Pandas Kids Club

Pandas Kids Club St Johns Primary School, Grantham Road,, Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln, LN4 2LD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/10/2014 19/02/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 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 engage enthusiastically in a range of activities and experiences. These are well planned to incorporate their interests and development needs.  Children's emotional well-being is promoted very well. Staff are calm and consistent and easily approachable. This enables children to settle quickly as they make new friends. As a result, children have a strong sense of belonging.  Management have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in regard to the safeguarding and welfare requirements, including child-protection issues.  Partnerships with parents are good. They are very complimentary about the club and are made to feel very welcome when they drop off or collect their children.  The provider and the manager are committed to providing a good care and learning experience for children who attend the club.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always help children to fully develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills by allowing them ample time to consider and respond to challenges for themselves.  There is scope to improve children's developing independence skills, particularly during snack times.

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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 activities inside and outdoors.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the owner/manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the owner/managers of the club, the staff and the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children and discussed the club's self-evaluation and improvement plan.  The inspector took account of the views of parent's written testimonials.

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Information about the setting

Pandas Kids Club was registered in 2004 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a purpose built portacabin in the grounds of St John's Primary School in the Bracebridge Heath area of Lincoln, and is privately owned and managed. The club serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from one main room and the club have access to the school fields for outdoor play. The club employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, six hold appropriate early years qualifications. The club opens Monday to Friday for 50 weeks of the year. Sessions are from 7.30am to 9am and from 3.15pm to 6pm during school terms. In the holidays sessions are from 7.30am to 6pm. There are currently 96 children attending, eight of whom are in the early years age group.

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

 enhance opportunities for children to solve problems and develop their critical thinking skills, for example, by allowing them sufficient time to consider their responses and try out solutions for themselves before offering help

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

 enhance opportunities for children to develop their independence skills even further at snack and mealtimes, for example, by pouring their own drinks and serving themselves.

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who attend

Staff obtain information about children's learning and achievements from parents through the All about me form. This means that staff are knowledgeable about children's interests and their preferences for learning. Staff in the club provide a range of interesting resources that support children's independent play, and offer them a choice of adult-led activities, such as art and craft. Children are involved in planning and as a result, resources reflect their interests. Staff observe children and achievements are recorded by their key person in individual books. Staff track children's progress through observations, photographs and samples of work and use this information to plan for the next steps in children's learning. The staff appreciate that the children have spent most of the term time day in school and subsequently, are mindful of providing activities and opportunities that the children find enjoyable. They encourage children to learn through play, with the

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who attend

Children form solid friendships. They actively seek out others to share experiences and enjoy working together as part of a group. For example, children are not easily distracted as they create volcanos in the sand tray. Children enjoy looking at books and reading stories in the designated quiet area. This promotes their communication skills and supports their interest in literacy. Children's physical development is particularly well promoted. This is because staff place a strong emphasis on regular physical activity and daily access to fresh air. They use the wonderfully developed school grounds, which include large open grassed areas, a timber trail and space for ball games. Staff interact with children in a friendly and supportive way to make sure that all the children can join in and have fun; however, sometimes they do not give children enough time to work things out for themselves. This means that children have fewer opportunities to learn to solve

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who attend

problems and develop critical thinking skills.

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who attend

Management and staff have a good understanding of the learning and development requirements and they have the skills to support children's learning. Consequently, they help them to make progress within the early learning goals. For example, children develop their writing skills as they write their name on their own pictures. Staff use conversation during children's chosen play and adult-led activities to develop communication and language skills, as well as exploring their ideas. Parents are well included in their children's learning and development through daily conversations with staff at the end of each session. Photographs, observations and samples of children's work are kept as evidence of the children's time at the club. These are shared with parents to ensure that they are fully aware of their child's progress and development.

