Holywell Fun ClubOfsted inspection, 25 Apr 2006

Hollywell Fun Club

Inspection report for early years provision

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Hollywell Fun Club

Unique Reference Number EY247941 Inspection date 25 April 2006 Inspector Julie Larner

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Hollywell Fun Club

Setting Address Holywell First School, Valley Road, Holywell, Whitley Bay, NE25 0LN Telephone number 0191 237 3220

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E-mail

Registered person Trinity Youth Association Type of inspection Childcare Type of care Out of School 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 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?

Holywell Fun Club is situated in a mobile classroom in the grounds of Holywell First School, Valley Road, Holywell. The group have use of a mobile classroom which contains a playroom, kitchen area, toilet and cloakroom. The group use the school field for outdoor play. The out of school club is available for children who attend the school in which it is located. The group are registered to care for 22 children from 4 to under 8 years. They also admit children over 8 years. There are 30 children on roll. The group

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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 operate from 07.45 to 09.00 and 15.00 to 18.00, Monday to Friday during the term time. In the school holidays the group operate from 08.00 to 18.00 and children from the local community and further can attend. The group is run by Trinity Youth Association. There are two staff working in the group, of these staff, one holds a play work qualification and the other is working towards one.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is satisfactory. Children enjoy good physical exercise which benefits a healthy lifestyle. They happily play with other children and enjoy adult led games with a parachute such as, fruit salad and cat and mouse. Staff accommodate children's decisions well which provides them with a greater range of physical development, for example, staff supervise children in different areas so they can play hockey in the school yard. There are evident differences in staff's practise to help children learn about the benefits of healthy eating. Children have learned about what is good and bad food for their bodies by drawing pictures of foods and exploring why they should eat more fruit and vegetables. However, in staff's daily practise they do not re-enforce this sufficiently, for example, children are provided with chocolate spread on toast at snack time. Whilst children do benefit from apples and other fruit this is not promoted

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Helping children to be healthy

positively as part of the children's snack. Children make choices about where to eat their snack, for example they choose to sit on the settee or at tables where other activities are set up. However, because of the lack of planning for snack time it is not a social occasion where children are able to enjoy each others company and talk about their day. In addition to this, hygiene of the areas where children eat is hard to maintain, for example, tables are not wiped down before children have their snack. Children are learning about personal hygiene due to staff's reminders and encouragement to wash their hands at appropriate times, such as before snack time and after outdoor play. Whilst accidents are recorded in an adequate manner and contain the necessary details, medication records lack confidentiality, for example, when parents sign the record other children's details are visible.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children move around the setting freely and safely, however risk assessments on the setting are not carried out consistently to further safeguard children. Children are learning about how to stay safe as staff sensitively remind them not to run in the building and stay in supervised areas when playing outside. Staff supervise children adequately outdoors to ensure they are safe, for example, they keep children in sight

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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 and challenge them when they talk to other people in the school. Children make choices about what to play with confidently from a fair range of equipment and persist in activities. They confidently know where toys are kept as they look through low level shelves in the setting to find what they want. Children use the space in the setting well; they play table tops activities, such as colouring in and board games, enjoy playing on the computer and dressing up. They happily play a mixture of energetic and quiet games. Whilst children make good use of the equipment for outdoor games, such as bats, hockey sticks, space hoppers and a football, some equipment is not sufficiently checked to ensure it is appropriate, for example, bits are missing from some equipment and popular toys such as balls are

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

insufficient in number to ensure all children can enjoy them. A warm and welcoming atmosphere is created by displaying children's work, such as a healthy eating display, colouring in pictures and paper plate faces, showing that this is valued. Staff greet children in a friendly manner helping them to feel safe and settled in the setting. Staff show an adequate awareness of child protection issues to ensure they can safeguard children's welfare.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Some staff have delightful relationships with the children. The children immensely enjoy them being involved in their play, for example, running away from "aliens" and seeing if they fix the staff member's arm in their imaginary hospital. Children have real fun in the sessions, laughing, screaming and anticipating what will happen next. Children are motivated in their play; this is due to staff's good knowledge of when to become involved in their play and extend this further in a fun way that children enjoy, for example, staff bring Mr Tickle to the hospital and ask the children if they can get his tickle back. Children are confident communicators. They enjoy finding out about visitors, asking questions and initiating conversations with each other. They have developed good relationships with other children and staff. For example, they approach staff confidently to ask about equipment they want to play with and are keen to show off

