Smallwood After School Centre and Holiday Playcentre

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Staff create a welcoming environment at the after-school club.

They plan a range of activities that capture the children's interests well. Children arrive happily and settle into the session with ease. Staff establish good relationships with the teachers who work at the school that the children attend, and they share relevant information about the children's day.

This helps children to receive good levels of continuity in their care.Children show positive engagement as they explore creative activities such as stickers, stencils and drawing. Staff ask them questions about their creations and support children's thinking skil...ls during conversations.

Staff support children to create models and structures with construction resources and magnetic blocks. This helps to support the children's problem-solving skills, creativity and awareness of different mathematical concepts. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour.

They provide clear messages and gentle reminders about what is expected at the club. As a result, children listen and behave very well.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good levels of support.

Staff work in partnership with parents, teachers and other professionals to reinforce different learning strategies and goals. It is evident that it is an inclusive setting and all children feel happy, safe and settled.

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

Staff place strong emphasis on promoting children's emotional well-being.

Staff frequently ask children about how they feel and talk about kindness towards others. Furthermore, staff treat children with respect and are positive role models. As a result, children show they are happy at the club and have a good bond with staff.

Staff create a relaxed environment for children to explore and play. Staff support children effectively to share and show consideration towards each other. Children behave well and form good relationships with their peers.

For instance, they have discussions about their interests and their day. Older children play collaboratively on shared activities and show good engagement, negotiation and turn-taking skills. Children's social development is well nurtured during their time at the club.

Staff teach children about diversity in an effective way. For instance, they encourage all children to share information about their home cultures and celebrate a range of different festivals that are meaningful to the children. For example, during Diwali, they made tea light holders, and they created paper boats when celebrating Thailand National Day.

This helps children to learn about each other's similarities and differences and develop respectful attitudes towards each other.Staff support children to lead active and healthy lifestyles. For instance, they provide children with healthy snacks such as fruits, salads and yoghurts.

They also have regular discussions with childen about good lifestyles choices and foods that help them to grow.Staff listen to children's ideas and views well. For example, they ask children about what resources they want to use.

Children speak positively about their time at the club. They express that they enjoy the different activities and like spending time with their friends. Some older children express that they would like a wider variety of snacks to choose from.

Staff form good partnerships with parents and carers. Parents express high levels of satisfaction with their experience. They state that staff are friendly and accommodating and take time to get to know each child well.

They comment that their children enjoy attending and regularly take home different art and craft projects they have worked on.Staff meet individual children's needs very well. They gather lots of important information from parents, before their children join, to understand about their culture, home languages, medical needs and interests.

Staff engage with additional training, when required, and work collaboratively to support all children during their time at the after-school club.Staff complete ongoing evaluations of the strengths of the setting and areas for development. Staff make regular evaluations of the activities and how they can enhance the experiences for the children and families.

They show good commitment to completing relevant training to help to keep their knowledge up to date, such as courses on promoting diversity and supporting children's mental health and well-being.

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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