Simply Out Of School - St Marks

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children arrive from school feeling excited and looking forward to playing with their friends. They sit and eat snacks, catching up about their day with one another. Staff talk with younger children and listen as they share their favourite part of their day.

Children engage in a range of enjoyable activities and play with puzzles and board games, creating their own booklets with paper and writing their own stories. They use construction resources in small groups, creating a car out of magnetic shapes and wheels. Staff members actively participate in children's imaginative play, such as pretending to eat a burger and responding to t...he children's questions about it.

This involvement from adults helps children enhance their pretend play, like adding 'cheese' to the burger.Children feel safe. They confidently speak with staff and ask for help when they need it, confident that staff will listen and value them.

Staff manage children's energy and excitement by allowing them the time to play and providing them with appropriate boundaries and routines that ensure all children feel safe. Children help tidy up when asked and help one another get ready for the end of the session, when they sit down together and share a story with a member of staff.

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

Leaders dedicate themselves to providing children with a stimulating, caring, and safe environment.

The manager has well-established policies and procedures to ensure that all staff members know children's needs. Before the start of every session, the manager meets with staff and makes expectations clear about which children are attending and plans effective staff deployment. Leaders reinforce learning from staff training by asking questions and generating discussion so that they have a consistent and accurate understanding of how to keep children safe.

Leaders accurately evaluate their provision and consider how they can improve. They are well organised and put in place simple but effective procedures for children to follow to improve their sense of belonging. Staff warmly welcome younger children as they collect them from the school.

Children place their belongings from school into a large, personalised carrier bag, along with any letters or work from their class. At the end of the session, they independently locate their belongings when their parents pick them up and go home feeling calm, knowing they have everything they need.Staff prepare an engaging environment with enjoyable resources for children to play with.

They initiate conversations and play alongside children. When children arrive, they quickly get involved and play with their friends. They particularly enjoy craft activities and making creative choices.

Children enjoy lots of fresh air and physical activity. They play ball games on the field or sit and talk with their friends in the shade of a tree. Staff encourage children's play, allowing them to develop their ideas.

They notice when children need extra help deciding what to do and help them either play with others or start games with them. They quickly provide additional resources, such as dolls and dressing-up resources, to help extend and deepen children's play.Children behave well.

Staff explain to children that they have two jobs, 'First, make sure you are happy, and secondly, to make sure you are safe.' Staff know children well and quietly remind them how to moderate their behaviour if needed. Children know that staff have their best interests at heart and respond appropriately.

Staff set clear expectations and guide children in listening and waiting for instructions before playing outside. Children become engrossed in games, such as table tennis, and know how to take turns and manage the rules among themselves.Leaders and staff support children's well-being.

They have developed relationships through a well-established key-person system. Staff recognise when children need space or time to talk. Children feel safe and feel supported to share their experiences of their day.

Staff have developed partnerships with parents and regularly speak with them, providing feedback about their child's day and any concerns that they may have.

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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