Newton Lang Childcare

Newton Lang Childcare Sir Henry Fermor C of E School, Crowborough Hill, CROWBOROUGH, East Sussex, TN6 2SD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/05/2014 04/07/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The risk assessments for school collections are not effective as they do not explicitly cover the procedure for transporting children by car and are not understood by staff, leading to unsafe practices. As a result, children have been left unsupervised in a vehicle. This compromises their safety and well-being.  Supervision and self-evaluation processes fail to identify where staff practices do not effectively safeguard children.

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It has the following strengths

 Children have fun, interact well with staff and form good friendships.  Children understand the routines of the club and behave well.

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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 viewed all areas of the play club.  The inspector spoke with staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the interaction of staff and children during a range of activities.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the deputy manager.  The inspector viewed a selection of documents, including risk assessments.

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Information about the setting

Newton Lang Childcare registered in 2011. It is a privately owned out-of-school club operating from Sir Henry Fermor Church of England School, Crowborough, East Sussex. The club has use of the school hall and uses the school grounds for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The club is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from 7am to 9am and 3.15pm to 6.30pm Monday to Friday and offers holiday provision with dates and times advertised in advanced for parents. There are currently 18 children under eight years on roll, eight of these are in the early years age range. There are eight members of staff who work with the children, four of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications, including the manager who has Qualified Teacher Status that covers early years. Staff are supported by an administrator.

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must:

 ensure that risk assessments clearly identify any risks to children's safety and take action to minimise those risks, with particular regard to arrangements for transporting and collecting children from school

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must:

 ensure that staff are suitably supervised and supported to understand their roles and responsibilities

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who attend

Children take part in a range of activities that promote all areas of their learning and development. Play is largely child-initiated, however, staff use their knowledge of children's interests to determine which resources to put out. Staff undertake regular observations of children in the early years age range to make sure that they are engaged in the activities offered and enjoy their time at the play club. Staff encourage children to choose the activities they want to join in and are on-hand to offer support when needed. Children chat happily as they play, and confidently ask questions and share their views. Staff frequently join in discussions with children which helps to promote their language and social skills.

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who attend

There are table-top activities in the hall for children to explore, including a selection of board games. They also use an array of art and craft resources to express themselves creatively, for example, to decorate masks. Staff promote children's physical development by providing physical games. Activities such as operating computer-game controllers help to develop children's coordination. In addition, children are able to move freely into the outdoor play areas where they play running games, ball games and use ride-on toys.

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who attend

Staff speak with parents as they arrive to collect their child, passing on information about the activities they have taken part in. This gives parents an opportunity to discuss their child's progress and to share any relevant information from home.

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who attend

The play club has appropriate arrangements to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The manager takes the lead for coordinating individual care plans for children when necessary and liaises effectively with their parents and school staff. Staff also have experience of working with children who speak English as an additional language. In order to positively reflect children's home languages, staff display welcome posters in different languages and, where possible, ask parents to provide books and resources from home.

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

Some aspects of staff's supervision of the children does not adequately protect them. Staff do not all implement effective safeguarding measures when collecting children from school. As a result children have been left unsupervised in a vehicle on more than one occasion. No child has come to any harm but the staff member did not have the children within sight or hearing and there was potential for children to vacate the vehicle, or for them to be abducted. This puts children's welfare at risk. Within the play club children receive an appropriate level of supervision while also being able to develop age- appropriate levels of independence. For example, they are free to visit the toilets on their own but know to inform a member of staff.

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

There is a key-person system in place to make sure that the needs of each individual child are understood. Children enjoy the friendly atmosphere and interact well with staff. Children of mixed ages and from a number of local primary schools integrate effectively. They understand how to behave, play cooperatively and are generally developing positive social skills.

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

Staff focus well on promoting children's health. They make sure the environment is clean, paying special attention to the tables used for preparing and serving snacks. All children wash their hands before sitting down to eat. They have a choice of cooked snacks, such as noodles, as well as sandwiches and fruit. Drinks are available at all times. Children take an active role in serving their own food and several choose to help with the washing up. This helps them to develop practical skills which will be valuable to them in later life.

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

An adequate range of resources is available for children to select independently. They use these appropriately to extend their learning and enjoyment. The recently improved cushioned relaxation area is very popular, particularly towards the end of the session. There is a lot of space for children to explore outside, including areas for shade, so that they can enjoy the fresh air on very sunny days.

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provision

This inspection took place due to a complaint about unsafe practices by play club staff when collecting children from schools. Specifically, this was in relation to a concern that a member of play club staff had left children alone in car outside a school. During the inspection, the manager spoke to the relevant member of staff who confirmed that this has happened on a few occasions. The manager was unaware that this was occurring and recognised that it is unacceptable practice which puts children at risk. The manager has clear expectations on the procedures staff should follow but has failed to check that staff implement them. There is no written risk assessment record to specifically cover transporting children by car and there is no other written guidance to share with staff. The manager has relied on staff knowing instinctively how to safeguard children's welfare and has not given any specific guidance to reflect her expectations. By failing to adequately

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provision

protect children, the play club is in breach of safeguarding and welfare requirements relating to the Early Years Register and both parts of the Childcare Register. The manager takes responsibility for child protection within the play club. She has attended training to support her in this role and ensures that all staff complete relevant safeguarding training. They understand the procedure to follow should concerns arise about any child. The manager is also aware of the process for responding to allegations against a member of staff. The manager holds very regular meetings with individual staff to discuss their key children, to assess their performance and to identify training needs. However, this process is not sufficiently robust to check that staff are aware of all working practices and understand and apply what they learn in training, particularly in relation to safety. Recruitment procedures are appropriate and details of the checks carried out on

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provision

The manager, deputy and staff team meet regularly to monitor the quality of activities. In addition, staff seek the views of children by providing questionnaires that ask them to identify which aspects of the play club they enjoy and to suggest improvements. This allows children to take an active role in shaping the direction of the play club. While there are some strengths in the arrangements for self-evaluation, the process has not been successful in identifying areas where practices are not meeting requirements. This was also highlighted as a weakness at the last inspection.

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provision

Children benefit from the positive relationships in place between the play club staff and their parents. Play club staff also speak regularly to the reception teachers of the schools attended by children. This helps them to support children's development by providing experiences that complement the care they receive at school.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Not Met

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

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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 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. 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

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. 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 EY439358 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 972884 Type of provision Out of school provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 3 - 8 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 26 Name of provider Newton Lang Childcare Limited Date of previous inspection 04/07/2013 Telephone number 01892652405

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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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