S4A Group Ltd@Grendon Underwood Combined

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements The provider is a strong leader with clear vision and high expectations for his unique business model. His caring approach underpins this extremely well-run out-of-school provision. Staff team members have the knowledge, skills and resources to assist them to carry out their roles.

Staff work in the school during term time and know the children really well. This benefits continuity of care for children and helps to maintain high-quality provision.Children are noticeably happy in the well-resourced club where staff plan a wide variety of engaging activities.

Halloween-themed activities, such as pumpkin bowling and a fancy-d...ress disco, add to the air of excitement. Staff foster a friendly environment of respect and kindness, and children behave very well. They encourage children to recall the rules of games, praise them for their achievements and tell them how proud they are of their skills.

This contributes to children's high levels of self-esteem and confidence. Children comment that they really enjoy attending the club.Children's voices are extremely well valued and staff consistently seek their opinions to help develop the club.

For instance, children contribute to the planning of activities and post their suggestions to share with staff. For example, requests for a chess club resulted in chess sets being provided for each club.

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

The provider is committed to supporting the emotional well-being of the staff team.

He offers 'wellness hours' during the school day to enable staff to attend appointments, to undertake training or to plan lessons. Staff benefit from a unique rewards and incentive scheme which contributes towards strong staff team member retention.Staff create a warm, welcoming and carefully arranged environment for children to play, explore and relax in.

Children are able to rest or share books and stories in the dedicated quiet area.Children are sociable, caring and extremely kind to one another. They share, take turns and include children of all ages in their play.

Older children are extremely considerate. For instance, they share their crayons when a younger child cannot find a crayon of the desired colour in the pot.Children have good opportunities to be physically active and enjoy plenty of fresh air.

Some children choose to play footgolf or dodgeball. Others enjoy using the climbing apparatus. Staff promote personal safety well; they supervise children vigilantly but encourage them to develop their confidence in throwing and catching.

Staff know the children well and build strong relationships with them. They develop a good understanding of children's individual interests and plan stimulating activities that quickly engage them. Staff are excellent role models.

Children enthusiastically invite them to join their games and delight in the 'ultimate Uno challenge'.Children have good opportunities to enjoy creative activities, express their own ideas and develop a can-do attitude. They eagerly construct 'Frankenstein heads' from cereal boxes and create 'monster bagels' for their afternoon snack.

Children concentrate extremely well and demonstrate high levels of confidence as they proudly share their artwork with staff and visitors.Staff build good relationships with parents. Parents express high levels of satisfaction with the club and comment that their children are happy and ask to attend extra sessions.

Parents comment that they are happy with the balance of sports and the wide variety of alternative activities available.The provider is committed to ensuring the ongoing development of the club and offering high-quality care for children. Staff regularly reflect on the quality of experiences offered to children.

They use feedback from staff, parents and children to help them to evaluate the club and identify their strengths and areas of development.Supervision systems support staff effectively to develop their good practice. Staff are offered a wide range of training to support their roles in the club and praise the good support that they receive from the provider.

For instance, they attend regular statutory training, such as safeguarding and first aid, and gain qualifications to support their professional development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The provider arranges quarterly staff meetings with the team members to check their safeguarding knowledge through a range of scenarios.

This helps to ensure that they are confident in recognising signs that indicate a child may be at risk of harm. Consequently, all staff team members have a good understanding of the signs and symptoms that indicate a child may be at risk of abuse, neglect or being drawn into extreme behaviours or ideas. They know the procedures they must follow if they have a concern about a child's safety.

Also at this postcode