Dobcroft After School Hours (DASH)

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children fully enjoy their time at this busy and friendly club.

They play happily together from the start of the session to the time they go home. They choose from the wide range of activities staff prepare for them. Children move freely between the indoor and outdoor spaces, developing their own games and physical activities.

For instance, they create an active game of volcanoes and lava jumping from obstacle to obstacle in the well-equipped playground. The experienced manager and her staff have high expectations for children's success and engagement. Children behave very well.

They are polite and considerate tow...ards each other. They have a good understanding of the staff's clear expectations for their conduct and behaviour. Children have lots of fun during sessions and staff build warm relationships with them.

The club welcomed children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and worked closely with the schools to support children's well-being and minimise the impact.Children feel safe and well cared for. They learn to take good care of themselves with staff's guidance.

For example, children understand the importance of washing hands carefully before eating their nutritious breakfasts and snacks. They learn to play safely outdoors, even in the dark, and respond very promptly to staff's instructions.

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

The manager provides purposeful leadership to her staff team.

She sets a clear direction for their continued development. She is supported well by senior staff, who meet weekly to evaluate the quality of their work and plan future developments. The staff team constantly aims to improve opportunities for the children in their care.

Staff have well defined roles and receive useful training and guidance to help fulfil them.Staff act on children's views and interests to ensure that activities engage and motivate them. They gather detailed information from parents when children first start.

They use the information well to help children make a smooth start to their experiences of the club by ensuring there are toys and activities they know they will relate to. Children enjoy many creative activities, such as face making collages, autumn leaf prints and hospital role play. However, staff do not always systematically build on children's personal development, for example by creating opportunities for team work or further extending turn-taking skills.

The club actively promotes children's healthy lifestyles. Staff involve children in planning and preparing nutritious snacks, and to appreciate eating in moderation and making positive healthy choices. They provide many opportunities for children to develop their physical well-being from tackling challenging climbing equipment to making up their own games with bats, balls and other resources.

The manager and staff work well with the schools that children attend. They share information appropriately. The manager communicates relevant information with the staff team to help them to understand and meet children's needs more effectively.

The staff's caring approach in the club helped children settle quickly back into school life as they returned from any absences caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Parents are very impressed with the club. They feel that the manager and her staff know their children well and value the support offered to them.

They appreciate the positive steps staff took to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. They feel that, although they could not enter the club, they were kept well informed. They know that their children are fully engaged and regularly come home with plenty of imaginative art and other work.

Children are well behaved. They play happily with children of different ages and make new and lasting friendships. Staff involve children in setting the rules for others to follow.

They provide clear and simple guidance based, for example on respect and kindness to others and appreciating their environment. This is particularly evident in the way children regularly tidy up after themselves before starting new activities.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The designated safeguarding lead ensures staff are well trained in child protection procedures. She holds frequent safeguarding discussions at staff meetings and makes certain staff access the latest training. Staff have good knowledge of the signs that children may be at risk of possible abuse and neglect.

Staff understand how to recognise that children may be at risk from exposure to extremist views. They know how to report these. Staff are vigilant and ensure the club is safe and secure.

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