Beechwood Link Club

Beechwood Link Club Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY409465 Inspection date 07/07/2011 Inspector Julie Firth

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Setting address Beechwood Cp School, Grasmere Drive, Beechwood, RUNCORN, Cheshire, WA7 2TT Telephone number 07790 948199 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 assesses 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.

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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

Beechwood breakfast and out of school club was registered with a new provider in 2010. The Club operates from a dedicated unit situated in the grounds of Beechwood County Primary School in Runcorn, and the children attending the club use the school playground and fields for outdoor play. The club serves the children who attend the school and some schools in the area.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 40 children may attend the provision at any one time between the ages of three and eight years old. There are currently 90 children on roll who attend for a variety of sessions. Of these, at present there is only one child who is in the early year's age range. The setting supports children with special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The Link Club offers before and after school care and is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 9am and from 3pm until 6pm. During the school holidays the Link Club is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm. The staff at the club take children to and collect them from local schools during term time and the holiday club is available to the local community. The club is supported by Halton Sure Start.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs five staff, including the manager who holds a level three in childcare and a level six in leadership and management of play work. Two hold appropriate early years qualifications to level 2 and are undertaking a level three.

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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

The setting demonstrates a happy, very welcoming environment in which children's welfare and safety is successfully promoted. There is a good caring ethos across the new setting. Staff have a secure understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and activities are exciting and help children to develop good skills. There is an effective partnership with parents. They are consulted, very involved and kept well informed of their children's daily routines, care and learning. Also, positive links with the host school, local schools and outside agencies ensure good continuity of education and care. The setting demonstrate a huge capacity for continuous improvement and uses self-evaluation to monitor the service provided.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop self-evalaution to reflect on outcomes for children in the provison and share with all staff. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The staff have an excellent understanding of safeguarding issues and keep up-to- date with training. They are confident in their roles and responsibilities to protect children in their care. They are very knowledeable of the correct procedures, recording of incoming injures and events and who to contact with concerns. Official identification documents are thoroughly checked before any person not known at the setting is allowed to enter. A record of visitors to the setting is maintained and all other aspects of documentation relating to the welfare of the children are in place, are of a very high standard and are stored to respect confidentiality. The premises are extremely safe and rigorous risk assessments have been conducted for all areas of the premises used and for outings. These are regularly reviewed. Furthermore, excellent procedures are in place to collect children from the schools and staff undertake rigourous vetting and ongoing

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the early years provision

suitability is carefully monitored by the manager.

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the early years provision

Play areas areas are well organised, where educational posters, photographs of children at play and examples of their artwork are beautifully displayed. A good range of clearly-labelled resources are available to allow children to acquire new knowledge and skills. To add to this, defined areas, such as writing, investigation, construction and imaginary play, both indoors and outdoors, enable children to consolidate their learning well.

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the early years provision

The daily routine promotes children's welfare and meets their needs very well. All documentation is in place and there are comprehensive written policies and procedures that promote children's health, safety, achievement, enjoyment and ability to make a positive contribution. The staff are committed and enthusiastic, who continually strive to improve the service of the after school and holiday club. They are also skilled in ensuring that a fully-inclusive environment makes parents and children feel very secure and welcome. Parents value the consistent very good care and standards and a very informative noticeboard and entrance area, newsletters and detailed questionnaires help to monitor the service. They are informed of the Early Years Foundation Stage, with good involvement in their children's learning and development. Staff promote equality very well in the club and they adapt activities and work very closely with the families and the outside

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the early years provision

agencies with an individual to integrate children into the setting.

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the early years provision

The manager and staff have attended Early Years Foundation Stage training and various other workshops in the short time of registration. She is very aware of the staff's strengths and weaknesses and uses an effective appraisal process to enhance areas in their personal development. She is beginning to use self- evaluation to monitor the provision. However, due to the new staff team, this is not fully developed to enable them to reflect on the outcomes for children. Plans for the future are well targeted. She demonstrates very good dedication with her team to further enhance children's learning. They are building a strong relationship which reflects on the good practise and interaction with the children. Links with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework that children This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 attend have been well established. For example, effective systems and practice

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the early years provision

indicate good liaison with the headteacher and staff of the host school, the private pre-school on site and other schools in the locality. This ensures good continuity of care and education.

