Woodys

Woodland View After School Club Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY263204 Inspection date 11/05/2010 Inspector Alexandra Brouder

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Setting address School Lane, Grange Park, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN4 5FZ Telephone number 01604 660794 or 07876 704491 Email Sharronjellis@btinternet.com 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

Woodland View Out of School Club registered in 2003. It operates from the Grange Park community centre in Northampton. The club serves children who attend Woodland View Primary School and Collingtree Primary School. The club uses two rooms in the community centre, plus the kitchen and toilets. There is a fully enclosed play area for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

The club opens five days a week during term time from 7.30am to 8.55am and 3.15pm to 6.00pm. It is registered on the Early Years register and both parts of the Childcare Register to provide care for a maximum of 45 school-aged children under eight years, all of whom may be in the early years age range. There are currently 44 children under eight years of age on roll, of whom 12 are in the early years age range. The club is also registered on the voluntary part of the Childcare register to care for older children. Including the proprietor, there are six regular staff. Of these, five hold recognised qualifications at Level 4, Level 3 and Level 2. Three members of staff are working towards further qualifications.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Staff plan and provide a good range of learning and play experiences for all children and have a good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Each child that attends is seen as a unique individual and all are included in the setting, promoting inclusion. Staff work very well with parents and carers and have a good knowledge of children’s individuality ensuring that children feel secure and settled. Good partnerships are in place with schools that children attend to support children’s on-going learning. The staff and management have a clear understanding of the settings strengths and areas for development although this is not yet monitored through the use of self-evaluation. Children are appropriately safeguarded, although staff to child ratios during school collection is not always effectively monitored, particularly for older children and not all necessary records were available for inspection.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop self-evaluation methods to help identify the strengths and priorities for development that will further improve the quality of provision for all children  ensure that all required records are easily accessible and avaiable for inspection by Ofsted, with particular regard to the unique reference numbers of CRB disclosures obtained and the date on which they were obtained  review the current risk assessment for outings to ensure that adult:child ratios are maintained appropriately, with particular reference to collecting This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children from school.

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the early years provision

Overall, children are safeguarded as sound arrangements are in place to ensure that all staff are suitable, which is regularly assessed through close monitoring and discussion. However, information regarding staff’s clearance through the Criminal Records Procedure (CRB) was not available for inspection. Staff’s knowledge and understanding of local child protection procedures is sound, so helping to underpin the safe management of children’s care. Policies and procedures are well maintained and accessible to all. In the main risk assessments are clear in identifying and minimising potential risk. However, the current risk assessment for outings is not fully reflective of the ratios required, particularly for collecting children from school, which may impact on their well-being and safety. Organisation of staff within the setting is good and they are vigilant about children’s whereabouts at all times and ensure that appropriate supervision is

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the early years provision

always maintained, particularly during the departure of children. In addition, good procedures are in place to ensure that children do not leave with unknown persons, for example, through the use of a password system.

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the early years provision

Staff promote equality and diversity extremely well, not only through play and activities, but also in taking account of the children’s needs through their own ‘forum’ and daily discussion with them about what they enjoy. Activities and resources are planned and readily accessible to ensure that children gain an awareness and understanding of the needs of others and to help children respect diversity. For example, today children were using a craft book that reflected cultures from around the world, leading to children asking staff a number of questions about the places the craft ideas come from. In addition to this, information is sort from parents before children begin to identify their likes and dislikes enabling staff to plan an environment suited to their needs. Prospective parents are invited to attend the club whilst it is running and an open evening within the school ensures that parents are well informed of the provision. Staff

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the early years provision

provide parents with daily feedback on their child’s day and ensure that any information received from the school is collated and shared accordingly. Useful and informative display boards are in place within the foyer of the setting to ensure that parents are kept up-to-date with what children are doing through a digital photograph frame, written plans and scrapbooks. In addition to this, parents views are regularly sort through the use of questionnaires to ensure that the provision is successful in meeting their children’s needs. Staff have a sound understanding of working with other relevant professionals, such as one-to-one support workers, to support the inclusion of all children.

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the early years provision

Although no formal self-evaluation system is in place, the management and staff work very well as a team and demonstrate their ideas for improvement through discussion and planning. Regular meetings are undertaken to ensure that ideas are shared and every day practice is evaluated to enable them to improve their service. The proprietor is very pro-active in addressing identified weaknesses and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 she ensures that all staff are supported in their work through regular one-to-one meetings and in offering a range of appropriate training.

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and outcomes for children

Staff’s knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage is very good and they ensure that a well resourced and fun learning environment is offered to all who attend. Children enjoy their time at the setting and have formed very good relationships with staff and their peers. All children are involved in their play and able to make choices from what is out and available as well as requesting additional resources from the store cupboard. For example, a child asked a member of staff if they could build with the wooden blocks, the member of staff took the child to the relevant area and gave these to the child, supporting their independence and play. Children’s personal, social and emotional skills are particularly strong. They play very well with all age groups and older children offer good support to younger children, helping them to feel secure. All children are confident, display good communication skills and have good behaviour. Their

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and outcomes for children

behaviour is further supported through the use of a reward chart, which children actively look at each day and compare how many marks they have on this and question each other as to how they can gain more, enthusiastically sharing this information with the inspector. Children readily engage in role play and adapt their resources to suit their ideas. For example, children today were observed to use the items from the road safety role play as swords, pretending to be ‘pirates’ engaged in battle.

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and outcomes for children

Children really enjoy books and take time to organise the comfy cushions in the book area to sit and look at these. A group of children were observed to explore the books, in particular the dinosaur books, naming a range of them and deciding as a group to trace the dinosaurs onto paper on the well stocked drawing table, developing their mark-making skills. Children's awareness of print is supported as they write their breakfast order from a menu each morning. Children explore shape, space and measure as they place wooden blocks in ordered patterns or calculate the number of holes required when using the hole punch on a threading activity. Children’s counting skills are very good and they use these skills in everyday activities. For example, a five-year-old was observed to count the number of children that passed them as they were lining up to go from the school to the club, without being prompted to do so. Children’s awareness of the world in

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and outcomes for children

which they live is very good. They readily engage in books that teach them about other cultures and lifestyles and enjoy taking part in activities that increase their knowledge, such as food tasting, dressing-up and making various crafts. All children have an opportunity to plant and grow on the near-by allotment that the group has access to and are anticipating tasting their produce, such as melons, strawberries and onions, later in the year. This helps support the group’s sustainability.

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and outcomes for children

Children’s healthy lifestyles and physical abilities are very well supported through the free-flow use of the outdoor area, which is used in all weathers due to a covered area being accessible. All children follow good hygiene procedures as they This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 wash their hands before meals and snacks and after using the toilet. Children talk about ‘getting rid of germs’ when asked by the inspector why they should do this. Children’s diet is nutritious and well balanced and they take an active role in planning the weekly menu in discussion with the staff and cook. Children feel safe as rules are in place to ensure that they this is so, for example, listening to staff and lining up appropriately before walking to the club from school. In addition to this, the fire evacuation procedure is regularly practised with all children to ensure

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and outcomes for children

that they are fully aware of how to evacuate the building in an emergency. 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 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 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 2

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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

 review the risk assessment to ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise identified risks (Suitability and safety of premises and equipment) 19/05/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 ensure that for every eight children for whom childcare is being provided, at least one person who has attained the age of 18 cares for such children, with particular reference to collecting children from school (Welfare of the children being cared for) 12/05/2010

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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 compulsory Childcare Register section of the report (Suitability and safety of premises and equipment). 19/05/2010

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