifestyles are promoted extremely well through active play and healthy eating such as fruit and pasta. Children contribute very well and benefit from the opportunity to plan menus and organise their own rules for a range of physical activities and games. The staff are very well trained to deal with occasional accidents and there are robust procedures to ensure that the children are safe through fire drills and effective first aid procedures. Meal times are very social and pleasant occasions that reflect the extremely well planned and

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and outcomes for children

effective routines of the club, as well as the high expectations of all the staff. The club is highly effective in providing children of all backgrounds and abilities with the necessary skills that prepare them extremely well for the future. The staff maintain excellent records and assessments that ensure that parents are kept well informed about how well their children are doing and the activities planned for each before and after school session. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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