Withymoor Stay & Play Club

Withymoor Stay and Play Club Withymoor Primary School, Gayfield Avenue, Brierley Hill, West Midlands, DY5 2BH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29/10/2012 15/03/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children are welcomed into a familiar environment and are cared for by staff that are warm and friendly and help all children feel included and valued.  Children are happy, form positive relationships and show satisfactory levels of enjoyment and achievement.  staff place a clear emphasis in ensuring children attending the holiday club enjoy a broad range of experiences to keep them interested and occupied.

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It is not yet good because

 The safeguarding policy and procedure does not cover the use of mobile phones and cameras in the setting, this is a legal requirement which has not been met.  The programme of activities and use of resources for children attending the before and after school club does not offer a broad enough range of experiences.  Self-evaluation does not clearly enough inform the settings priorities and the senior leadership team do not consistently offer enough challenge and direction to the club.  Systems to keep parents fully informed about the activities on offer are not fully embedded.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are scheduled:  at least once in every inspection cycle. The current cycle ends on 31 July 2016  more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged as inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised for inspection where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playroom.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with a committee member and the deputy manager of the provision.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working within the setting, the provider's self-evaluation form and a range of other documentation.  The inspector also took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Withymoor Stay and Play Club opened in 2001 and is run by a committee. It operates from the community room and sports hall, which is based on the first floor, within Withymoor Primary School, on the outskirts of Brierley Hill, in the West Midlands. The setting opens each weekday from 7.30am until 8.50am and from 3.30pm until 6pm, during the school term. During school holidays opening times are from 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

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Information about the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Children can attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 230 children on roll, of whom 11 are in the early years age group and 117 are under eight years. The setting currently supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The setting employs seven members of staff, including the manager. Of these, two hold a qualification at level 3 in early years, three hold a qualification at level 2 and two hold Qualified Teacher Status.

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must:

 ensure the safeguarding policy and procedures cover the use of mobile phones and cameras in the setting  develop further the programme for planned, purposeful play by planning more effectively the use of resources and planning a broader range of experiences for children's enjoyment  making better use of the indoor and outdoor environment to provide daily opportunities for children to be active and engage in physical play  providing increased opportunities for children to observe and find out about the natural environment and living things through a variety of means.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 improve the self-evaluation systems and the role of the committee to ensure well- focused improvement plans are in place to improve practice

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 explore more fully systems to strengthen communication with parents and carers to keep them fully informed about type of activities on offer.

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who attend

During the holiday club staff plan and provide a broad range of interesting activities, resources and play opportunities for children's enjoyment. This is partly due to the holiday club having access to more areas of the school and easy access to the range of resources available, which are stored on the ground floor. Consequently, both parents and carers and children speak highly of what is on offer. In contrast, during term time the before and after school programme of activities, is limited in some areas. The room used on the first floor is prepared daily with a suitable range of activities on offer for children to choose from and they are kept mostly, sufficiently interested and engaged. However, staff do not utilise fully enough the full range of resources and activities to maximise learning opportunities and extend children's play and enjoyment. They provide an environment which reflects the children's backgrounds and some sections of the wider community and

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who attend

there are satisfactory systems in place to support children attending with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Partnerships with parents and carers are developing. On induction all new parents and carers receive a welcome prospectus which gives a basic overview of what activities are provided during the before and after school club and the holiday club.

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who attend

Children are welcomed into a relaxed and familiar environment where they have the autonomy to decide how to invest their curiosity through mostly playing spontaneously. This routine compliments the school day well. This means children mostly enjoy their time at the club. Children are confident within their environment and learn to take on extra responsibility. For example, older children help the younger children with their coats and bags when they arrive and a daily nominated 'helping hand' helps to clean tables and prepare for snack time. Staff encourage children to interact with one another and share their stories and interests during snack time. Children are keen to find an adult to share their ideas and stories with, and staff make time to listen to them and show an interest in what they are saying. Staff provide a range of opportunities for children to develop an interest in making marks and early writing skills, as they use a variety of writing materials,

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who attend

such as, crayons, felt pens, paint, chalk and 'magic screens', which are enjoyed by the children. For example, some children busily draw colour, cut and glue their creations. Staff use board games daily and consequently, children are beginning to problem solve, make connections, count, sort and match as they play with table top games, build with construction toys, and use puzzles. However, some children do not always show good levels of interest in what is provided and this limits their choice and enjoyment.

