Little Acorns Out of School Club Ltd

Little Acorns Out of School Club St. Hilda's Church, Thornleigh Road, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, NE2 3ET

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/05/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff know the children very well. They have a secure understanding of children's capabilities and provide a range of activities that they know children enjoy. Planning is firmly based around children's interest. As a result, children are very happy and secure and make good progress in their learning and development.  Children use language expressively. They describe their feelings, ask questions and share their ideas with confidence. They look carefully at books, recognise they contain words and use the pictures as clues to help them predicate what will happen.  Children are interested in their environment and motivated in their play because of the support and guidance they receive from the staff. They confidently make choices and take the initiative in seeking out their favourite toys and instigating their own play.  Partnerships with the school are well-established and strong. These enable staff to

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This provision is good

complement and extend the activities children undertake in school, so that children's overall learning and development is enhanced.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff have not fully considered how the structured routines around mealtimes occasionally interrupts children's interests and flow of play.

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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

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged 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 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  scheduled 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 spoke with the owner, manager, staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector accompanied staff to collect children from school and observed activities in the hall.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, evidence of suitability of practitioners working within the setting and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of two parents spoken to on the day and written feedback from parents.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Little Acorns Out of School Club Limited was registered in 2012 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is privately owned and operates from the church hall of St Hilda's Church, which is situated in the Jesmond area of Newcastle Upon Tyne. The setting is open Monday to Friday from 8am until 9am and Monday to Wednesday and Friday 3pm until 6pm term time only. There are currently 21 children on roll, of whom 14 are in the early years age group. Three members of staff are employed to work with the children, two of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to a minimum of level 3. The setting supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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

 review the routines around mealtimes to allow children sufficient time to follow their interests and plans and to ensure that their flow of play is not interrupted.

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who attend

Children thoroughly enjoy attending the out of school club where they arrive with enthusiasm and look forward to what the provision has on offer. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of how to promote children's learning and development. They show this by providing a range of activities and experiences that challenge and interest children and encourage them to make choices and decisions. As a result, children including those who speak English as an additional language make good progress towards the early learning goals. There are effective systems in place to observe, assess and plan for children's learning. Children's folders contain observations of their play and identify the next steps in their learning to inform future planning. Parents are invited to read them and add their own comments. Continuity of learning is promoted because the staff link with the school to share detailed information regarding children's future learning. This means the club is

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who attend

able to plan activities that successfully complement children's individual stage of development and experience.

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who attend

Children are consistently supported in using counting and numbers well in everyday play situations, for example, when adding up how many children have entered the drawing competition. This effectively promotes their mathematical skills. Children's communication and language skills are supported well as staff engage and effectively communicate with them during their play and activities. For example, recognising children's interest in knights and kings, staff provide a variety of dressing-up clothes, books and creative activities to promote children's language development. Children are confident when communicating with their peers, and staff provide good opportunities, such as a cosy area with floor cushions, to encourage children to socially interact with each other. Conversations take full account of the things children do when they are not at the club. For example, staff ask children about their weekend at home, what they did, and if they

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who attend

took part in any activities. This supports children's recall and language for thinking and makes them feel valued. Children sit together during mealtimes and listen to each other as they talk about their day. This helps them develop key skills for future learning, such as concentration and turn-taking as well as helping them to be confident in other group settings, such as, the classroom. However, the formality of a structured time to eat means that children are drawn away from their activity and their interest and flow of play is occasionally interrupted.

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who attend

Children demonstrate their enjoyment in books. For example, they sit with friends and discuss the pictures in the book and try and predict what might happen next. To enhance children's writing skills, staff encourage them to participate in purposeful activities. For example, they write the contents of greeting cards and make lists containing the names of children who wish to enter a drawing competition. As a result, children's literacy skills are successfully promoted. Children's creativity is effectively nurtured as they enjoy dressing up, drawing and creating tissue flowers. Consequently, they are able to express themselves freely and use their imaginations well. As the hall is large enough children have good opportunities to participate in physical play indoors, for example, they enjoy skipping, hula-hoops and participating in the obstacle course. This enables them to explore, test and develop their physical skills. During craft activities children use a range of

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who attend

equipment, such as scissors, to help develop their manipulative skills, which further enhances their physical development.

