ClubsComplete at St Agatha’s

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision does not meet requirements Children's safety and well-being are compromised.

On occasions, there are insufficient staff to ensure the safety and welfare of children. There are times when only one member of staff is present, which means they struggle to maintain a safe environment. Furthermore, this impacts on the staff's capacity to build relationships with children, this means some children find it hard to settle in at the club.

At times, the atmosphere becomes chaotic as there are insufficient activities to engage all children's attention. There is a limited range of resources, which impacts on children's opportunities to engage in purpose...ful play. The arrangements for food preparation are poorly organised, which means children sit at the table waiting for extended periods of time.

This leads to some children finding it difficult to manage their behaviour and the room becoming very noisy, which some younger children find overwhelming. Despite these concerns, most children arrive happily. They are generally well behaved and overall play together well.

Younger children join in role play with older children and ask for pencils and paper to draw pictures.

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

The staffing arrangements are not effective. There are occasions when staff work alone, which impacts on the safe and efficient running of the club.

For example, staff have to take all children with them when they leave the room to let parents in at the school gate. Furthermore, supervision of children is compromised when staff are busy responding to individual children's needs, such as toileting.Support for younger children's well-being is poor.

Staff do not tailor the care they provide to ensure children's individual needs are met. Staff are often busy with routine tasks, such as preparing snacks, which impacts on the time they can spend developing supportive relationships with children. This means children do not always feel safe and secure.

Staff have suitable expectations for children's behaviour. They remind children to say please and thank you and to be respectful. However, staff do not consistently model this behaviour themselves.

For example, at times, staff use a loud, harsh tone of voice when responding to unwanted behaviour, this impacts on children's emotional well-being.The play environment is poorly planned. Staff do not consider the interests or individual needs of children, which means the resources provided do not engage children well.

This leads to children becoming bored and disruptive at times.There are insufficient arrangements in place to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The manager has some knowledge of children's needs but has not put systems in place to share information with parents and other professionals in order to meet their needs.

Children's records are not easily accessible to staff. They are stored digitally and cannot be accessed on the premises as there is no internet access or working mobile phone. This means staff are not able to check children's individual needs or record any incidents that occur during the session, such as accidents.

Ofsted have not been notified of the change of manager at the setting, which is a breach of requirements.The new manager has identified some of the weaknesses identified in this report. She has taken some steps to improve the provision.

However, these are not yet implemented or effective. The manager has developed a good relationship with the school. She seeks support to meet the needs of children attending the club, such as requesting cover staff on busy days.

Parents are happy with the service offered. They say the manager is 'lovely' and 'patient with the children'. Parents say their children tell them they enjoy the activities, such as art and craft and outdoor play.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.Safeguarding policies and procedures are poorly implemented. At times, personal mobile phones are used to access information as there is not a working company mobile phone.

Risk assessments are not effective as they do not consider all the risks associated with staff lone working with children. The manager has recently completed safeguarding training. She has a suitable knowledge of child protection and understands the steps to take to report any concerns, including whistle-blowing concerns about staff behaviour towards children.

The manager holds a valid paediatric first-aid certificate and knows how to administer emergency treatment.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

The provision is not meeting requirements and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action.

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to: Due date implement the safeguarding policy and procedures with particular regard to the use of personal mobile phones 19/10/2023 improve the key person arrangements to help children settle into the setting and ensure their individual needs are met 19/10/2023 improve staff arrangements so there are sufficient staff available effectively deployed to ensure the safety and welfare of children and avoid lone working 19/10/2023 implement appropriate behaviour management strategies that support children's emotional needs 19/10/2023 ensure records are maintained in ways which ensure the safe and efficient management of the setting and help ensure the needs of all children are met 19/10/2023 improve the accessibility of records so they are easily accessible and available to those who have a right or professional need to see them 19/10/2023 improve your knowledge of the types of things Ofsted must be notified about.

19/10/2023

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