The Cookie Club Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements Children arrive happily at this welcoming and friendly club. They know the routines well.

Children wash their hands as they come in and find a seat at the table ready for their snack. Staff provide healthy snacks and meals for the children to enjoy. Mealtimes are sociable times, when children sit together to eat and chat about their day at school.

Children develop healthy lifestyles. They have many opportunities for active play, such as football and basketball. Other children enjoy the activities inside, such as board games, painting and role-play resources.

Children thoroughly enjoy creative activities, such as m...aking dreamcatchers. They take part in shows where they can share their skills, such as dancing, singing, comedy, football and card tricks.Children develop very good relationships with staff, who are caring and responsive.

The early years leader ensures that the club meets the needs of the younger children. Children are very independent. They help tidy away resources when they have finished playing with them and learn to take responsibility for their belongings.

Children take part in activities that involve turn-taking and sharing. For example, they happily join in a popular board game where they use their problem-solving skills to stop their opponent getting 'four in a row'. Children have the opportunity to explore magnets and electrical circuits.

They delight in watching experiments that cause explosions or go 'pop'.

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

The manager and staff work together very effectively. Some staff have worked at the club for a long time and they know the children and their families very well.

They value children's individual personalities and know their likes and dislikes. This helps staff to plan activities and resources that relate to children's interests and capture their attention.Staff prioritise children's health and well-being.

They attend training to enable them to support children's mental health. Children often take part in exercises such as 'the mindful minute'. They take a moment to notice what is happening all around them, using their five senses.

Staff have identified that it helps children to self-regulate and manage their own stress, anger or anxieties.Children enjoy a wide selection of activities that build on the skills that support them in school. Staff provide audiobooks as they celebrate World Book Day.

Children have fun creating characters for their stories. Activities such as snakes and ladders, noughts and crosses and hopscotch further develop children's interest in mathematics.Parents state that their children are very happy to attend the club and that staff are 'kind and friendly'.

They say that the manager and staff create a 'welcoming atmosphere' and 'caring environment'. Parents appreciate the many activities their children access, especially the opportunity to play games with their friends, such as chess. Staff regularly share information with parents about what is planned for their children and the daily menus.

The manager and staff establish very good partnerships with teachers at the different schools children attend. Staff speak to teachers at drop-off and pick-up times, and pass on messages from school to parents. This helps to provide children with a consistent link between the parents, school and club.

Staff encourage families to visit the club before their children start attending. Children can stay for short periods of time until they feel happy and safe to attend the whole session.Staff promote healthy eating at the club.

Children learn where food comes from and how it is grown. They are offered lots of fruit and vegetables at mealtimes. Children vote for their favourite food to be included in the menu.

They learn about the benefits of staying hydrated and eating healthy foods to boost their energy levels. Children are keen to play in the large outside area. They can run around and play games, hunt for bugs and use their imagination with the giant construction resources.

Children participate in activities that extend their knowledge while they have fun with their friends. For example, they develop their understanding of the natural world as they go on scavenger hunts to find items to put in the bug hotel. Children plant seeds and learn how to look after them as the plants grow.

Staff plan topics that help children to understand how to look after the world they live in.The manager and staff evaluate their practice together effectively. At the end of each session, they talk about what children enjoyed and what they could improve.

Staff access regular training to keep their knowledge and skills updated. They say that they feel fully supported. All staff work very well together and complement each other's practice.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a very good understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe from harm. They attend regular training, including about wider safeguarding issues such as radicalisation and county lines.

The manager and staff regularly discuss safeguarding issues, which helps to extend their understanding of how to recognise any concerns about the children in their care. Robust recruitment and induction procedures are in place to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Children are developing a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

They learn about road safety when travelling to and from the club. They discuss stranger danger and how to keep safe online. Children carry out their own risk assessments before they go outside to play.

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