Barton Badgers

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Younger children are collected by a member of staff at the end of the school day and are brought to meet the older children in the club.

Children gather together and chat excitedly to each other with their friends who are in other year groups. Circle time indicates the start of the club and gives all children an opportunity to talk about their day and share their feelings and thoughts. Children enjoy talking about what they have been learning and demonstrate respect for each other as they listen and do not interrupt.

Children are learning about numbers. They talk about the clothes they are wearing which have numbers on, an...d what they have made which corresponds to the number of their home address. Staff extend this learning so that children listen for the number they chose to be called out; they then go and get ready for their snack.

Children help each other. Older children spell out the number name to try and help their friends who are struggling. There is a wide range of activities for the children to choose from which ignite their interest.

They help each other build structures from building blocks or initiate imaginary role play of selling food in the 'café'. Free-flow play inside and outside is available. Children can go and expel energy outside, further extending their physical development skills, such as using rackets to hit balls and shuttlecocks to each other.

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

Staff form close relationships with the children. They forge good working relationships with the school and parents. Staff take time to speak to teachers about the children and provide feedback and messages to the parents from the school.

Termly meetings are held with the headteacher to review local topics within the school, so this can be incorporated into the after-school club planning.A wide range of activities are on offer for the children to explore and take part in, which supports their learning and development. They enjoy making Valentine's Day cards using heart-shaped cookie cutters which are dipped in paint.

Children use their small-muscle skills as they carefully pick up sequins and glitter to add to their cards. Outside, children enjoy playing with their friends. They use skipping ropes and 'walk' using stilts.

However, staff do not always make the most of opportunities to extend children's skills further. When children use the rackets for shuttlecocks and balls, there is no guidance or assistance in helping them to learn or improve their skills in using this equipment.Children can independently choose which snack they want from the healthy options available.

Afterwards, children are encouraged to think about what food or packaging is on their plate and dispose of this in the correct recycling bins. They talk about the importance of the environment and continue to extend their knowledge of the world around us. Children are praised for helping to clear away the table after snack time and tidy their plates and cups.

This helps to build their self-esteem. Staff are good role models and children are relaxed and happy. Children behave well.

Children are fully engaged in their play and sustain good levels of concentration. Staff play alongside the children. For example, children enjoy a large-sized game of 'Snakes and Ladders' on the floor with a member of staff.

Staff are deployed effectively to ensure they can support the children and meet their individual needs. This makes children feel safe and secure.Parent partnerships are good.

Parents report that their children are happy and settled at the club. They like the variety of activities which are on offer, especially the arts and crafts. Parents say they like the feedback they receive about what their children have been doing.

They feel that the staff really care about the children.The staff complete observations of each other and feed back about the practice. The manager completes termly supervisions of staff performance and yearly appraisals are carried out by the provider.

However, staff professional development is not given the highest priority. While staff attend mandatory training courses, they do not identify areas of weakness in practice and attend training to support this. Therefore, teaching practice is not always consistent and children are not always fully challenged to extend their learning even further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff carry out effective risk assessments of the building and outside area before children come in, to ensure there are no risks. The premises and outside area are fully secure and children are not able to leave them unsupervised.

All staff attend regular safeguarding training and know what signs and symptoms to look out for which may indicate a child is suffering harm. They confidently know what action they would take and the procedures to follow if they were concerned about a child in their care. New staff undergo rigorous safer recruitment procedures and are immediately booked onto courses, which helps to keep children safe.

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