Abacus After School Club

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children are extremely settled in the warm, comfortable and welcoming environment. Staff are exceptionally kind and have developed secure relationships with all children.

Children are highly confident and independent. They take their coat off on arrival and safely put it away. Older children are kind and caring towards the younger ones.

They behave extremely well. Children are well listened to and their views and opinions given high priority. For instance, staff gather their feedback regularly, analyse the results and then act on them swiftly.

Staff plan a wide range of enjoyable, exciting activities. For instance..., younger children thoroughly enjoy taking part in cornflour play. They learn to follow instructions and understand the changes taking place once water is added.

They explore different textures and describe what they feel and look like, such as ice cream. Children are extremely engrossed. They curiously explore and share their experience with other children.

They are supported well on how to stay safe online. Staff are deployed effectively to help ensure children are constantly safe.

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

The manager and staff are extremely passionate about providing high-quality care.

They reflect carefully on the quality of experiences provided by the club and plan relevant improvements, such as adapting the planning so children's ideas are more meticulously implemented. Children are able to choose from an extensive range of resources. Staff know the children and their families well.

They use the information about children's interests to provide equipment that complements what they do at home and school.The manager and staff have developed highly effective partnerships with parents. They value their feedback, which is used to make positive changes.

Parents comment that their children love the club, they enjoy the food and the time spent with their friends. Staff help younger children to settle quickly.Staff are positive role models.

They help children to understand what is expected. Links with school routines and ethos mean children's behaviour is exemplary. They are polite and considerate; they understand what is expected of them and how they should treat each other with respect.

Staff support children to take responsibility for their own needs and help others. For instance, older children support younger children when needed. All children are helped to follow good hygiene procedures and learn about keeping themselves healthy.

Staff provide healthy, nutritious snacks and tea that children independently help themselves to. Tea time is sociable. Children sit and talk about their day with their friends and staff, who they happily involved in their conversations.

Children have lots of opportunities to develop their physical skills. For example, they thoroughly enjoy playing outdoors with their friends, playing ball games, riding around on scooters or playing chasing games. Children are supported to understand how to keep safe.

For example, they take part in risk assessing the environment with staff support.The manager and the deputy manager support the well-being and professional development of their staff effectively. They observe the staff interacting with children and suggest how they can improve upon their skills.

Staff benefit from individual support, for example helping them to understand the needs of younger children. This has helped staff to plan activities that are matched to children's capabilities. This all contributes to the managers' accurate oversight of the quality of the club.

Staff talk positively about the support they receive from their managers.Children enjoy many play opportunities that are linked to their interests. For instance, they spend prolonged periods of time making three-dimensional shapes using different building bricks.

Some children sit and draw elaborate pictures of their favourite cartoons. Other children relax in the cosy area and chill as they look at books and play electronic games with each other.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff have a strong understanding of their responsibility to safeguard children. They are aware of the signs that could indicate a child is at risk of harm and the procedure to follow to report any concerns. The manager and staff are highly vigilant and have extremely robust procedures in place for children's safety.

The manager accesses information regarding gangs and organised crime networks who groom and exploit children. This information is shared with parents and staff to ensure children's safety is effectively supported. The manager implements robust recruitment and induction procedures to ensure that staff are suitable.

Also at this postcode