Elmbridge Childcare Club

Elmbridge Childcare Club Elmbridge Junior School, Elmbridge Road, GLOUCESTER, GL2 0PE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/05/2013 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

 Children are happy, have fun and engage in a wide range of stimulating and enjoyable activities.  Children are confident, eager to attend and talk very highly of their club because of the close bonds they establish with staff and their key person.  Staff know their key children's individual learning needs very well and plan challenging one-to-one activities that cleverly encourage children's writing and number skills.  Partnerships with the school, children's teachers and parents are well established to promote consistency and progression for children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Opportunities to involve children in agreeing codes of behaviour and to discuss behavioural expectations are not regular.  Staff do not always redirect older children's play well when they become a little over excited during creative activities. This at times impacts on the younger children's enjoyment.

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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 observed children's play, snack time and completed a joint observation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the children, staff and the manager at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined documentation including a representative sample of children's records, learning journals, policies and staff records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of three parents' views through discussion during the inspection and took account of parents' feedback through questionnaires completed for the club.

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Information about the setting

Elmbridge Childcare Club opened in 1998 and has been operating from Elmbridge Junior School, in the Longlevens area of Gloucester since 2009. It re-registered in 2012 due to a change of ownership. The privately owned club has use of the school dining hall, main hall, kitchen and associated facilities. For outdoor play, the club has use of two playgrounds, trim trail areas and a large playing field. The club is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The club offers care for children from four to 11 years. The after school club is open each weekday from 7.30am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm. The holiday club opens from 8am to 6pm during school holiday periods. During term times, the club is available to children attending Elmbridge Infant and Junior Schools. During school holiday periods, children from both schools and other local schools may attend the club. There are currently 124 children on

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Information about the setting

roll. The club supports children who speak English as an additional language. The club employs eight staff, including the manager, to work directly with the children. The manager holds a Level 4 Early Years and Education qualification and is currently working towards a level 5. The deputy and two playworkers hold level 3 qualifications and all other staff hold a level 2. One playworker is currently working towards a level 4 qualification.

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

 review organisation and staff engagement in planned activities so that older children's participation does not impact on the younger children

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

 provide opportunities for children to identify and agree codes of behaviour and review them regularly.

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who attend

Staff know their key children's individual needs very well and use this knowledge to plan rich activities and learning experiences. As a result, children have fun and eagerly participate in a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated play. They incorporate children's learning needs skilfully into activities and daily routines, such as counting the bricks they used to build their house. Staff readily promotes children's decision making, leaving some tables or mats free for children to select toys for themselves. This encourages children to take an active part in planning their own play and learning. Using a large sheet of paper, staff encourage children to select themes for the holiday club and share their activity ideas. Providing parents with a blank planning sheet gives them valuable opportunities to suggest activity ideas based on each theme. This cleverly involves children and parents in the planning processes.

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who attend

The manager maintains an inventory of all the resources available to children and itemises these into the different areas of learning. This enables staff to monitor and frequently review children's access to the seven areas of learning to provide rich learning experiences. Staff evaluate each session and the activities as a team to monitor and assess the success of activities. This enables them to discuss how they can extend activities further next time to challenge and introduce different learning experiences. As a result, children are active, inquisitive learners who make good progress from their starting points. They happily explore different media, such as marzipan, soil and jelly and use household recyclable materials in their play. Children talk about how things change as they plant sunflowers seeds and take them home, showing care for living things and understanding of lifecycles.

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who attend

Children benefit from one-to-one planned activities and numerous daily opportunities to practise their writing at the club. This invigorates children's interest in writing. As a result, children are now able to form the letters correctly to write their name. They have fun practising their writing on white boards and write their names on their pictures proudly, showing their friends and staff. Good quality support and encouragement means children achieve new skills quickly, helping to narrow any gaps in their learning promptly. Children excitedly explore the shaving foam, squeezing, rubbing and investigating how it feels on their hands, arms and face. Staff encourage children to describe its texture and smell, and use their hands to make marks. Some older children join in and become a little overexcited. While staff supervise their play closely to ensure it does not get out of hand, guidance to redirect their play comes late. Although this is an isolated incident and only

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who attend

for a short period, younger children move away fairly quickly reducing their full participation and enjoyment of the activity. Children are very creative and use their imagination well to design their masks. They happily work alongside their older friends and staff, talking about the patterns they make with glitter pens and paint. Children use various tools, such as scissors with good control and accuracy as they cut fabric and paper. They respond well to staff's support and flexibility during activities. This helps children build on what they already know and can do, promoting their independence, creativity and ongoing learning successfully.

