Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 Child Minding and Day Care (Inspection and Information for Local Authorities) (Wales) Regulations 2010 The Child Minding and Day Care (Wales) Regulations 2010 Inspection Report Simply Out of School - Tondu Tondu Primary School Meadow Street Aberkenfig Bridgend CF32 9BE Type of Inspection – Baseline Date(s) of inspection – 02 December 2014 Date of publication – 03 February 2015 Welsh Government © Crown copyright 2014. You may use and re-use the information featured in this publication (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government License. You can view the Open Government License, on the National Archives website or you can write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected] You must reproduce our material accurately and not use it in a misleading context. Page 1 Summary About the service Simply Out of School Tondu was registered in June 2009 to provide care for a maximum of thirty-two (32) children aged 3 – 8 years. The setting is overseen by Georgina Price, who is the new registered person and person in charge on a day to day basis. The setting provided childcare from Tondu Primary School in Aberkenfig, Bridgend. Children had access to the large hall, toilet facilities and the outdoor yard. The kitchen and all other rooms within the school building remained out of bounds to children. What type of inspection was carried out? This was a scheduled, unannounced, baseline inspection that looked at the four quality themes; quality of life, quality of staffing, quality of leadership and management and quality of environment. This report was based on the following; A review of the history of the service. Discussions with the person in charge and the staff and children present. Discussions with two parents Inspection of a sample of the records held by the service. What does the service do well? Close links are maintained with the school. Very good relationships are maintained with the parents Offers a collection service from the second school site at Heol Persondy What has improved since the last inspection? New resources have been purchased including, games for the PSP, jigsaws and board games. Numbers of children attending the service have increased since a lot more advertising has been organised to market the club. What needs to be done to improve the service? At the time of the inspection visit we found the service to be non-compliant with the following regulations from “The Child Minding and Day Care (Wales) Regulations 2010” Regulation 15: Statement of Purpose is to be sent to CSSIW annually and whenever it has been reviewed as a result of changes within the service. The Person in charge has confirmed that this will be forwarded to CSSIW immediately, which has since been complied with. Regulation 16: Quality of Care Report to be written following the annual review of the service and made available at the service for staff and service users to view, as well as to CSSIW. The Person in charge has confirmed that this will be forwarded to CSSIW immediately, which has since been complied with. Page 2 The registered person was informed of the following good practice recommendation as detailed in the National Minimum Standards for Regulated Child Care 2012:- Staffing ratios, NMS 15. 6 – The adult to child ratio relate to staff time available to work directly with children. Additional staff and management resources may be required to prepare meals or snacks, if it involves a member of staff leaving their child care duties. The person in charge has confirmed that this will be addressed immediately and that at no time will the children be left in the sole charge of one member of staff. The person in charge has since forwarded CSSIW details of the proposed arrangements to address this situation. Page 3 Quality Of Life Overall we (CSSIW) found that children are cared for in a safe and relaxed environment, and that they have access to a range of age appropriate activities that keep them engaged and entertained. Children are encouraged to express their views and exercise choice because free play was an integral part of the session and their views were taken into account when planning activities. We observed the children confidently choosing their own toys and activities and instigating their own play. Parents can be assured that their children’s individual needs are met because the staff had obtained all relevant information prior to the start of the placement. We found that both staff members knew the children well and demonstrated that they were aware of their needs and preferences. Comprehensive records were seen to reflect the needs of the children. The person in charge confirmed that there had not been any complaints since the last inspection and the children told us that they were really happy at the club and enjoyed the activities. All of the children were seen to be well behaved and polite. Children are cared for in a warm and caring environment because we saw that positive relationships had developed between the children and the staff. The interactions between the staff and the children were relaxed and affectionate. The children were at ease in the setting and we saw plenty of teasing and laughing. The positive and complimentary comments by parents spoken to during the inspection visit indicated that their children were happy at the setting. Children’s physical well-being and health is promoted as the daily routine included games and outdoor play and the club offered healthy snacks and drinks. In addition, children were encouraged to develop an awareness of a healthy lifestyle, including personal hygiene and safety, because of the way in which good health was promoted at the setting. We saw children being encouraged to act appropriately and, where possible, independently e.g. hand washing before eating and after going to the toilet. Children are encouraged to manage their behaviour in a positive way, and we were told that appropriate systems were in place to manage behaviour. On the day of the inspection the behaviour of the children was seen to be very good, and we saw that they responded positively to reminders from staff about safety issues. There was a behaviour policy in place and we saw that staff remained calm and patient with all of the children. There was a lovely relaxed atmosphere and children played together well. Page 4 Quality Of Staffing We noted that both of the staff members present during the inspection visit were experienced and qualified child care practitioners and they had the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the children in their care. Parents can be confident that their children are being cared for by competent staff because both staff members are NVQ Level 3 trained and had worked in child care for many years. Both members of staff held valid first aid, food hygiene and child protection training certificates. During the inspection we saw both staff working well together as a team and they demonstrated a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Children benefit from motivated carers who make a positive difference to their experience. The staff present, were seen to be enthusiastic and confident, and we noted the positive relationships that had been built between them and the children. We saw that the staff were keen to use their skills to benefit the children, and supported them within their activities. We saw that children were comfortable and confident to ask for the activities that they wanted and that the staff members tried to accommodate these requests wherever possible. We saw that children’s independence was encouraged because the staff praised the children’s achievements and provided good role models for the children. We saw a child handing out snacks to the other children and the children were encouraged to help to clear the table. Children also tidied up after playing with activities and painting. The parents we spoke to during the inspection visit praised the service for encouraging the children to mix and play with children of different ages and they told us that as a result of this, their children’s emotional and social skills had developed. Generally, children benefit from a ratio of adult: child ratios that conformed to best practice as the number of staff present in the club sessions, as evidenced in the registers, met the legally required number. On the day of the inspection there were eleven children present with eight children under the age of eight and two staff members present. However, at the time of the inspection it was evident that one member of staff was left with the children whilst the other member of staff left the room to prepare warm food for the children. The person in charge assured CSSIW that this would be addressed immediately and although this had been brought up in the last inspection report she had followed the wishes of the parents for the children to have warm food. It was explained that this was a safety issue and that if warm food was needed an extra member of staff would need to be employed to ensure that the children were supervised appropriately, in line with the “National Minimum Standards for Regulated Child Care 2012”:-Staffing ratios, NMS 15.6. Parents are kept informed about their children because we found that the care provided was relaxed and unhurried as the staff had plenty of time to talk to the parents when the children were collected.