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and outcomes for children

The staff have a good understanding of the underlying principles of effective early years practice and link activities to the Early Years Foundation Stage. They have a good understanding of children's likes, dislikes and capabilities. They make good use of questioning to encourage them to become independent thinkers. Observations and a wealth of photographs are starting to inform planning and focussed activities are evaluated to improve practice. Children participate in stimulating activities and an effective tracking system indicates that children make progress through play. There is a very strong emphasis on independence and children are encouraged to access their own drinks, help out at snack times and tidy up after the session. They freely choose what they wish to participate in and offer suggestions to the planning. Children are eager to talk to visitors with great delight about their positive experiences in the club and are keen to discuss the

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and outcomes for children

heaps of photographic evidence of recent trips and activities. They are encouraged to make friends and play very well alongside their peers. Children learn how to pull levers and use programme toys and the computer. They thoroughly enjoy celebrating different festivals and the French language. This gives them a very strong awareness of diversity.

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and outcomes for children

The sessions during the after school and holidays are well organised to provide children with a good balance of physical and quiet areas to chat to each other. Children play happily together and clearly enjoy the time that they spend in the club. They develop a good sense of belonging within the setting and access toys and join in conversations confidently. A buddy system helps new children to become familiar with their new surroundings and a buddy is very keen and confident to assist during the inspection, clearly indicating areas and activities of play in the club. Children access a good selection of mark-making materials and have opportunities to write and recognse their name. They have lots of good first- hand experiences to learn about the natural and wider world as they enjoy the nature trail and den area outside in the playground.

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and outcomes for children

Children have opportunities to count and calculate as opportunities naturally arise, such as when playing a board game with a dice and on the chalked areas outside. They recognise shapes and numbers and create patterns. They are given opportunities to engage in role play as they play with small world toys and in the home corner. Detailed themes displayed around the club indicate that children are involved in a good amount of crafts and collage activities. Physical play outside is well promoted. Children thoroughly enjoy the time they spend outdoors, running around in the fresh air and using their physical skills on the large range of toys, bikes and equipment available. They participate in outdoor games and speak highly of the staff member who plays football and pool and shows them how to use the gym equipment in the club. This results in children recognising that This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

exercise is very much part of a healthy lifestyle.

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and outcomes for children

Children's health is very well promoted. The premises are clean and discussions take place about the importance of washing hands and hygiene, which helps to develop children's awareness of the concepts of effective routines. Snack time enables children to benefit from varied menus that take account of children's dietary needs and introduce them to an excellent range of healthy foods. Children try new fruits and hot foods, learn very good table manners and social skills as they sit extremely relaxed in the cafe-style area. They have access to drinks at all times to keep them hydrated. A wealth of activities based around health is offered to the children and they participated in a healthy programme with the health board from the local authority. This contributed to them gaining a very high grade in a healthy status award.

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and outcomes for children

From an early age children to learn the importance of sharing and have excellent respect for each other. Good behaviour is displayed and the frequent use of praise helps children to feel good about themselves. This reflects on the children themselves as they play and learn in a good, caring environment. The Children are encouraged to keep themselves safe. They are constantly reminded to be careful when playing outside and a wealth of activities based around road safety and stranger danger reminds children of safety issues while having fun. Children take visits to the local fire and police stations and a local community officer regularly attends the group to further enhance their safety knowledge. Furthermore, children constantly remind each other about the ground rules and they have created their own strategies to include each other in the fun time they have in the club. Posters also displayed around the club state recipes for a good friendship. A

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and outcomes for children

detailed fire policy is displayed and children and staff regularly practise the fire drill, which is recorded in detail. This gives them a strong awareness in the event of 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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Early Years Foundation Stage

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 1 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 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 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: 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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