Kids Gym Ltd (t/a The Little Gym)

The Little Gym Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY387368 Inspection date 08/04/2010 Inspector Jane Nelson

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Setting address University of Westminster, Sports Ground, Cavendish Road, LONDON, W4 3UH Telephone number 0208 9943729 Email chiswick@thelittlegym.co.uk 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 0300 123 1231, 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: 0300 123 1231 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

The Little Gym holiday camp was registered in 2009 and is owned and operated by an individual proprietor and follows the ethos of the Little Gym International. The holiday camp operates from a purpose built gymnastics centre in the grounds of The University of Westminster sports ground in Chiswick, in the London borough of Hounslow. The holiday camp is registered on the Early Years Register and compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 24 children aged from three to under eight years, all of who may be in the early years age range, may attend at any one time. There are currently 50 children in the early years age range on roll, the majority of whom attend on a part time basis.

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Description of the setting

The holiday camp operates each weekday during the Christmas, Easter and Summer, school holidays. Children may attend on a part or full time basis. Session times are 09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:30 or full day options are available. A team of six staff, of whom three hold appropriate early years qualifications, and a manager are employed.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children benefit from a program of well planned physical based activities that focus on developing their physical skills, confidence and self-esteem. Information about children's individual needs are obtained from parents and considered in the daily organisation. Positive relationships with parents are fostered and information is shared verbally at the beginning and end of each session. Most of the required records and documentation are in place and most legal requirements are met. Although some use of self-evaluation is made, this is not fully effective in monitoring how practices are implemented and identifying where the legal requirements are not being met.

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further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 ensure the premises are fully secure at all times (Safeguarding and welfare) 08/04/2010

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further?

 ensure evidence of all staff CRB checks are maintained on the premises (Documentation) 08/04/2010

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 encourage children's awareness of their own personal hygiene consistently through practices that are part of the daily routine, such as washing their hands before snack. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  develop opportunities for children to increase their independence at snack times  increase opportunities for children to enjoy stories, and books.  maintain a record of fire drills and make sure these are held with sufficient frequency to ensure children and staff are familiar with the evacuation procedure  develop further the system for using observations to focus planning

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the early years provision

A welcoming and child orientated environment is provided which is well organised to meet children's needs. Children are well supervised by staff to ensure their safety and risk assessments are used daily to monitor safety. However, the security of the front door to the premises is not consistently monitored. This results in, on occasion, the door not being secure, and the reception area not staffed, providing the potential opportunity for unauthorised access to or from the premises. Staff have a clear understanding of child protection issues, their responsibilities and the procedures to follow if concerns arise. Fire drills are held in conjunction with other users of premises located within the same grounds, however, no internal record is maintained of these, and it is not clear if they are held with sufficient regularity to ensure young children are familiar with the evacuation procedure.

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the early years provision

Space is well planned with is a designated gym area, equipped with a range of soft play materials, an inflatable track, child height parallel bars and soft slides. An additional room is used for snack time and creative activities. Adult sofas are set out in the reception area where there is a box of play materials, this area is also used on occasion for story reading.

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the early years provision

The proprietor, manager and staff team are committed to implementing the Little Gym ethos well, through providing a range of fun and enjoyable physical challenges and activities with a weekly theme such as 'Pirates' and Harry's Magic'. Combining this with the implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework is in it's early stages, as is the organisation of a longer activity sessions as opposed to the gym classes usually provided by the setting. This has resulted in some parts of the daily routine, such as the organisation of children's snack time, not being sufficiently monitored to ensure routine hygiene procedures are followed consistently and children's independence encouraged through them being able to help themselves to snacks. Staff have regular staff meetings and access to ongoing 'in house' training through 'The Little Gym' company, demonstrating the proprietor's commitment to ongoing improvement.

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the early years provision

Most of the required written documentation and records are maintained and contain the necessary information. However, the required record of staff CRB checks does not include details of existing checks for two members of staff who are awaiting repeat CRB checks. Good relationships with parents are fostered through clear communication and parents are encouraged to stay and watch their children through the interior viewing wall dividing the gym from the reception area. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Parents are pleased with the care their children receive and say their children really enjoy coming to the setting. Developmental observations, for some children are maintained where appropriate, for example, when children attend on a regular basis or over a period of time. However, the use of observations to focus planning is not yet fully developed.

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and outcomes for children

Children are helped to learn and develop through a range of activities that help them develop skills for the future and compliment their learning experiences at other settings, such as school or pre school groups, they attend . Particular emphasis is given to encouraging and promoting children's self-esteem and confidence through well planned physical activities. Children enjoy their time at the setting and say they particularly like using the climbing bars and being with their friends.

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy, and some are excited, on arrival, they separate well from their parents and carers and enjoy their time at the Little Gym. They sit in a circle on arrival and listen to staff attentively as they explain the theme for the week is 'Pirates' and describe some of the activities they will be doing in the gym, relating to a 'pirate's ship'. Children are learning to take responsibility for their own safety when using the gym equipment. For example, they listen as staff remind them of the need to be careful and respond to staff's questions about what they need to do in the gym to be safe, by saying 'landing on our feet' and 'not pushing on the swing'.

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and outcomes for children

Staff interact well with children providing friendly support, making suggestions when appropriate, and continually praising children's achievements, through 'high fives' and reward stickers, encouraging children to take pride in themselves and want to do better. Children are helped by staff in balancing on a beam by holding hands, or staff walking along next to the beam. Children join in a large group game, with some younger children observing and then copying older children's actions. They follow instructions from a member of staff to 'hoist the flag', 'drop the anchor' as they run from one side of the 'pirate boat' to the other. Children are learning about links to the wider world as they make their own treasure maps, they are given pre prepared 'parchment paper' and draw where their 'treasure' is hidden. Children talk about what they have drawn, referring to where the treasure is and that they have drawn a rocket to get there. They then spend time colouring

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and outcomes for children

in pre-populated pictures of pirates, islands and treasure. Although a selection of books is available these are not easily accessible, for children to use independently, and opportunities for 'story time' are not routinely included in the daily activities.

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and outcomes for children

Children listen and concentrate during explanations and watch carefully when staff demonstrate how to use equipment in the gym. Children are gaining confidence in using equipment carefully, such as child height parallel bars. They climb onto the bars, hold on with both hands on one bar and their feet on another, then move carefully along the bars to the end when they lower themselves to the mattress This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 below. Children confidently do a 'head over heels' or roll sideways down a sloped soft mattress. Children are learning to work together and take turns. They work in small groups with a member of staff moving around the gym using three different circuits of equipment. Children wait their turn and recognise they need to wait for the person in front to finish using the equipment before they start. Children are developing spatial awareness, as they move around in a large space, find room to

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and outcomes for children

stand in a circle, and lie with their friends, on an inflatable track.

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and outcomes for children

Children's physical development and good health, through physical activity, is promoted well, however, this is not consistently extended to other aspects of their daily routine. For example, children are not reminded to wash their hands after physical play and before eating their snack, so do not do so. Fresh fruit and drinks are provided for the morning snack, however, rather than offer the plate to children, or provide opportunities for children to increase their independence by helping themselves, staff handle pieces of fruit, placing it onto children's plates. 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 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Safeguarding and welfare) 08/04/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Records to be kept) 08/04/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Safeguarding and welfare) 08/04/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Records to be kept) 08/04/2010

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