School Friend Clubs @ West Drayton

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision does not meet requirements Leadership and management are poor.

Inconsistencies in the management of the club mean staff do not understand their roles and responsibilities, including how to make safeguarding referrals. This means children's welfare is not assured. Despite this, children seem happy in the club and enjoy attending.

They look forward to playing with their friends after their school day and enjoy playing board games with staff members. There has been a recent turnover of staff at the club and children are just starting to form bonds with new staff who work there. Staff provide a range of activities for children.

Children... have access to an outdoor area for some of the time, where they enjoy climbing and kicking a football. Some children are engaged in the activities on offer and sit for long periods with their peers, creating different artwork. However, others lose interest and move from one thing to another, because some staff do not interact with children to encourage their participation.

Staff try to teach children about the different rules and boundaries of the club. They encourage children to state different rules at the start of each session. However, behaviour management techniques are inconsistent within the staff team.

This means children are not given clear guidance about what is appropriate and, as a result, they display undesirable behaviour.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

The key-person system for children is ineffective. The provider has not put in place a clear procedure to ensure that the needs of early years children are fully met.

As a result, younger children do not have strong opportunities to form a secure bond with a familiar person to help them settle at the club.The provider has failed to ensure that all new staff receive thorough induction training so that they are clear about their roles and responsibilities. On the day of inspection, new members of staff were unclear about what they should be doing and said that they are not sure about the daily routine.

Important information about the children in their care is not shared with staff. This leads to inconsistencies in their practice, which has a direct impact on the care children receive.Behaviour management is inconsistent.

Children throw toys and run around the club. Staff attempt to remind children of the rules at the start of the session, but children are not engaged and talk over others as they try to speak. Staff deliver conflicting messages about what children are meant to be doing.

As a result, children are unaware of the rules and boundaries of the club and do not have a clear understanding of what is expected of them.Staff do not ensure that relevant information is gathered from parents about their child's needs when they first start. Staff do not take time to familiarise themselves with new children and find out about their interests.

As a result, children do not always have their emerging needs met and they are not supported with the transition to help them settle in.On the day of inspection, there were occasions when staff failed to supervise the outdoor area effectively and children were left outside playing by themselves, sometimes out of sight. As a result, children's safety is not assured.

Staff are sensitive towards children and ask them about what they have been doing. They are keen to join in with games that children play and show them new ways of doing things.Parents comment that their children enjoy the food at the club.

Staff encourage children to be independent and prepare their own meals. They provide a choice of healthy foods and encourage children to try different things.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

The provider has failed to ensure that staff have a good knowledge of safeguarding. Some staff do not know what they would do if they had an immediate concern about a child and others say that they are unsure of the procedures to follow. Staff are unsure what to do if an allegation was made against a colleague or who they would report these concerns to.

Although staff have a sound knowledge of potential signs and symptoms of abuse, they do not know who the designated safeguarding lead is to report their concerns. As a result, children's welfare and safety is compromised.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must: Due date train staff to ensure they have an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues 09/06/2023 ensure staff have an up-to-date knowledge of the safeguarding procedures to follow in the event of a concern about a child or a member of staff 09/06/2023 implement a key-person system to ensure children's care is tailored to meet their individual needs 09/06/2023 strengthen induction procedures for new staff to ensure they understand their roles and responsibilities 09/06/2023 enable a two-way flow of information with parents and other professionals to ensure the needs of all children are met 09/06/2023 implement an effective behaviour management strategy to ensure staff give consistent guidance that helps children to understand the rules and boundaries of the club 09/06/2023 deploy staff effectively to ensure that children are adequately supervised at all times.

09/06/2023

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