Little Penguins Link Club

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This provision meets requirements The experienced provider operates a safe, well-organised club. Nurturing staff create a home-from-home environment, which gives the children a strong sense of belonging. The relationship between children and staff is caring, built upon shared values of respect and kindness.

Children's manners are exemplary. Older children cherish opportunities to be positive role models. Children confidently speak about the benefits of healthy eating and keeping themselves safe, especially online and when crossing roads.

There is an outdoor area where children can exercise and access to a secure field for games. Staff promote children's un...derstanding of the natural world and are fostering links with a nearby allotment. The club menu is full of nutritious hot and cold options, which includes iced water and fresh fruit.

Smiles greet staff when they collect children from school at the end of the day. Children are eager to enter the spacious club, take off their shoes and have fun. They happily voice their ideas, stories and interests during the session.

Members carefully follow the instructions of qualified staff who plan exciting craft and cookery activities. The club is held in high regard by the local community and parents who refer to it as their 'Penguin family'.

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

Leaders and staff have high expectations and children respond well to the club rules.

Children of all ages play together and model turn taking and sharing resources. Positive behaviour strategies are in place and children look forward to the weekly achiever celebration. Staff support children in becoming more independent and responsible.

As a result, children's self-esteem is high.Managers strive to ensure that activities and environments interest and engage children. Since the start of the New Year, the club has operated from a newly built provision situated near a wooded area inhabited by squirrels and different species of birds.

Children's understanding of the natural world is promoted well.The setting is planned and organised, so that all children are able to access the well-designed provision and have their needs met. Children settle quickly on arrival and develop skills to manage their own self-care.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are offered bespoke support to follow routines and visual prompts throughout the session. All children demonstrate they can access all the club activities, such as making glittery craft spiders or large scale junk modelling. Transitions run smoothly between snack and activity.

Children have good levels of concentration.Staff enjoy working at the club and have regular supervision with the experienced leadership and management team. The Little Penguin nursery and St.

Elphin's Primary School are closely linked to the club and offer professional support. As a result, club staff meet with the children's class teachers and share assessments of the children's personal and social development. Children can choose to complete homework on site and have safe access to the internet and guidance.

Children are able to play games in a secure outdoor area and school field. There is a focus on healthy lifestyle and menu options are diverse and nutritious. Staff talk to the children about the benefits of a healthy diet.

The club manager runs a local allotment and plans to increase links, so that children can have a vegetable patch in the club grounds and use what they grow in their weekly cookery sessions. Children are supported to understand the benefits of healthy lifestyles.Leaders provide a club which is secure and fun.

Children are aware of correct use of technology and being safe online. The children are caring and respectful. They freely ask their friends and staff if they have had a good day and rest in the comfortable relaxation zone.

They listen attentively to one another and are considerate of each other's feelings. There is a warm atmosphere and children feel at home in the company of their 'Penguin Pals'.Leaders and staff communicate well with parents and school.

This helps staff at the club provide experiences which enhance what children are learning about in the day and interests from home. Parents feel their views matter and that they receive additional resources, which can help them manage their children's anxieties, behaviours and allergies. The long standing club is held in high regard in the local community.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Leaders and staff are fully committed to safeguarding children. They understand exactly what support children and families need and this information is considered paramount in ensuring chlidren flourish.

Partnerships with other external professionals involved in safeguarding issues are highly effective. Staff receive extensive safeguarding training. They have a secure understanding of what to do if they have a concern about a child and carefully monitor attendance.

Care plans are in place for any children with allergies and shared with all staff. Robust risk assessments carried out daily by all staff further ensure children's safety. There are rigorous recruitment procedures and new staff are monitored through their induction period.

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