SMASH Before & After school Club

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Staff provide children with a vibrant and welcoming space to play and learn.

They get to know children's individual needs well and understand how best to meet them. Staff provide quiet areas with sensory equipment to help those children who need time to regulate and unwind after the school day. They recognise that all children have a unique set of needs and work hard to ensure the club is inclusive to all.

Staff support children to remember the club rules and offer gentle reminders about good manners and quiet voices. Children behave very well and have a good understanding of what is expected of them.Children arrive with a... buzz of energy, happy and eager to engage with what is on offer.

They access a wide range of interesting activities and demonstrate a lovely attitude to learning. Children show good levels of concentration when taking part in a science experiment. Staff support children to explore how colours can be mixed to make new colours.

Children are enthralled when staff show them how ingredients, such as baking soda, interact with liquids to create mini reactions. Children are developing their understanding of the world and how things work.

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

The provider works closely with the host school to help inform how she organises the club.

She considers the school topics and what children are learning when planning how she will complement this through activities and experiences. Children practise skills they are learning at school, such as letter formation and number recognition, during play. This helps children to consolidate their learning in a fun and interesting way.

Children demonstrate good levels of independence. They learn to hang their coats on hangers and take responsibility for putting their own belongings away. Children wash their hands and make choices about what they want to eat.

They strengthen their hand muscles when using spoons to scoop their own fruit and tongs pick up pancakes. Children demonstrate good hand-eye coordination and control. They are developing confidence in completing tasks for themselves.

Staff provide lots of opportunity for children to access the outdoor area. Children show confidence and determination when using the equipment. They skilfully balance on the scooters and bicycles, carefully navigating the designated paths and roads.

Staff build on children's knowledge when teaching them to stop when approaching a zebra crossing. These opportunities help children to strengthen their physical skills, learn about safety and develop a positive attitude to learning.Staff engage in lovely back-and-forth conversations with children.

They talk to them about their day at school, what they have enjoyed and anything they have not enjoyed. Staff show patience and give children lots of time to think about their experiences and respond to the questions they are asked. This helps to promote children speaking skills and their understanding of how conversations are structured.

Partnership working with parents is strong. Parents complete 'All About Me' booklets when children first start. This provides staff with information about children's routines, likes and dislikes.

This helps them to plan activities that they know children will enjoy and engage with. Staff provide parents with daily handovers about children's day and use social media and text messaging to engage in a two-way flow of information sharing. Parents value the communication and the continuity it provides for children's care.

Staff help children to learn about the different things that promote a healthy lifestyle. They provide children with healthy snacks and discuss the impact of these on the body. Children have different areas to be physically active, both indoors and outdoors.

Good hygiene procedures are well implemented, and children understand why these are important. This promotes children's good health and well-being.Staff are happy and feel well supported by the provider.

They receive ongoing feedback on their performance and attend supervision meetings each term. Staff complete all mandatory training, such as paediatric first aid and safeguarding. They work closely together to share good practice and learn from each other.

This helps to provide consistency in the quality of care that children receive.

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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