School’s Out At Backworth Park

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children arrive in the club happily. They greet the staff with enthusiasm when they are collected from their classroom. They plan what they are going to do that evening with staff.

For example, children ask a member of staff if they can look at their favourite card collection together.Staff have thought carefully about how they can keep children safe as a result of the pandemic. They ensure that children from different year groups remain separate.

For example, they have their own tables in the out-of-school club room. They now ask for the resources they want to play with to reduce contact and congestion in areas, in order ...to maintain social distancing. Strategies, such as these, provides reassurance to staff and parents that children are safe.

Children behave well and move around the club calmly. They respond quickly when staff remind them of the rules of the club. For example, staff remind them of the safe practice of keeping all four chair legs on the floor when sitting down.

Parents know their children are happy and comment that they ask to go to the club.

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

Staff place a high priority on communicating with children. They sit at the tables with them as they have their tea.

They encourage children to talk about their day. Children are keen to talk about their interests, such as dinosaurs. Staff take care to include all the children in the conversations.

Staff work very closely with the on-site school. They meet regularly to discuss what children are working on. They also find out if there is anything they can help children with.

This provides continuity between school and the out-of-school club. Staff use the information well to plan activities. For example, children notice a dinosaur activity and comment 'We're doing dinosaurs in school too'.

Staff plan an engaging and stimulating play environment. Children are very keen to help the toy dinosaurs hatch out of the frozen eggs. They use mallets carefully to crack the ice.

At times, staff direct the activity too much and do not give children time to explore their own ideas. For example, staff give them water to melt the remaining ice without first discussing different ways they could do this. This reduces opportunities for children to think and test out their own ideas.

Staff involve children in planning the activities. They talk to children about what they want to do. They use their interests to plan play opportunities.

For instance, they have building resources for children who like building. Staff have taken time to find interesting pictures to support children's interests in the army.Children are very proud of the book they have created and show it to the inspector.

Children develop a good awareness of how they can keep themselves safe. Staff plan activities to reinforce safety aspects. They remind children of safety as they use mallets and discuss why they wear gloves and goggles.

Children confidently remind each other to watch their fingers. They understand that goggles protect their eyes from the ice.Children have very good relationships with each other.

They play together outside, placing targets out for other children to knock over. Children watch with interest as other children try to kick a ball towards a target. They take turns and listen to each other's suggestions.

The manager supports her staff well. Staff comment about the support they get when they first start. They value the opportunity to shadow existing members of staff before they start.

They feel this makes them confident with their role. The manager and provider have a well-thought out induction programme in place. This includes regular meetings to talk about how things are going and to highlight any training.

The manager has a clear plan for staff training. She ensures any training will benefit the children. For example, staff prioritise supporting children's emotional well-being following the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

The manager has recently attended training on this. She has reviewed resources and routines in the club. She has introduced different strategies such as colouring or exercise routines to relax children.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.The manager and her staff team have a good knowledge of signs and symptoms that may indicate possible abuse to children. They know the procedures to follow should they have a concern about a child.

Staff have a good understanding of wider safeguarding issues, such as the 'Prevent' duty and their role within it, to prevent people being drawn into terrorism. The manager and provider have clear policies in place, which staff understand and implement consistently. Recruitment procedures are robust.

The manager places a high priority on children's safety. One example of this is the system in place to ensure children's safety when they are collected from the club. For example, all adults collecting children use a password set by the family.

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