Super Camps At St Swithun’s School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Staff are highly energetic and greet children with passion and enthusiasm at the start of the day. Children settle quickly and are keen to engage in the stimulating activities available for them to choose from.

For example, they enthusiastically make snowballs and investigate changing textures. Children add further materials, such as shampoo pasta and glue. They shout 'jackpot' as they successfully mould the mixture and explore how it comes together.

Children demonstrate confidence in their environment. They proudly demonstrate their gymnastic skills and discuss activities they enjoy at home. Children show high levels of c...reativity.

They talk with enthusiasm about their drawings and cut out their pictures to make a puzzle. Children show excellent manners. They push their chairs under the table, tidy away the toys and make their way to the welcome meeting with their older peers.

The camp manager welcomes children in different languages, building on their understanding of diversity well. Children listen to others and discuss how they are feeling, developing relationships right from the outset. Children show an understanding of personal safety.

For example, they discuss the evacuation procedures in detail and actively talk about the reasons why they should not share food with their friends.

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

Staff gather information from parents about children online before they join. When children arrive at the camp, they hold further discussions and make sure children have everything they need for their day.

At the end of the session, staff share information with parents about their children's achievements and activities they have enjoyed. They keep parents well informed about the programme of activities on offer. Parents comment positively about the staff team.

They say that their children enjoy their time at the camp.The camp is run by an enthusiastic management team, who are excellent role models for staff and children. Children have wonderful opportunities to take part in a wide range of experiences in the extensive grounds of the school site.

They develop new skills as they take part in a wide range of activities, such as swimming, athletics, ball games and arts and crafts.Children delight in exploring nature and enjoy walks to collect natural resources from the woods. They discuss and investigate what they find and bring these back to the base room to use in creative activities.

Staff build on children's problem-solving skills and encourage them to work as a team to discover how they can use items they have collected to make a spider.The enthusiastic attitude of staff shines through. This has a positive outcome on children, which supports their emotional well-being highly effectively.

For example, staff are vigilant to children's needs and recognise when to adapt activities to ensure they can successfully achieve their goals. This was illustrated on the day of the inspection, when staff gave children the option of using a tennis racket when playing baseball. Consequently, all children were confident to take part in the game.

The camp manager provides her staff with weekly appraisals and ongoing support to ensure their well-being. She gives them one-to-one mentoring to help them build on their skills to ensure they are confident to fulfil their roles. Senior managers also visit the site regularly and seek the views of both staff and children to evaluate the camp site.

They use this information to ensure continuous improvements in the quality of the service they provide.Staff work extremely well together. Children's safety is at the heart of everything they do.

They are highly organised and use resources, such as walkie talkies, to communicate throughout the day. The camp manager deploys her staff highly effectively and ensures they supervise children vigilantly at all times.Staff promote healthy lifestyles well.

For example, they use social occasions, such as lunch time, to talk to children about the importance of exercise and food that is good for their bodies. Children drink water throughout the day and say this is to ensure they stay hydrated.Children discuss their 'colour point' reward system with enthusiasm.

They explain how they can earn points for their team in different ways, such as through competitions, healthy lunches and being kind to their peers. Children hold doors open for others and beam with pride, as staff reward them with points for their team. They play cooperatively with each other and form good friendships.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a good understanding of how to protect children from harm and are clear about their role and responsibilities to safeguard children. They talk confidently about what they would do if they had any concerns about a child or a colleague's behaviour.

Staff understand how to report these concerns in line with local safeguarding procedures. All staff attend regular training to ensure their safeguarding knowledge is kept up to date. Robust recruitment and induction procedures help staff to understand their roles in keeping children safe.

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