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

Staff work closely with parents and children to help with the settling-in process. This helps to foster good relationships and ensures children are well supported during the transition into the setting. Parents provide key information to the setting to ensure that children's individual requirements are known and understood. Staff know all the children attending very well, which helps to ensure that they continually meet all their needs. Children, therefore, develop warm and relaxed relationships with the staff, their key person and each other. They readily approach staff members to ask for assistance when they need it and confidently talk about things that are important to them. There are a wide range of resources for children to choose from most of which are set up before children arrive. However, children are very confident and readily ask staff for additional resources when needed. Within the club, activities are available to enhance learning about diversity and to

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

help children have a greater understanding of the wider world. For example, they celebrate and learn about the festival of Diwali and create Rangoli patterns and taste different food from around the world. Behaviour is very good as children help make their rules for the club. This means that all children can take ownership of them and are supported in understanding boundaries and consequences of their actions. Children understand how they can help each other and play amicably and cooperatively together. For example, two boys work together to draw a map so they can rescue people from an exploding volcano. Children have a good understanding of how to achieve a healthy lifestyle. They confidently talk about food that is good for them, such as vegetables and fruit, and explain that you can only have a few sweets and cakes as they are full of sugar. Children understand the importance of good hygiene practices and how to prevent cross contamination. For example, they all wash their hands

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

and use disposable towels to dry them with prior to mealtimes. Children have daily fresh air during their walks to and from school and also have visits to the local park.

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

Staff have established effective relationships with the school the children attend. This ensures transitions are smooth because relevant information about the children's welfare is shared. Furthermore, parents are kept informed of their child's welfare through verbal conversations and entries in their 'communication book' which provides additional information, ensuring continuity of care for children. Children's safety is given high priority. Arrangements for walking children to and from the local school are very effective. All children understand why they must wear high visibility jackets and all follow the rules of holding hands and crossing the road sensibly. In addition to this staff provide a range of activities to further develop children's awareness of how to stay safe. These include inviting visitors to the setting, such as the school crossing patrol officer and a first aid trainer, who help reinforce road safety and teach children basic first aid. Consequently,

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

this effectively encourages children to identify hazards and take responsibility for their own safety. The setting also has arrangements in place for the local Neighbourhood Police Officer to attend, and other visits are planned on an ongoing basis to enhance the children's educational as well as social skills.

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provision

The manager and staff have a good knowledge and understanding of how to promote children's learning and development. The planning and delivery of the educational programme is monitored well. This ensures that all children make good progress towards the early learning goals in partnership with their school and contributes well to children's transitions between the two settings. Staff have undertaken training in safeguarding and they understand their responsibilities with regard to protecting children. A written safeguarding policy and all the relevant documents and procedures are in place to support practice. Recruitment procedures ensure that all staff are vetted and suitable to work with children. Risk assessments are conducted to make sure that the premises and outings are safe and do not present any hazards to children. The supervision and appraisals of staff ensures they receive support if needed to improve their personal effectiveness and identify

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provision

training needs. As a result, staff are supported in their professional development and this ensures children benefit from current childcare practices and knowledgeable staff.

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provision

Staff have strong, positive relationships with parents. They provide a flexible service and communicate well with parents about their children's learning and development and welfare needs. Noticeboards provide comprehensive details about the after school club and current activities and themes. Parents are keen to express how overwhelmingly satisfied they are with the club. They comment on how that they appreciate the two-way communication with staff and that they are approachable and very friendly. This means children's welfare needs can always be met. There are very good links with the local school the children attend. Termly meetings with the teachers are arranged to discuss children's progress and future planning. This highly effective system ensures that the club works effectively alongside the school to meet the learning and development needs of all children in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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provision

Self-evaluation is good because the whole staff team are able to accurately identify strengths and areas for development. Children are consulted about their likes and dislikes, and this helps to inform the self-evaluation plan. Feedback is gained from parents through discussion and through the use of a comments book. It is evident from the number of comments recorded within this book that it is a successful tool in gathering parents views and suggestions. Consequently, parents feel their views are valued and that they can contribute to the development of the club. Future aims for the setting have been identified, which include whether the club can extend the care over school holidays in response to parental feedback.

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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 action. 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 EY454246 Local authority Newcastle Inspection number 890999

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 21 Name of provider Little Acorns Out of School Club Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 07769271066

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: 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, which are usually the childminder’s 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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