FISH Okehampton

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children excitedly enter the club, where friendly staff warmly greet them.

Children confidently talk to staff about their summer holidays and of the activities they enjoyed. Staff listen attentively and encourage children to expand on their conversations. For instance, some children talk about their trip to 'Disneyland' and others about their vacation within the United Kingdom.

They share with staff and visitors how they found a Roman snail on their travels, explaining that they are bigger than garden snails and usually have a white shell. Staff provide a fun play environment for children. Children say they feel listened t...o and state how staff ask them for their own ideas and opinions.

This helps children to feel valued. Children feel safe and secure. They have formed positive relationships with staff and peers alike.

All children interact well with one another and play cooperatively. For example, older children enjoy a game of skittles with the younger ones. They take it in turns and help each other to keep score of how many skittles they have knocked down.

Children behave exceptionally well. They are kind and courteous, consistently sharing resources. Children demonstrate a highly positive attitude to all the exciting activities on offer.

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

When children enter the club after their day at school, they gather on cushions where staff record their attendance. Staff encourage children to answer the register linked to different daily topics, such as telling staff their favourite film. Children enjoy sharing these.

They then ask staff which films they enjoy, promoting good discussions.Children enjoy a range of healthy snacks. They develop their independence skills well while preparing ham wraps, accompanied with a variety of fruit and vegetables.

Staff encourage children to pour their own drinks and to engage in daily outdoor activities to promote their physical health and well-being.All children thoroughly enjoy contributing to the club wall displays. Staff place large pieces of paper outside on the ground and children excitedly paint their hands and feet to make prints.

Older children enjoy experimenting by mixing colours or by making patterns to create a different effect.Art and craft activities help to promote children's imagination skills well. Children enjoy making pretend mobile phones using a variety of materials, such as card and string.

They draw on apps and explain to staff what each one does. Once made, children enjoy talking to each other using their newly made phone.Staff plan activities that mostly reflect other cultures, such as Chinese New Year and Saint George's Day.

However, occasionally, staff do not always provide activities and books to reflect the backgrounds and heritage of the children who currently attend.Parents comment on how their children enjoy coming to the club and how they often ask to attend even if they are not booked in. Parents comment how staff 'go above and beyond' and how their children are 'safe and well looked after'.

Staff provide regular newsletters and verbal communication of the activities children have engaged in. However, they sometimes do not know about the activities planned for their children until after they have occurred.The club has formed positive relationships with other professionals, such as the on-site school, where children use their indoor and outdoor premises.

School staff share any relevant information with the club about each child's day to ensure a consistent two-way flow of information. Club staff also use some aspects of the adjoining nursery school curriculum to help develop younger children's key skills, such as using scissors effectively.Children speak positively about the club and state that they enjoy 'crafts, football, science experiments and drawing competitions'.

Staff incorporate children's ideas into the planning process to help them remain consistently engaged in the variety of activities available.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff help children to understand the club rules and how to stay safe, such as encouraging children to walk inside the premises to prevent falls.

Managers have recently invested in a new online system where they can track children's attendance and access emergency contacts instantly in the event of an emergency. All staff have a thorough understanding of child protection and of the signs when a child may be at risk of harm. They know how to report these to the relevant agencies and how to follow procedures should they have any concerns about their colleagues.

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