Mrs B's @ Barley Fields

Barley Fields Children's Club Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY348923 Inspection date 22/03/2012 Inspector Vivienne Dempsey

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Setting address Barley Fields Childrens Centre, Lamb Lane, STOCKTON-ON- TEES, Cleveland, TS17 0QP Telephone number 07935 307 971 or 01642 767 051 Email Type of setting Childcare - Non-Domestic 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

Barley Fields Children's Club is owned by a private provider and opened in 2007. It operates from the Barley Fields Primary school, Inglebly Barwick, Stockton-on- Tees. It serves the local area and has strong links with the school. The setting is accessible to all children and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

The setting opens Monday to Friday. Sessions are from 3.15pm until 6pm during school term times and 8am till 6pm during school holidays. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. A maximum of 64 children may attend the setting at any one time. There are currently 18 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The setting also offers care to children aged over five years to 11 years. It is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs nine members of child care staff. Of these, most hold appropriate early years qualifications at Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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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 provide a very welcoming, stimulating and enabling environment, where children are valued as individuals. A wide range of polices, procedures and records underpin the effective management of the setting. Children's safety and welfare are paramount and they make good progress in their learning and development. Systems are in place to observe and assess children's learning and development, although links to next steps are not always clear. Keen and committed staff recognise the value of continuous improvement. This is underpinned by good partnerships with parents and other providers to support outcomes and provide continuity for all children.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop systems further to clearly show how highlighted next steps are used to inform future planning.

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the early years provision

Security is a high priority and recruitment policies include rigorous vetting procedures. Written risk assessments, daily checks and cleaning rotas are in place, This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 enabling children's free movement and independence both indoors and out. Staff have a good understanding of the safeguarding procedures to follow if they have any concerns, helping to protect children from harm and neglect. Clearly defined fire procedures are in place. Regular fire evacuation drills are completed and a record is maintained, which highlights any problems and how they are resolved. Fire detection and fire fighting equipment is regularly checked. 'Collection books' have also been devised, this records how many children are being picked up from each class or school and both providers sign ensuring safe and efficient handover of children. Messages regarding children's welfare and development are also

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the early years provision

shared. All of which helps to protect children's safety and welfare very well.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents are very well established, to ensure parents' requests and children's individual needs are met successfully. A wide range of information is sought from parents to ensure children receive the appropriate care and an effective key person system is in place. This ensures children's care, learning and development is well promoted. Parents speak highly of the 'brilliant staff' and state that 'my child just loves coming here'. The setting effectively and actively promotes equality and diversity. Staff are highly effective in ensuring that all children are well integrated and the development of all children in relation to their starting points is good. They have an exceptional knowledge of each child's backgrounds and needs. Very good partnership working with a range of agencies, professionals and other providers takes place to ensure every child receives high levels of support at an early stage. For example, staff have completed epi-pen training and

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the early years provision

work closely with parents and nurses to ensure children are provided with appropriate foods to meet their health needs. Links with providers are very good and a good range of information is shared to ensure continuity of care and to promote smooth transitions between the settings.

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the early years provision

The environment is conducive to learning and safety. Children clearly benefit and thrive as a result of the setting they are in. They have continuous access to the very well resourced outdoor environment and staff are deployed effectively to ensure children are supervised at all times. This provides children with choices of where they play and activities they are involved in. Staff are motivated and work very well as a team to promote outcomes for all children. Self-evaluation is driven by good leadership involving the staff team, other providers, parents, children and local authority advisors. For example, parents and children are asked to complete regular questionnaires about the service provided and staff report back to them of how they have put their suggestions into place. Children are also asked to develop a 'wish list' of resources they would like at the setting, giving them opportunities to

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the early years provision

make choices and develop the resources provided. Staff use the Ofsted self- evaluation tool as the basis for ongoing internal review, assessing the strengths and weakness of the setting. The owner and manager promote a collaborative learning culture, providing time and space for sharing knowledge and they support the continuous professional development for all staff. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. They use this knowledge very well to provide a stimulating and interesting learning environment for all children both indoors and out. Staff support children's learning and development well. An effective key person system is in place; therefore staff know children very well and are fully aware of their interests and individual needs. Observations of children's learning and development are recorded within children's observation files. Systems to track children's progress towards the early learning goals are in place. However, systems to highlight and link next steps to future planning are still in the early stages. Resources and wall displays depict positive images of diversity extremely well and all children are fully included and supported.

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare is fully promoted and snack times are sociable occasions. Children serve their own snacks and drinks, which promotes children's self-help skills and develops their confidence extremely well. They enjoy eating their snack outside in the undercover picnic area and confidently talk about their favourite fruit. Staff use daily routines to develop children's understanding of very good hygiene practices. For example, children wash their hands before snacks. They talk about 'washing the germs off and getting their hands sparkling clean', which demonstrates their understanding of personal hygiene. The setting has also achieved a '5 Star' rating for food hygiene. Children have been involved in developing the 'Golden Rules' for the setting, which encourages them to develop their awareness of safety when moving around the setting. They take part in regular fire drills and confidently talk about the procedure they need to follow in

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and outcomes for children

Children are very well behaved. This is encouraged by the staff who are positive role models and create a calm and positive environment by listening to and praising children. They are observed to have very good relationships with staff and their peers and talk to each other about sharing and taking turns. Children enjoy using the timber trail outdoors, which encourages them to climb, crawl and balance. They have great fun playing football and using a range of equipment to move around the large outdoor area. This encourages children to be active whilst developing their physical skills. Staff have developed a garden club for children and chickens are kept in the school grounds. This helps to develop children's awareness of living things and change that occur over time. They grow tomatoes, strawberries and sunflowers and confidently talk about why need to water the seeds to help them grow. A wide range of resources are in place to help develop

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and outcomes for children

children's awareness of information and communication technology. Children confidently use the computer to complete simple games and camcorders are also available for children to use around the setting. Children enjoy a range of baking and craft activities. They work with staff to make biscuits for Mothers Day and carefully use different coloured icing to make their own patterns. They enjoy painting friendship bracelets and name the different colours they are going to use 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 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 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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