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

Children are happy and excited to attend, owing to secure emotional attachments with staff. Children eagerly give cuddles to the manager and staff upon arrival and enthusiastically share news about their day. The highly effective key person arrangements encourage children's positive relationships and help them to feel safe, secure and confident in the setting. Children seek out their friends and decide together what they are going to play with, showing good independence in making decisions for themselves. Quieter children are more self-assured and enjoy what they are doing because of the trusting relationships they establish. This encourages them to try new activities, join in- group discussions confidently, and take changes of routine in their stride. Children talk very highly about their club exclaiming assertively they 'never get bored' and have 'loads of toys to play with'. They thrive on the many opportunities to contribute and share their

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

ideas for planning and self-assessment, giving them a voice. This promotes children's self- esteem and strong sense of belonging.

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

At the start of every new school year, children talk about the rules for acceptable behaviour. Although, this is not repeated consistently enough to encourage children to agree and review codes of behaviour. Nonetheless, children are kind, polite and play co- operatively with their friends. Staff award a star of the week, certificate and a small treat to recognise good behaviour during the school holidays and this helps children to feel special and a valued member of the club.

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

Children gain good understanding of risk through activities that encourage them to explore their environment. They complete risk assessments before specific activities, such as cooking to identify what could happen and measures to prevent the risks occurring. An evaluation of the activity afterwards, enables the children to discuss how the activity went and how they can do things differently next time. This significantly increases children's understanding of risk and their ability to keep themselves safe. Children know the importance for good health of physical exercise and a healthy diet. They contribute ideas for the menu and join in planned activities and discussions that encourage them to make healthy choices. Children benefit and really enjoy a wealth of nutritious, wholesome food in good quantities and manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs successfully.

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provision

Safeguarding arrangements are robust and protect children well. Staff are vigilant, have good awareness of child protection issues and implement the club's policies and procedures effectively. Rigorous and innovative recruitment and induction arrangements ensure staff's suitability. Applicants attend interviews with management and a children's panel in conjunction with observations of them working in the club. This provides thorough information about new staff's skills, experiences and ability to interact and engage with children. New staff induction takes place before they start and includes weekly update meetings with the manager to review performance. As a result, staff are competent, carry out their roles consistently and meet children's needs well. The effective manager provides a positive role model for professional development by studying for a level five qualification in childcare. She motivates staff and successfully fosters a culture of

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provision

support and mentoring to create a close and highly committed team. Staff access frequent training, willingly cascading information gained in monthly staff meetings, and routinely share good practice ideas during daily meetings. This supports strong performance management, enabling the manager to tailor support and staff's roles and responsibilities to their skills. As a result, the staff team are very ambitious and strive continually to improve and provide an inviting, safe and extremely welcoming environment for children. Very good partnerships with parents encourages their engagement in the setting effectively. They receive extensive information about the setting and key policies and procedures, such as settling in, safeguarding and complaints. The manager delivers an informative presentation to new parents at the schools parent evening. She uses photographs to show the wide range of activities available and examples of learning

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provision

journals staff complete during their child's first year at the club. Parents receive extensive information about the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), describing clearly how staff plan across the seven areas of learning and promote their children's learning through play. This provides new parents with comprehensive information about the club, enabling them to make informed decisions about their child's after school care. Staff quickly identify and meet children's needs well through highly effective partnerships with the school and children's teachers. The manager regularly meets with the EYFS Curriculum Lead in the school to discuss planning ideas, children's individual needs, any issues or concerns and agree priorities for learning. This encourages a consistent approach to children's learning, enabling staff to tailor activities and provide effective one-to-one support.

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provision

The staff team are highly successful and innovative in their ideas to encourage children and parents inclusion in the club. By providing parents with a planning sheet for themes children have chosen for holiday times, this encourages parents to suggest and share their activity ideas. Thorough methods of self-evaluation are very inclusive of children, parents and staff. The team use the Ofsted self-evaluation form to assess carefully what they offer the children and their parents. They make excellent use of feedback from parent and child questionnaires to evaluate practice and accurately identify strengths and key areas for improvement. The introduction of more good quality resources and purchasing a white board to record daily the activities has extended information for parents and children's experiences and learning. Staff show good awareness of children's individual learning needs because they monitor their key children's learning closely. This provides staff with

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provision

precise, up-to-date understanding of children's development. As a result, activities target and close any gaps in children's learning, successfully supporting and enhancing their learning at school.

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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 EY457052 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 894259 Type of provision Out of school provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 4 - 11 Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 124 Name of provider Emma Jayne Thomas Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 07544575052

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Setting details

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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