St James After School Club

St James After School Club St. James's Junior & Infant School, Sandrock Road, TUNBRIDGE WELLS, Kent, TN2 3PR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/01/2015 15/05/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 The staff work exceptionally well as a team, to ensure they provide a caring and secure environment where the children feel safe and secure.  Staff provide a club with an extremely warm and nurturing environment, which is characterised by active and happy children.  Excellent self-evaluation means that the staff are continually extending the already outstanding service for children and their families.  Staff support children's personal, social and emotional needs exceptionally through the key-person system, which enhances their well-being and self-esteem.  All children have great fun and thoroughly enjoy their experiences at the club. They make firm friendships and demonstrate exceptional behaviour, because of the high quality care and teaching.  Staff base the high quality activities on the children's interests and the very positive adult interaction inspire and captivate the children.

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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 undertook a tour of the rooms used by the out of school club and observed the risk assessment being carried out outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with the nominated person to discuss how they support the manager in her role.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held discussions with the manager, staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including the clubs self-evaluation and policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

St James After School Club registered in 2011 and is run by a management committee. The club operates from a hall and rooms within St James Church of England Infant School in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. The club has use of the school's playgrounds and fields. They are registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 73 children on roll of whom six are in the early years age range. The club operates Monday to Friday from 8am to 8.50am and 3.15pm to 6pm during school term times only. The club supports children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and also supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

There are 10 staff employed to work with the children, of these seven members of staff hold appropriate qualifications at National Vocation Qualification level 2 or above. In addition, the deputy hold Qualified Teacher status. An administrator supports the club and two bank staff who are able to provide cover in case of staff absence. The club receive support from the local authority.

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

 continue to review the procedures at teatime to further increase the opportunities children have to develop their independence.

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who attend

The club offers an exciting and extremely sociable environment where children's ideas and views are fully valued. Children eagerly arrive and quickly settle, saying 'Hello' to staff and friends. They enthusiastically explore the environment and immediately become involved in activities. Dedicated staff support and care for the children very successfully. They offer the children a wealth of stimulating resources both inside and outdoors. Staff are very aware of the interests and stages of development of all the children for whom they take particular responsibility. They carefully reflect these in the organisation of the activities and resources set out. Staff are fully aware of the differing needs of the children when they come in from school and provide them with spaces to sit quietly chatting with friends. They also ensure the outside area is quickly available to allow others space to run around.

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who attend

Staff regularly review and adapt the planning to reflect the needs and interests of all the children attending. Staff provide activities for children to extend what they're learning. For example, children were eager to plant the bulbs and think about what they needed to do to look after them. This supports the understanding as they learning about the world around them. Staff promote children's creative abilities by offering a stimulating array of craft resources to encourage children to express their own ideas and engage their imaginations. Some children were utterly absorbed in positioning tiny beads on a frame. They are learning to follow instructions, as well as practising their hand-eye coordination.

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who attend

Staff interaction with the children is excellent. They get down to their level and join in games and children very confidently remind them of the rules to follow. There is an abundance of activities to challenge children. For example, putting together a balancing game, ready to share and take turns with friends. All children are motivated and able to participate in a range of exciting activities with their friends after school. The staff team are committed to providing all children with numerous opportunities to make their time at the club an extremely pleasurable experience. They are committed to working in partnership with parents to provide a valued and flexible service, which meets the needs of both children and parents.

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

Staff have established a highly effective key-person system at the club. They demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of all of their key children. This ensures that staff are proficient in supporting both the physical and emotional well being of all children. Consequently, all children demonstrate they feel exceedingly safe, secure and settled at their club.

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

Staff offer the children a small snack when they initially arrive at the club, this ensures that children's basic needs are met and they are ready to join in the fun. Teatime is a social occasion with staff and children sitting down together to talk about their day. The children helped to set up the tables, counting out the plates and cutlery. Staff offer the children a hot meal every day. They work with the children to plan a menu based on a selection of healthy hot foods the children enjoy eating. Staff ensure that water is freely available throughout the session. Teatime can get a little busy, however children are given sufficient time to eat their meals and help tidy up. The children are developing their independence by taking on small tasks and serving most of the foods. Staff are very aware of any allergies and food intolerances the children might have, therefore are able to keep the children safe at all times. Consequently they are supporting the children to learn

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

Children are aware of how to look after themselves, for example, they wash their hands after using the toilet as well as before meals. They enjoy going outside to play football with friends as well as making use of the extensive play space to run around and explore. Children develop a healthy lifestyle as staff talk to them about the importance of exercise and being outside in the fresh air. Staff encourage children to talk about how they feel and they are kind and helpful to staff and friends. All children show that they feel confident; they readily approach staff and ask for help, as well as to show their achievements. The older children help and support the younger members and, through this, extremely positive relationships are being nurtured. They make choices about play and show good levels of concentration and enjoyment in individual and group activities. Management forge extremely strong links with the schools. This can be seen through the

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

excellent two-way flow of information, when children move from one setting to another. This helps to provide the children with a continuity of care and learning. Children excitedly show parents their creations at the end of the sessions as well as slowly finishing off games and activities, so that they can stay longer, playing with friends and staff.

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provision

The quality of leadership and management is highly impressive. Very effective teamwork among management and staff is an essential element in promoting children's safety and welfare. Rigorous and robust procedures are in place for the recruitment and vetting of staff and this ensures that all adults working with children are suitable to do so. Effective induction systems are in place and these inform new staff of all relevant information to ensure they protect children at all times. The highly motivated management team have a very clear vision for the club and are continuously seeking ways to improve it even further. Management and staff set the highest expectations of themselves and the children and are extremely keen to further develop and enhance the club. Most staff hold a paediatric first-aid qualification, which supports them to deal with any minor incidents the children, might have. Currently, staff are exploring further training opportunities.

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provision

The premises are very secure and the safety of children is a high priority. Staff carry out daily risk assessment to ensure children's continuing safety as they explore and play. They make excellent use of the walkie-talkie system to effectively deploy themselves between the indoor and outside areas. Consequently, staff supervise children extremely well. Management have an excellent understanding of the strengths and weaknesses within the group and have extensive action plans in place to effectively address them. The club are looking to join a consortium with other groups to share best practice and pool resources to assist with accessing additional training.

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provision

Management have an exceptional working knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and is aware of the importance of quality practice. The club have established significant links with other agencies and use them effectively to support the children's care and learning needs. The views of parents and carers are valued and obtained through questionnaires and daily chats. Children's voices are heard too as they offer opinions on what they have been doing and what they would like to do next. When children have additional needs, staff work closely with other professionals to ensure that they offer appropriate support. Staff are enthusiastic, caring and passionate. This results in children being motivated, interested learners who are kind to others and enjoy their time at 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 EY438340 Local authority Kent Inspection number 845571 Type of provision Out of school provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 4 - 8 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 8 Name of provider The Parochial Church Council Of The Ecclesiastical Parish Of St James, Tunbridge Wells Date of previous inspection 15/05/2012 Telephone number 01892522301

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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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