Camp Beaumont - St Helen's

Camp Beaumont St Helen's School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY292591 Inspection date 30/07/2012 Inspector Caren Carpenter

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Setting address St. Helens School, Eastbury Road, Northwood, Middlesex, HA6 3AS Telephone number 01263 823 000 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. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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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

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

Camp Beaumont is a large company offering holiday activity camps for children. It is one of 11 in London and the Home Counties. The camp operates from St Helen's School in Northwood within the London Borough of Hillingdon. The school is close to Northwood tube station, local bus routes and there is car parking facilities to drop and collect children.

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Description of the setting

The area used for the three and four years old is separate to those areas used by the older children. The Gables nursery unit is the area used by the younger children. This is a purpose built area for younger children.

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Description of the setting

The children are offered a programme of activities including, archery, arts and crafts, drama and trampolining, bouncy castle, kiddicarts, mini golf, tennis and football.

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Description of the setting

The camp is registered to care for a maximum of 180 children under eight years, of these, not more than 80 may be in the early years age group. There are currently 53 children in the early years age range on roll.

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Description of the setting

The camp operates daily from 8am to 6pm during the school holidays. The camp is registered on the Early Years Register and both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the setting

The camp employs 15 staff to work with the children; 8 staff hold early years 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

Camp Beaumont provides a warm, nurturing and inclusive environment where children are settled. Overall children enjoy participating in an interesting range of activities and staff generally supports children during their play experiences. Good partnerships between parents make sure all children are included and their individual needs are effectively met. There is good capacity for continuous improvement, because staff members work well as a team and are reflective about the effectiveness of the camp.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve opportunities for staff to engage children during activities, to clarify This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 ideas and ask open questions to support and extend their thinking to help them make connections in their learning  provide further play resources that will challenge and engage the children and give them better opportunities to make progress towards the early learning goals.

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the early years provision

Staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibility to protect children in their care and understand the procedure to follow if they have any concerns. Robust recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to make sure that children are well cared for by suitable adults. Children play safely within the camp because staff are vigilant and pro-active in minimising risks to the children. In addition, comprehensive risk assessments for indoors and outdoors are in place, fully promoting children's safety.

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the early years provision

All staff contribute to an ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of the camp and are striving for continuous improvements in all areas. The camp values parents' comments and seeks their views through questionnaires. They act on their suggestions to improve the care and play experiences for the children. Good improvements have been made since the last inspection. For example, the daily attendance register includes children's arrival and departure times and children are cared for by staff that are suitably vetted and appropriately qualified.

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the early years provision

The premises are well organised in order to meet the needs of the children and to make it is safe, secure and welcoming. All staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities and this contributes much to the smooth running of the camp on a daily basis. Staff are suitably deployed and a selection of play resources are organised to promote children's self help skills. However, a wider selection would enhance and extend children's play and learning experiences. Comprehensive policies and procedures and all records required for safe and efficient management to meet all children's needs are well maintained.

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the early years provision

Staff strive to ensure the club is inclusive for all children. Consideration is given to developing children's awareness of a wider society through discussions about celebrations of festivals. In addition staff use themes such as the Olympics, providing good opportunities for children to make their colourful flags around the world to represent the countries taking part. This helps children learn to value aspects of their own lives and the diverse society in which they live. Staff understand the importance of developing individual educational plans to make sure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from a positive and rewarding experience.

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the early years provision

Partnership with parents is good. The camp make sure that there are strong and effective links and lines of communications with parents. For example, they provide good opportunities for parents and children to make suggestions for further improvements. Parents are provided with weekly news letters to keep them well informed about special events and themes for the week. Staff provide daily written This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 feed back about the activities, the children have enjoyed doing. Parents speak highly of the camp. In addition positive written comments from parents say that the camp is excellent; the staff do a fantastic job. They also say that it is a good wholesome environment with friendly staff and they provide a great level of attention and care to their children. The camp has established good links with the schools which the children attend, to ensure continued progression of care,

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and outcomes for children

Children are settled, secure and happy within the camp. Staff provide a good balance in helping children to acquire key communication, physical, personal and social skills alongside good opportunities for children to explore and find out things for themselves. Staff plan a wide range of interesting activities which links effectively to the six areas of learning. They consider children's interest and involve them in planning the weekly activities. Although staff spend quality time playing with the children, there are times when they do not always fully engage and extend children's thinking to help them make connections in their learning.

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and outcomes for children

Staff use weekly themes to plan and provide exciting activities for the children. For example, in celebration of the Olympics children enjoy painting and displaying their flags of the different countries around the world and enjoy participating in an Olympic treasure hunt. They eagerly colour their pictures of the torch and of various Olympic events such as canoeing, trampoline and basket ball. Children enjoy a wide range of creative activities such as painting, play dough, arts and craft, making musical instruments with plastic bottles, rice, pasta, corn flakes and spaghetti. Children are provided with exciting opportunities to develop their imaginative skills and to find out about the different continents around the world. For example, during world week theme they pretend to go through passport and border control as they travel to India, Africa and South America. Children enjoy learning about climate change and the effect of global warming on the

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and outcomes for children

environment. They are gaining good understanding of the importance of recycling, conserving energy and water to protect the environment. Children are provided with good first-hand experiences that encourage exploration and experimentation as they observe the effect of an erupting volcano.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing their speaking and listening skills, when listening to stories and have opportunities to develop their mark making skills as they take delight in drawing and colouring their pictures. Children have lots of fun during indoor soft play and outdoor playing games where they take turns, work as a team and use individual skills. For example, they enjoy playing on the bouncy castle, tennis, football, mini golf and swimming, developing their physical skills.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing a good understanding of personal hygiene and know that they must wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. Children are encouraged to develop a healthy life style because the camp promotes healthy eating. Parents are encouraged to provide their children with healthy snacks and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 packed lunches. The camp does however provide, if requested by parents a selection of healthy sandwiches such as, tuna, egg and ham. Children recognises when they are thirsty and are able to help themselves to fresh drinking water and throughout the day. Parents are closely consulted about any dietary needs their children may have and information is recorded.

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and outcomes for children

Children are learning about how to keep themselves safe. For example, regular fire drill practices are carried out to enable children to become familiar with the procedures for leaving the premises, should the need arise. Children are well behaved because they are actively engaged in the interesting activities provided, which are aimed at their individual interests. They are involved in developing the camp's rule for acceptable behaviour and to help them stay safe and enjoy their time at the camp. Children learn to share and take turns and are considerate of each other as they build friendships with their peers and share warm and caring relationships with staff. 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 2 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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