Our latest Ofsted Inspection report

Elm Grove Kids Club was inspected by Ofsted on Friday 8^th November.  We have retained the highest score on the Ofsted framework, but this has changed from the more rewarding judgement of ‘Outstanding’ to ‘met’.  This is because in September 2019 the Ofsted judgments for before and after school care have been changed to:

• met
• not met with actions
• not met with enforcement.

Does this mean that we are not outstanding anymore?

The Ofsted inspection and report show that we still meet the inspection criteria that would have given us the old rating of outstanding.  In fact, in the inspection report, it says that we have improved:

The manager, staff and committee members work harmoniously together to ensure the club is constantly improving. They have a shared commitment to providing quality care for children and their families. Their ‘team approach’ means that the quality of activities and resources consistently evolves, meaning children are rarely disengaged and show impressive focus.

You can read the full report on https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk using the reference code EY280340 or simply click here to read the report on our website.

Nevertheless, as the club does not teach a curriculum or have learning outcomes and assessments for your child, we are no longer assessed according to the teaching and learning inspection framework.  Whilst we loved the old terminology, we do think that this is a fairer reflection on what we do.  Importantly, this does not take away from the actual teaching and learning at Didsbury CofE, which is still judged to be outstanding, and will continue to be assessed according to Ofsted’s four inspection grades.

You can read about these changes (if this is your thing) by clicking the link below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/828465/Early_years_inspection_handbook.pdf

Or, you can read this snippet from page 42 of the Early Years Inspection Handbook:

Annex A. Inspecting before- and after-school care and holiday provision

1. Providers (including childminders) registered on the Early Years Register but that only provide care exclusively for children at the beginning and end of the school day or in holiday periods will be inspected without receiving grades against the four judgements (‘Quality of education’, ‘Behaviour and attitudes’, ‘Personal development’ and ‘Leadership and management’) of the inspection framework.

• These providers do not need to meet the learning and development requirements of the EYFS. They do have to meet in full the safeguarding and welfare requirements, which are designed to help providers create high-quality settings which are welcoming, safe and stimulating, and where children are able to grow in confidence.

• The inspector will make a judgement only on the ‘Overall effectiveness: quality and standards of the early years provision’. The inspection will result in one of three possible outcomes:

• met
• not met with actions
• not met with enforcement.

• The inspector will consider the criteria for three of the key judgements (‘Behaviour and attitudes’, ‘Personal development’ and ‘Leadership and management’) in reaching a judgement about whether or not the provider is meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the EYFS.

We are particularly grateful to:

• Lisa and Jenni for their continued and consistent hard work in leading the club;
• All members of staff at EGKC, who are always there to hug and care for our children;
• The parents, who at very short notice sent us such lovely feedback;
• The school, especially the leadership team, who stayed for the inspection and outcome report;
• The committee:  EGKC is run by parents for parents, which means that the leadership team, much like the governors of the school, are volunteers (if you are interested in joining the team please get in touch with the Chair, Claire Goodley on chair@elmgrovekidsclub.co.uk).