Amberley Out Of School Club

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Leaders and staff are strongly committed to providing the very best care and education to all children. They are very mindful of children's prior experiences and of how they can successfully build on these. The meticulously planned curriculum is securely rooted in knowledge of how children develop and what they need to learn next. Highly detailed plans about what children will be taught and how staff will teach them contribute to children's consistent progress and high achievements. Children are happy, confident and eager to join in. They readily accept challenges in activities and talk animatedly and with pride about what they have learned.

Staff provide consistent encouragement and praise for children. There is much discussion in the setting about emotions. Staff encourage children to 'find their words' to describe how they feel. For example, they approach staff and say, 'I don't feel like me today', allowing staff to quickly and sensitively support them to feel better. Children show great responsibility and autonomy. For example, staff teach them about ways to keep themselves safe. Children check areas before they play and identify, for example, that toys should be picked up so that their friends do not trip.

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

• Leaders' evaluations of practice are astute and form the basis of ongoing consistent and impactful improvements. For instance, targeted development opportunities, using research-based guidance, help staff to further develop their expert knowledge of the areas of learning that they teach. Children benefit from meaningful and precisely planned learning opportunities that help them to develop new skills and to remember and make connections in their learning.
• Partnerships with other settings that children attend are highly effective. There is in-depth communication between the settings about aims for children's learning, and curriculums are designed to complement one another. Staff take account of attendance patterns and activities that are provided elsewhere to ensure that all children have full access to broad and balanced experiences across all areas of learning.
• Rigorous assessments, alongside staff's excellent knowledge of child development, contribute to highly personalised learning plans. Children who need extra support benefit from tailored teaching that is matched to their individual learning styles and preferences. Staff's high expectations for every child help all children to thrive in their early years education.
• Children benefit from staff's highly skilled and well-timed interactions and interventions. For example, while making dough, staff teach them to count accurately, and they pose questions that encourage children to estimate, predict and solve simple problems. Staff quickly notice and respond when some children are not as well engaged in this particular activity. They follow the children's interest in cars to teach the same skills in a different way. This helps to ensure that all children develop a secure understanding of early mathematical concepts, which was the intent for this activity.
• Staff plan carefully to support children's physical development for both their health and its benefits for their learning. They have devised an 'Olympics' programme of learning that is aimed at increasing children's movement skills and coordination. Children make excellent progress in this area of learning. They develop a love of being outdoors and their movement and exercise that supports their lifelong well-being.
• Following the COVID-19 pandemic, staff reviewed and improved how sessions are organised. This has helped to provide children with more stable and predictable routines, which give them a deeper sense of familiarity and belonging. The consistent key-person arrangements help children to form meaningful relationships with staff. All children, including those who are new to the setting, are happy and confident learners.
• Children have a strong understanding of how their actions impact on others and a true desire to be a good, kind person. They help to create 'promises' in relation to how they behave, such as 'being helpful', and staff talk to them about what the promises mean. This positive approach transfers to children's learning, and they try their best in everything they do. For example, they work hard to climb the 'learning ladder', which is a visual display that celebrates children's positive contributions and achievements.