Alpha Out of School/Holiday Club

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children are happy and settled.

They follow their own interests; choose the toys they want to play with and put them away after use. Children build good friendships as they play together. They are confident and develop strong bonds with the staff, who know them well.

Staff respond quickly when children need them. Children feel secure, valued and listened to. This helps them to build on their social and physical skills, and creativity.

They learn to negotiate and take turns during play, for example, while climbing on the play equipment they encourage each other and work together as they learn new skills, such as sk...ipping. Children show a good understanding of the club rules that help them stay safe. Children are kind and sensitive to each other and work well together as they decide what to do.

Children behave very well.Children have good language skills and are confident speakers. Older children support the younger children when they find things tricky.

Children listen well and are eager to learn new skills. For example, children sit with staff to play games and confidently share their ideas and the moves they need to win the game and staff support others to learn to skip.

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

Staff are knowledgeable about their responsibility to keep children safe.

The leader and staff team complete risk assessments on all activities to ensure they are appropriate and safe for all children.Staff follow children's ideas and interests when planning activities for the children to enjoy. For example, children talk with excitement as they play board games or organise themselves into teams for games in the playground.

Children are eager to share stories about their day. This helps children to be curious and deeply engaged in their chosen play and activities.Staff join in with children's games and praise them for their skills and individual strengths.

They encourage children to be confident with their ideas and engage in positive interactions with the children. Staff adapt their levels of support and expectations skilfully to each child's age and stage of development. However, some group activities are not organised as well as others, such as planned table discussions.

Therefore, some children are unable to share their ideas or engage in these meaningful group discussions.Children are good communicators. They are confident to interact with unfamiliar people.

Children talk confidently to visitors about their favourite activities. For instance, children eagerly involve visitors in their games, and talk about where the best to place is to keep a beetle safe.Children enjoy sociable snack and lunchtimes as they sit with their friends, chatting about the activities they have enjoyed.

They are supported to learn about healthy lifestyles, as they have opportunities to be physically active, for example they enjoy team games, such as 'dodge' or making their own hopscotch, and practise climbing and balancing on the play equipment. This means children develop their physical skills and manage their own risks.The leader works in partnership with the teaching staff in the host school where the club is based.

Staff support children with the mathematical skills as older children eagerly count play money during shop role play and younger children are encouraged to chalk numbers in the playground. This helps to support the continuity of children's learning and well-being.Parent partnerships are well developed.

The newly introduced parent forum enables parents to share their feedback with staff as part of the club's evaluation. Parents speak positively about how their children enjoy attending and the activities staff provide. They feel their children are well cared for and that staff are always friendly and approachable.

Parents feel their children benefit greatly as the staff are also part of their daily life in school.Staff work well together. There are daily debriefs and regular meetings, where they discuss what has worked well.

They say they feel happy and supported at work. The leader meets with staff to discuss their roles and actively seeks training to enhance their professional development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff have a good understanding of how to protect children from harm. They know how to identify and report their concerns about how to keep children safe. All staff attend regular training to ensure that their safeguarding knowledge is up to date.

Staff understand the process to follow if they have a concern regarding a colleague. They are clear about the role of working with other professionals. Safer recruitment procedures mean that staff's suitability is thoroughly vetted.

The premises are safe and secure. Staff risk assess the environment well. Organisation of the setting is good.

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