Happy Times After School Club Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements The kind and friendly staff take the time to get to know all children who attend the club. Many of the staff, including the manager, work in the host school.

This helps to further strengthen their trusted relationships with children. From the beginning, staff work closely with parents and children's class teachers to gather comprehensive information about children's care needs. This helps them to keep up to date with any changes in children's care.

Staff engage positively in conversations with children around their interests and what they are currently learning about at school. They organise the environment and activities ...based on the interests and preferences children share with them. This helps children's enjoyment and engagement at the club.

The manager and staff continue to share the school values at the club. They support children to enhance their qualities of resilience, respect, compassion and responsibility. The staff team demonstrate these values in abundance and children readily follow the great example set by them.

Children settle very well and confidently follow the well-established routines. For example, older children show high levels of consideration towards the younger ones. They share books with children who are new to the club and appear a little anxious.

Children's well-being is given a high priority. They feel safe and comfortable at this well-organised, inviting and nurturing setting.

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

Children say they love to attend the club and wish they could come every day.

They talk about the activities they enjoy the most, such as drawing, making models and playing with friends from different year groups from the host school. Staff provide children with lots of choices throughout the afternoon. For instance, children choose from a selection of healthy fillings for their wraps at mealtimes.

This supports children's decision-making skills well.The manager and staff provide children with a variety of well-balanced food, which children thoroughly enjoy. Children know that they need to wash their hands thoroughly before mealtimes.

They say that they need to use soap and 'rub it in between their fingers'. Children of all ages wait patiently for their turn to choose what they would like to eat. Staff talk to children about the benefits of choosing healthier food options.

This helps to promote children's healthy lifestyles, as well as developing their social skills.Children behave well. Staff give very occasional reminders to them about the rules and boundaries, which are clearly embedded.

For example, children show good manners, know how to share toys and patiently wait for their turn when playing board games with their friends. Staff are quick to praise children's impressive behaviour and achievements. This makes children smile and feel proud of themselves.

Children access a range of activities with confidence and commitment. Staff include children's preferences as part of the many options. For instance, children use their imaginations and resources of choice to create their works of art.

Staff show great interest in children's work and ask them to explain the processes they use. Children readily show staff the methods they use, such as how they make strong knots from string. This helps to develop children's logical thinking as they demonstrate and talk through each step.

The manager and staff give children ample opportunities to be active in the fresh air. Children make up their own games with resources available to them, such as large hoops, beanbags and balls. Staff support children to persevere at tasks that they may initially find difficult, such as rolling hoops across the playground.

In this way, children know that if they concentrate and continue to practise, they will eventually master the required skills.The capable and experienced manager is passionate about providing the highest quality of care for children. She highlights the successes and celebrates these with her staff.

The manager understands the importance of closely identifying areas of development to continually drive improvement. She is currently in the early stages of pinpointing what these are and plans to involve children, staff and parents collectively to share their suggestions on ways to raise the quality of the provision even more.Parents are extremely complimentary of the care their children receive at the club.

They praise the manager and staff, particularly for their personalised approach towards their children's emotional well-being. The manager gives parents detailed feedback about their children's time at the club, on collection. This includes relaying any messages for them from school in a timely manner.

Children delight in sharing their experiences at the club with their family members on collection.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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