Active Minds

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children show a sense of belonging in the club. They know the routine when they arrive after their day at school.

Children place their belongings in an allocated box, wash their hands and sit around tables for a meal. Children clearly love coming to the club. This is evident when parents collect them at the end of the day.

Children tell their parents that they 'don't want to go home yet'. Children are confident communicators and show that they feel safe and secure. They interact with staff and their friends during mealtimes, which are sociable occasions.

Children chat to each other and staff about things that inte...rest them, such as snakes and spiders. Staff support children to have a can-do attitude. For instance, when children struggle to find suitable pieces to make a marble run, staff ask, 'Have you got a smaller bit?' This encourages children to solve their own problems.

Children behave well. They share craft resources, such as paint, when they create artwork. Children take it in turns with staff to throw and hit a ball outdoors.

Children are kind to staff. For instance, they sing 'happy birthday' to staff when it is their birthday and make them a pretend present. Children tell visitors that staff's present is 'an egg box with a surprise inside'.

They try to guess the age of staff and understand similarities and differences in people.

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

The manager and staff reflect on the service they provide for children. They listen to children's comments and make changes to improve the experiences children have in the club.

For instance, when children ask staff for more cardboard cups, staff listen and provide these for them. This allows children to follow their interests. They use the cups to stack on top of each other to form a tower.

This shows children that staff respect their views and comments, helping them to feel valued and appreciated.There is a key person system in place so that each child has a member of staff who supports their individual needs. When children first start attending, staff find out about children's likes, dislikes and interests.

They use this information to talk to children and to form positive relationships with them. Staff set out activities and equipment that they know children like. Because of this, children settle very quickly into staff's care and show that they feel emotionally secure.

The manager and staff have not yet informed parents who their child's key person is. This is for those children who have recently joined the club. However, they explain how they intend to do this, to ensure that parents have an individual member of staff to talk to if they need to discuss their children's needs.

During mealtimes, children receive healthy foods and tell staff their favourite food is 'tomatoes'. Staff talk to children about why it is important for them to brush their teeth. This helps to promote good oral hygiene.

Staff provide daily opportunities for children to play outdoors. Children squeal with excitement when they push car tyres up a hill and chase after the tyre when it rolls down. They show strength and determination.

This contributes to children's experiences of a healthy lifestyle.Staff actively encourage positive behaviour. They give children plenty of praise for their achievements, such as saying 'well done'.

Staff give children gentle reminders to use good manners. For instance, when staff ask children if they would like more cucumber and children say, 'No', staff say, 'No thank you.' Children are creative and demonstrate their imaginative skills.

They use different resources, such as cardboard boxes, paper plates and tape. Children tell visitors they have made a 'robot with jet packs on the back'. Children show a positive attitude to new experiences and take pride in their achievements.

Staff find out what children are learning during their day at school, for example about nature and the natural world. Staff then offer them opportunities to create pictures of animals that live in the wild, such as hedgehogs. Children use cereal and wool to make bird feeders and take these home to hang in their gardens.

This broadens the experiences children receive at school during the day.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The managers and staff understand their responsibilities to safeguard children.

They know how to identify the signs that may suggest a child is at risk of abuse or developing extreme views or ideas. Staff understand where to report concerns about children's safety or if they have concerns about staff working with children. This helps to keep children safe.

Staff ensure that children are safe when they collect them from the host school. For instance, staff stand at the front and back when they ask children to walk in a line. This helps to ensure that children stay in a group to promote their safety.

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