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

The small, well-established staff team ensures there is an effective key person system in place and children build secure bonds with the staff. Children show that they are happy and confident as they move around the club. They demonstrate strong attachments with staff that promote their emotional well-being. In addition, older children are given the responsibility of supporting and guiding the younger children. They provide help during snack times and offer encouragement when getting ready to leave for school. This level of peer support, provided with adult guidance, offers reassurance and boosts the confidence of the younger children, thus supporting their emotional well-being. Staff support the new children very well. They offer additional support when required, to help them follow simple routines, such as where to hang up their belongings, and they find out which activities the children would like to play with first.

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

Staff encourage children to be creative and display children's work on the club notice boards. This creates a positive play and learning environment where children have a good sense of belonging. Behaviour is good. This is because staff encourage children to resolve their own conflicts. They ask, 'How do you think we can resolve this?' This means that children are developing a good understanding of right and wrong. Children learn good skills for independent self-care and personal hygiene. For example, they wash their hands after outdoor play and before eating and they independently use the toilet. Children have healthy snacks, the menu for which is decided by them. There is, however, scope to extend children's independence skills during snack times to provide children with even more opportunities to do things for themselves, such as pouring their own drinks and serving themselves.

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

Children's safety is a priority at the club. They are learning to keep themselves safe as they practise the fire procedure. Staff are proactive in managing risk and positively encourage children to explore safely. For instance, staff allow children to take reasonable risks as they climb on the trim trail in the school field. They are encouraged to enjoy physical activities daily, which help them to learn about exercise. This means that children increase and challenge their physical skills. Staff provide a well organised learning environment inside. Children enjoy using a broad range of quality toys and resources. These reflect children's ages and stages of development well. In addition, children have a quiet area where they can unwind and rest. Excellent links with the host school ensure that children are provided with the effective support for the move between the club and school. Staff share information with the school and parents to ensure that children's needs

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

are met, to help them to make progress and to provide continuity of care.

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provision

The provider and manager are well organised, therefore, the club is very effectively led and managed. They work very closely as a team and have a good overview of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage in order to guide their practice. Children are safeguarded as the manager and staff can identify the signs and symptoms of child abuse and neglect and know what to do if they are worried about a child. The manager ensures that all staff have induction training about safeguarding and most staff have also had local authority safeguarding training, which has developed their awareness of this important issue. The premises are visually checked daily and the club has completed a comprehensive selection of risk assessments for the premises and for outings they take during school holidays. Almost all staff hold a current first-aid certificate, which means that they can give appropriate treatment if there is an accident to a child in their care. The

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provision

building is safe and secure because the main clubroom door is locked to ensure only those authorised to do so can collect their children.

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provision

All medication and accidents are appropriately recorded and information is shared with parents. As a result, children are effectively safeguarded. Clear and precise policies, procedures and documentation underpin practice very well and help to keep children safe, secure and protected from harm. Recruitment procedures ensure all staff are suitable to work with children. New staff go through an induction period and are supported by the management team at each stage. Annual performance appraisals ensure that training needs are identified. Informal supervisions are taking place to discuss some staff issues. Although, the current systems for managing staff performance through supervisions have been recently enhanced to include observations of staff practice. However, the impact on these for enhancing teaching and learning is not yet embedded.

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provision

The owner/managers are committed to continuous professional development and they strive to ensure both themselves and their staff have regular opportunities to access training, which will benefit children's development and improve the quality of teaching in the club. Although there is no formal self-evaluation, the owner/managers and staff discuss their strengths and areas for development on a regular basis. As a result, targets are continually set for future improvement. The club have a suggestion box for children and parents but they find that verbal communication is more effective. Partnerships with parents and carers are good. Parents spoken with are positive in their comments and value all staff's enthusiasm and everything the club has to offer. Parents comment that their children love their 'second family'. In addition, parents say, 'I find all the staff friendly, professional and always approachable'. Staff work in partnership with other

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provision

professionals involved in promoting children's care and learning needs. For example, they liaise closely with the teachers at the host school. This enables children to benefit from continuity and consistency in their learning due to the effective support they receive, which positively promotes a smooth move between both school and the 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 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. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of 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

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Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. 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 EY291673 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 856360

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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 96 Name of provider Carol Bullimore and Heather Sykes Partnership Date of previous inspection 19/02/2009 Telephone number 01522 530954

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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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