Saint Marie's After 3's

After 3's St. Marie's R.C. Primary School, Edward Street, The Mosses, Bury, Lancashire, BL9 0RZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/06/2014 05/11/2008

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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 requires improvement

 Staff have a sufficient knowledge and understanding to manage any safeguarding concerns they may have about children's welfare. Policies for this and risk assessments are regularly reviewed to ensure they meet children's needs.  Staff provide a range of activities based on children's needs and interests, in order to help them relax and play during out of school hours and to complement their learning in school.  Children are well behaved and the club works in partnership with parents and the host school in order to meet their welfare and learning needs.

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It is not yet good because

 The club does not have an appraisal system in place so that the manager can assess the staff's strengths and areas of weakness in practice, in order to support their professional development for working with children.  Activities outdoors during after school sessions do not consistently cover other areas of learning apart from physical development, limiting the use of outdoor play for learning.  The pace of improvement as a result of evaluation of practice has not been rapid enough to ensure that all statutory requirements are fully met and that children receive a balance of activities indoors and outside.

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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 toured the rooms used by the after school club.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in all areas used and also viewed toys, resources and equipment.

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Inspection activities

 Documents related to children's learning, as well as for supporting their welfare, were examined on the day of the inspection. This included documents related to staff qualifications and suitability.

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Inspection activities

 Discussions were held with the manager of the provision and the host school headteacher, and the inspector also spoke to members of staff when appropriate.  A joint observation was carried out by the inspector and the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of parents and children spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

The After 3's has been registered since 2005 and is on the Early Years and the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. It is managed by a committee comprising of school staff, governors and parents. It operates from St Marie's R.C. Primary School, close to the centre of Bury. The club has the use of a classroom in the school and also uses the library and two halls. The school playground is available for outdoor play. The club operates from 7.45am to 8.45pm and 3pm to 5.30pm on weekdays during term time. There is also a holiday club during the school summer holidays, lasting for four weeks. Currently, three staff work with the children, two of whom hold relevant childcare qualifications at level 3. There are currently 34 children on roll, of whom five are in the early years age range. They attend for a variety of sessions.

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must:

 ensure that regular staff appraisals are carried out to identify any training needs, in order to support children's learning and well-being, and secure opportunities for continued professional development of staff.

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

 extend the choice of activities in the outdoor provision during sessions so that a greater range of areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage are provided for, in order for children to enjoy a balance of activities indoor and outside

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

 strengthen the systems for self-evaluation and ensure that the pace of continual improvement is adequate to enable statutory requirements to be fully in place.

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who attend

Staff make weekly plans covering a variety of activities, in response to children's expressed interests and any observations made of their progress. There are no formal records kept of children's progress, although key persons can confidently describe children's interests and needs, showing a suitable knowledge in order to provide support. The manager liaises with foundation stage staff in the school in order to offer some complementary learning experiences to children. For example, the club complements children's learning in school about traditional tales by providing books and creative activities. Planned weekly activities cover baking or cooking, outdoor play, making marks and a creative activity, such as making models. In addition, staff set out equipment to support role play. Children enjoy pretending to go to the shops or work in an office. Jigsaws are also enjoyed, which enables children to develop their awareness of space and

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who attend

shape, while using their fine manipulative skills. Construction resources, such as various sizes of interlocking bricks, are also accessible to children to support their development of manipulative skills.

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who attend

Children learn to play cooperatively and take turns using games consoles, in order to reinforce their learning of social skills. This also enables them to practise using information and communication technology equipment, developing the coordination skills required for this, as well as increasing their understanding of how things work. Children bake cakes with staff, which provides opportunities for weighing and measuring ingredients. This supports their learning in mathematics. They then have the opportunity to decorate their cakes with a variety of materials, such as icing and sugar shapes, using their creative skills. Children take cakes home to show their families, which enables parents to become involved in their learning. Children make collages using a variety of textures and colours. They design pictures of butterflies, as part of learning about the natural world and life cycles. This provides another opportunity for children to be creative and to reinforce their

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who attend

manipulative skills. A selection of books are provided for children who wish to enjoy these in the quiet corner. Children also have access to equipment for playing music, when they wish to simply sit and talk with friends, in order to relax before or after the school day.

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who attend

Outdoor play is adequately supported to meet children's needs for development of physical coordination; however, resources to support other areas of learning are not provided for. As a result, children's opportunities to enjoy a range of activities in the outdoor areas are limited. This is because resources for alternative activities, including making marks, role play or to support their knowledge of mathematics are not offered outdoors. The staff make use of some visits away from the premises to add interest to the educational programme. For example, they visit the local steam railway, along with museums, art galleries and supermarkets, during holidays. This means that children learn about the town around them and its history, as part of their understanding about their community.