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who attend

Children develop their creativity through a daily planned range of arts and crafts activities. For example, children are keen to use the finger paints to create their pictures. They have regular opportunities to make collage, use the clay and make creations using beads. Children use role-play resources and small world toys, such as garages, cars, animals and a dolls house to increase their imagination. However, these resources are not made easily or freely available and staff decide daily what they are going to put out, rather than children freely choosing. Children have few opportunities to observe and find out about the natural environment and living things, such as opportunities to grow and care for plants both indoors or outdoors. They have a developing range of experiences to learn about others cultures and the wider community. For example, children celebrate Chinese New Year, Diwali and Eid through discussion, food tasting and planned craft activities.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

A clear assigned key person system ensures staff get to know their children. For example, children sit for their snack in their key worker groups which are made of a mixed age group, encouraging all children to develop close relationships. Staff spend much of their time interacting with the children and getting to know them during the session which promotes a real sense of belonging. Children are mostly well behaved and learn about sharing and taking turns and respond well to reminders and direction from staff to keep themselves safe.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Staff help children to learn to be independent and encourage them to manage their own personal needs. For example, children begin to understand the importance of making sure their hands are clean before they eat their snack. Children are provided with healthy snacks consisting of a variety of fruits, cheese, crackers and milk and water to drink. However, staff do not place enough emphasis on providing daily opportunities for children to access the outdoor play area or use the indoor environment for physical play. For example, there is a broad range of physical play equipment available in the store cupboard on the ground floor which is mostly used in the warmer months and during the holiday club.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The vast majority of the children attending the club are also pupils of the host school and consequently they are familiar with their surroundings, which eases transition. Links with the host school are developing due to the improved sharing of information with school teachers about the children's care and education and any additional support identified for children. Partnerships with other schools that the children attend or agencies are developing and the sharing of information steadily increasing.

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provision

The person in charge and deputy are actively involved in the care of the children and work alongside staff daily. Consequently, they use their daily observations to monitor staff and manage performance. Day to day management of the setting is satisfactory with appropriate systems in place to ensure staff are suitably vetted, qualified and inducted and clear about their roles and responsibilities. All the required policies, procedures and records are in place. However, the safeguarding policy and procedure has not been updated to cover the use of mobile phones and cameras in the setting, this is a legal requirement which has not been met. All staff have attended training on child protection issues and have a satisfactory understanding and there is a relevant designated member of staff with overall responsibility.

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provision

The ongoing self-evaluation, which is undertaken by the staff team, is based on appropriate levels of analysis but lacks rigour due to the gaps in recording and written action plans which means progress in some areas has been slow. For example, the actions from the previous inspection have been fully addressed in relation to including the safeguarding policy, the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff and improving risk assessments, and the recommendation to build on systems to improve links with the host school. However, improving access to the outdoor play area and the self-evaluation process remain ongoing areas for further development.

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provision

The staff team are experienced but have a developing knowledge of the recently revised Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Consequently, the setting has not met all of the safeguarding and welfare requirements and the learning and development requirements. The setting is run by a committee which is made of staff, parents and the head teacher of the school. Previously they have played an active role in supporting, monitoring and setting targets for the club. However, over the last 12 months their involvement has significantly decreased and consequently the senior leaders do not take an active enough role in producing well-focused improvement plans to further support improvement. Parents receive sufficient information about the setting's policies and are kept appropriately up-to-date through regular discussions about their children's time at the club. However, parents receive little information about the ongoing range and

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provision

type of activities on offer, in particular, during the before and after school club.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 258828 Local authority Dudley Inspection number 818563

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 3 - 8 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 230 Name of provider Withymoor Stay and Play Date of previous inspection 15/03/2011 Telephone number 01384-818534

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises that are usually their own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. 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,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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