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

their skills by sharing drawings they have done. Children have an awareness of their own needs; they play quiet activities or rest when they are tired. Children are persistent at different tasks that they choose to help with and are keen to share their views and opinions. For example, when they help staff fix equipment together they use instructions competently and talk about what they think they need to do next. Children enjoy the range of activities that are available for them. Staff know the children's likes well which helps them to plan a programme that stimulates their interests. In the holidays children benefit from a good range of fun activities such as, hip hop dancing, model making, growing seeds and pancake flipping.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 The provision is satisfactory. In many areas of the group equal opportunity is promoted well due to staff having a sufficient understanding of how to provide inclusive play. For example, staff concentrate on team building activities to include new starters and have successfully created an environment where children use all of the equipment. Girls enjoy playing football and boys use dressing up clothes and are enthusiastic in role play. Children's opportunities to learn about diversity are not effective, due to the lack of planned activities and resources available to promote this. Children behave well. They are competent at sharing and taking turns, for example, they play games together happily. Children are beginning to take responsibility and enjoy the challenge of helping others; they volunteer to help staff clear away toys, put

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Helping children make a positive contribution

toys back in cupboards when they have finished with them and clear away rubbish to keep the setting tidy. Staff show a satisfactory understanding of how to manage behaviour and encourage positive behaviour, because of this they provide a positive role model for children, which they respond well to. Partnerships with parents are positive overall. Staff gain adequate information from parents and most parents are briefly informed about the care of their children at the end of the session. Whilst weekly planners are displayed to keep parents up-dated with what their children are doing there is a lack of good, easily available information available to ensure parents are familiar with the setting's policies.

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Organisation

The organisation is satisfactory. The settings main weakness throughout the provision is paperwork. Comprehensive, up-to-date and required documentation must be in place to safeguard the care and welfare of the children. Staff show a satisfactory understanding of what needs to be in place, however the ability to ensure that records are secure and consistently completed is lacking; staff registers, staff details and fire drills are not maintained on a regular basis. Equally important to ensure children's safety is the need to inform Ofsted of the day-to-day person in charge, which the setting has failed to do. Staff work together adequately as a team; because of this children receive adequate help and support in their play. On some occasions support from staff is extremely positive and helps children's development and enjoyment of their time in the setting greatly. Staff create an orderly environment where children feel settled, safe and secure.

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Organisation

They make satisfactory use of their time, space and resources to create a suitable environment for children to enable them to participate in interesting and age appropriate activities. Overall, the provision meets the needs of the children attending.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 At the previous inspection the group agreed to: ensure that equal opportunity resources and equipment are expanded; ensure the temperature in the room is comfortable for children; and amend the information for parents to include how they can contact Ofsted with regard to complaints. There are still limited resources to reflect diversity. Staff have adequate knowledge of how they will promote equal opportunity, for example, by making sure that all children are included in the setting and passing these positive attitudes to the children, however there are little resources to help children learn about diversity, either in a planned or spontaneous way through their daily play. The group are successful in promoting equal opportunities in other areas, such as gender, but not with regard to

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Improvements since the last inspection

diversity. The temperature of the room is maintained at an adequate temperature to ensure children remain comfortable. Staff take the necessary steps to keep an ambient temperature, for example, due to the cabin having lots of windows they open these on warm days for ventilation. The complaints procedure now has Ofsted's information included. However, this is not clearly displayed for parents to easily access. Additionally, since the previous inspection the guidance on how to deal with complaints has changed, and policy and staff understanding need to be updated to keep in line with this.

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Complaints since the last inspection

A concern was raised regarding National Standard 1, Suitable Person. This concern was discussed with the provider and they provided a full written report. Ofsted is satisfied that the provision is complying with the National Standards. The provider remains qualified for registration. The provider is required to keep a record of all 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):

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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 • ensure snack time is well organised, to ensure children can make choices, enjoy healthy foods, and socialise • ensure children have opportunities to learn about diversity • ensure all of the necessary paperwork is in place, up-to-date and consistently monitored to ensure it is line with the National Standards to further safeguard children's welfare • ensure Ofsted is informed of relevant staff changes.

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The quality and standards of the care

procedures set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements 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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