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

The club operates a key-person system in order to support children's emotional well-being, and as a result, children are secure and confident. They make their needs known to staff and select confidently from the resources available. Children are polite to each other and staff model effective manners for children to copy in order to support this. There is a suitable policy in place for staff to use in order to manage children's behaviour appropriately. There are opportunities for children to develop their independence skills because they help to tidy up and can serve themselves some foods at snack times. Food provided is healthy and substantial, such as baked beans on toast, with fruit and plain biscuits afterwards. Children select from these choices in order to meet their needs and preferences. Drinking water is always available for children to serve themselves so that they can manage their needs for drinks. Children make displays of artwork about healthy

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

eating, demonstrating that this is emphasised in the club as part of a balanced lifestyle. All areas of the premises used by the club are clean, including the areas used for food preparation by both staff and children, in order to support children's good health.

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

Children's safety is suitably managed by having a password system to ensure that anyone collecting children is authorised to do so by parents. Security to prevent unauthorised exit or entry to the premises is effective. For example, staff answer the locked external door in person when adults arrive to collect children. Children are signed in and out of the club by adults bringing or collecting, so that there is a record of who has been to the premises, as well as a visitors' book for other adults visiting the club. There are daily opportunities for outdoor play using the main school playground, which is also kept secure to prevent unauthorised entry or exit when children from the club use it. Children can use the fixed equipment provided by the school for balancing and developing their physical coordination. This also enables them to learn how to take reasonable risk in their physical play, with staff close by to help. Staff from the club also provide a selection of small

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

equipment, such as balls, hoops and ropes, to support children's physical play outdoors. As a result, children have suitable activities to encourage them to exercise in order to support a healthy lifestyle. Staff and children practise kicking a football between each other, which reinforces turn taking as well as providing exercise for children.

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

Suitable information is sought by the club in order to meet children's needs when they join and make some initial plans to help them to settle. Staff seek information about children's health, including any allergies or medicines that they may need to support their welfare, as well as any preferred activities. Adequate information is held in order to contact parents or other authorised adults in the event of a child becoming ill or any other emergency requiring children to be collected as soon as possible. Parents give their written permission over a range of issues, such as for administering medicines to children and for children to go on local outings. The clubs also seeks parental permission regarding seeking emergency medical treatment for children in the event of this being needed. Consequently, the club works in partnership with parents in order to provide care tailored to children's needs. Children can attend for a short visit prior to starting full sessions at the

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

club, and there is flexibility over whether parents choose stay for this, depending on children's need for emotional support. Parents receive verbal information about their children's well-being and activities at collection times, and the club also produces a regular newsletter to keep them informed of any changes or events.

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provision

Staff undertake training in safeguarding in order to be able to manage any concerns they may have regarding children's welfare. There are adequate risk assessments and daily checks in place to minimise any hazards so that children's safety is supported. Policies concerned with safeguarding and risk assessments are regularly reviewed to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of children attending. All staff are qualified in paediatric first aid in order to deal with any emergencies of this type correctly. All documentation required to support the safe running of the club is in place, such as the daily record of attendance with the times of arrival and departure of each child. There are adequate systems in place to recruit suitable new staff as needed, including temporary staff for the summer holiday club. All staff, including temporary ones, have undergone suitability checks and must provide at least two references to demonstrate their suitability for work

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provision

with children. Permanent staff who work during term times have their suitability checks repeated every three years through the Disclosure and Barring Service to ensure their ongoing suitability for work with children.

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provision

There is an induction procedure to ensure that staff are familiar with the policies and procedures of the club in order to support children's play and welfare. However, the club has not yet implemented an appraisal system to manage staff performance in order to identify staff's strengths and areas for development. This means the club is not fully meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. There is currently no system in place to support staff's professional development, with regard to improving their skills when supporting children's play, although requirements for qualifications are met. This means that there are no methods in place, such as observation of staff in order to assess where they may need support to extend their practice. Consequently, this information is also not available to support the evaluation process in order to support continuous improvement of the club.

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provision

The club uses the Ofsted tool for self-evaluation and seeks views from children, parents and staff in order to make some plans for improvement. However, improvements are not always implemented with sufficient pace for the club to fully meet statutory requirements. For example, the appraisal system has still not been implemented. Activities for children's play, learning and relaxation are planned based on their views and requests. The spread of these is monitored to check that children are offered activities across the areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, monitoring and evaluation have not been sufficiently robust to identify the underuse of outdoor play for other areas of learning apart from physical development. Partnership with the host school enables staff from both settings to share information about children's interests, as some club staff also work in the school. The manager attends meetings with the staff of the school

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provision

foundation stage whenever possible, in order to contribute relevant information about children that the club staff have observed. The manager has a suitable understanding of why partnership working with other agencies is important in order to meet children's welfare and learning needs, when this is required.

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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 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 EY300055 Local authority Bury Inspection number 870778

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 34 Name of provider St. Marie's R.C. Primary School Committee Date of previous inspection 05/11/2008 Telephone number 0161 763 4663

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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