Fun Fest St Albans

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children arrive excited to start their day. They settle quickly and build secure attachments with staff. They make friends and demonstrate positive attitudes.

They say please and thank you and are respectful of each other. Children are encouraged to express themselves and pick which activities they want to take part in. For example they can swap the activities they have been booked onto if they change their minds.

Children care for the toys and resources. They tidy away after playing outside. They carefully sort the resources into piles to store away.

Children engage quickly in the activities on offer. They decora...te flower pots that they will fill with soil and plant seeds in later.Children play outside in the fresh air, where they take part in lots of physical play.

They play with frisbees, skipping ropes and hula hoops. Children play football and cheer on their friends when they score a goal. They collect hula hoops and lay them on the ground to create a campsite.

They sit in the hoops, discussing where they have been and what they are going to be doing the rest of the day.

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

Children are very happy and show they feel safe during their time at the club. They make friends quickly and form positive relationships.

Children listen carefully to the rules and boundaries of the club and how to use different resources to stay safe. Children communicate and respond appropriately during play.Children enjoy lots of activities that vary and cater for all children.

For example, children can take part in arts and crafts, archery, football and cooking. However, there are occasions when some activities are too prescriptive and controlled. This results in some children becoming disengaged.

Staff and children consistently follow good hygiene practices, such as handwashing when coming in from outside, using messy play activities and after using the toilet.Staff sensitively support children's emotional development and encourage them to talk about how they feel and work through solutions together. For example, when activities go wrong staff encourage children to try again and praise their achievements.

Staff are supportive of children's needs, which contributes to children's sense of security and their well-being.Staff are caring and kind. They manage children's behaviour well.

They communicate with children respectfully and sensitively. For example, when children climb on obstacles staff explain the dangers and offer alternative activities for children to take part in.Skilled staff identify children that may need additional support.

They sensitively discuss individual children's needs with parents and implement strategies to support them quickly. The club is fully inclusive and staff make every effort to adapt activities and the environment to meet individual children's needs.Children have opportunities to be creative and express themselves.

For example, children freely create Easter and spring cards to take home. They have a wide range of creative resources to choose from. Children carefully lay their artwork out to dry, showing their friends and staff their creations.

The leadership team collates detailed information on all the children that attend the club in order to meet their individual needs. Parents indicate children's medical or health conditions. Leaders contact individual parents to ensure that they can fully support all children in attendance and that they have all the relevant information they need.

Leaders plan fun, age-appropriate activities for the children that attend. These are communicated to the staff who evaluate each activity at the end of the day. They discuss areas for development and continually identify ways to improve.

Leaders follow a robust recruitment and induction process to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Leaders hold refresher training sessions with staff before each club starts. Continuous monitoring by leaders ensures they understand their role and responsibilities.

Partnerships with parents are good. Parents state how happy they are with the club and staff. They state that they find the website user friendly and the staff approachable.

Parents comment favourably about the activities on offer, they state that their children particularly like archery and playing outside.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a strong understanding of their responsibilities to safeguard children.

They complete regular training to ensure that their knowledge is up to date. Staff are able to recognise the possible signs of abuse and neglect. They are aware of wider safeguarding issues, such as the risk of exposure to extreme views and behaviour.

The club has policies in place to follow should they need to raise concerns regarding children's welfare to other agencies. Leaders have a central record of suitability and all training that staff have completed. Leaders carry out regular risk assessments in order to minimise risks to children.

Also at this postcode