SOTO at Frith Manor

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements The manager, who is also the provider of the setting, is passionate to share her ethos of promoting a play-based curriculum. She is focused on supporting children's interests. Her aim is for children to have fun.

The impact is that all children, including the youngest two-year-olds, are happy and settled at the setting. Children confidently arrive and calmly queue for their tea. They independently take their tray of food and sit at a table to eat with friends.

Children enjoy a hot meal of vegetarian pasta with cheese. They tell the inspector they 'love' the food at the club. Older children confidently tell the inspector ab...out the club, saying, 'It is not like school, here, we can choose what we want to do', and 'I really like playing with my friends, and doing arts and crafts and cooking.'

Children are cared for by well-qualified staff, who plan an exciting range of learning opportunities to support children's enjoyment. For example, children are excited to share their dance moves and respond positively to the teacher, who reminds them to follow good techniques. Children listen and follow instructions well during gymnastic sessions.

Staff teach them how to move safely as children develop their physical strength and flexibility. Staff continually support positive behaviours as they engage with children in respectful ways. They actively follow children's interests and listen to their requests.

For example, when children want staff to play card games with them, staff do so. These positive relationships support children to feel valued.

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

There are effective partnerships with the headteacher of the school.

Many staff working in the club also work in the school during the day, so they know the children well. This helps to support the continuity of care for all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children are confident and happy to access their familiar learning environments.

Staff are kind and caring as they engage in positive interactions with children. This supports the development of secure relationships. Children are keen to engage in planned sensory experiences as staff support them to roll out play dough and create a variety of shapes.

Staff are quick to pick up on children's needs. For example, children showing signs of being tired are offered a reassuring cuddle. This is followed up with a small-group story session in the library.

Therefore, staff understand the needs of the youngest children.Children are confident to initiate their own play. They concentrate for long periods as they make complex models with small bricks.

They use their imaginations as they make treasure maps and play imaginatively with small-world figures. Older children have their request met when they tell staff they want to do junk modelling. This activity is extended as children use boxes and materials to develop their ideas.

Younger children confidently make their wishes known. For example, they bring paper and pens to adults to show they want them to engage in their artwork. Children are delighted when adults praise them on their great drawings.

This supports their self-esteem and helps to develop a positive attitude towards their learning.The setting is led and managed effectively with due focus on keeping children safe. Staff are well deployed and use walkie-talkies to communicate between the separate rooms.

This helps to organise children safely when moving to the different learning experiences. Risk assessments for all learning experiences are carried out to help prevent accidents.Staff provide children with a broad range of nutritious meals.

Sometimes, children eat foods they have made previously as part of a cooking activity. For example, cakes baked by children will be served for dessert. Staff follow effective procedures to help support children with dietary allergies.

They support all children to follow appropriate handwashing and hygiene routines to help protect them from infection.Staff say they are happy in their work, as they feel well supported. They say the manager cares about their well-being and supports them to work positively as a team.

Staff value training opportunities to support their professional development. For example, they talk confidently about their safeguarding roles and responsibilities and are clear about what to do if they have concerns about a child's welfare.Managers work effectively with parents to support children's interests.

Parents express high levels of satisfaction with the variety of learning experiences offered to their children. Many say how they value younger and older children being cared for all together and that their younger children tell them how the older children are always kind to them. Parents say their children are always happy to attend and often do not want to go home at collection time.

Parents say this reassures them that children are happy.

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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