Little Stars Childcare Out Of School Club

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children enthusiastically greet staff and their friends as they arrive at the club and talk openly with the staff about their day. They make independent choices about what activity or resources they would like to play with. Children enjoy playing board games and being creative.

For example, children paint and thread pasta onto string to make necklaces. Children of all ages behave well. They are respectful towards staff and each other, take turns and happily share without any prompting from staff.

Children of all ages are supported to be independent. For example, they pour their own drinks at snack time and tidy away resour...ces, when they have finished playing with them. Children have daily opportunities to play outside in the fresh air.

They have lots of fun as they join in with physical circle games and laugh and cheer when staff join in with their play. Children learn to skip with skipping ropes with help from the attentive staff, who give children an abundance of encouragement and praise. Children proudly share their achievements and enjoy a 'high five' provided enthusiastically by staff.

Children are encouraged to express themselves and staff value their opinions and ideas. The atmosphere in the club is positive and children respond well to the familiar routines.

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

The manager and staff work well together as a team.

They are friendly and professional and clearly enjoy their work. Professional development is strong, staff are encouraged to further their knowledge and skills and speak very highly of the support they receive from the manager. They say they feel valued and thoroughly enjoy working at the club.

Children show a strong sense of belonging and a calm confidence. The manager and staff prioritise children's mental health and well-being and create an environment that is caring and supportive. Children are encouraged to talk about their emotions and will make staff aware if they would like to talk about how they are feeling.

Staff interact with children extremely well and show a genuine interest in what they say. Children are encouraged to share their ideas or how to improve their experiences at the club. They are involved in devising rules which helps them to understand the expectations that the manager and staff have for them.

The manager and staff know the children well and plan fun and interesting themes and activities based on children's interests. For example, children have lots of fun as they practise tight rope walking and make pretend clown shoes during a circus-themed week.Older children and younger children play together harmoniously.

Children enjoy a water play activity and enthusiastically say they are making potions. Older children help younger children to pour water into different sized containers, when they notice they need some help.Staff encourage children to develop healthy habits, such as washing hands before mealtimes and after going to the toilet.

Staff provide healthy snacks and talk to children about the importance of making healthy food choices.Staff support children well, including helping children with their homework. They provide opportunities for children to explore celebrations of different cultural events that take place throughout the year, which helps to build on children's awareness of diversity.

Partnerships with the host school are effective. The manager exchanges information between the club and school, which helps contribute to meeting the needs of the children and complements their learning. This ensures that activities and resources continue to challenge and interest children.

Staff communicate daily with parents, both verbally and via an online application. They share information about what activities children have enjoyed and the care they have received. Parents speak very highly of the club.

They say their children love being there and they are 'wonderfully cared for'. Parents say they appreciate and value the information the manager and staff share with them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff attend regular safeguarding training and have a secure knowledge of the signs and symptoms which may indicate a child is being abused. Staff understand the procedures to follow should they have concerns for the welfare of a child, or should they need to report an allegation. Staff know how to identify and minimise risks in the environment.

They deploy themselves well and are vigilant when supervising children. Appropriate policies and procedures are in place to ensure a strong safeguarding culture at the club. These include the use of mobile phones and cameras by staff and children.

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