Quality

Quality Provision

Providers on the Early Years Register must meet the welfare requirements set out in the Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework. The EYFS provides information to help practitioners meet the legal requirements in a way that reflects the needs of individual children in their care and is appropriate to their setting.

If you are registered on the Childcare register, the criteria is different.

In both cases, play and child centred open-ended activity is at the centre of the wraparound provision. The wrapround provision should be different to the school day, there is no expectation for staff to plan structured learning. Staff should provide enrichment opportunities for children to freely choose from. Play is at the heart of the provision and having a range of stimulating resources will support such an ambition. Playwork qualified staff running the provision will greatly increase the quality of a play-based environment.

Ofsted

For registration enquiries please refer to the flowcharts on the wraparound pages of the website.

If the provider is registered directly with Ofsted to provide wraparound they will be inspected. Providers on the Early Years Register will be inspected at least once in a 6 year cycle.

The outcome of the inspection will be:

Met
Not met - actions, or
Not met - enforcement action

For further information, please read the inspection handbook.

If the provider is solely on the Childcare Register, they may receive a compliance check. Ofsted inspects 1 in 10 providers on the Childcare Register each year.

Ofsted do not make judgements about the quality of the provision but do check to make sure that the provider is complying with the requirements of their registration.

There is no published report for these inspections. Instead, providers receive an inspection outcome letter confirming whether they are complying with the requirements. The outcome letter is then published on the Ofsted reports website, where it will remain for 12 months.

If you are registered directly with Ofsted there is an expectation that you will inform Ofsted about a significant event.

You may wish to read Ofsted's Early Years blog.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Careful consideration should be given to the planning of the environment and resources of the offer for children with SEND. Staff running the wraparound provision should have a good relationship with and opportunities to talk to the teachers, parents and carers about how best to support the children's needs to ensure a consistent approach. Providers should acknowledge the differences between the school day expectations and those of a play-based provision and as such the children's needs may differ. Building good relationships and listening to the children, parents and carers and teachers is key to successful participation at the wraparound club.

Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are clear that if a reasonable adjustment is needed to enable children with SEND to attend childcare, providers must pay for it, not parents and carers. There is a possibility of a grant available to support providers financially please email the wraparound team. Any specific strategies should be discussed with the provider so that staff can work in a way that best meets the child's needs consistently. Training to upskill staff and specialist resources are some elements that the funding can support to help meet the needs of those with SEND and allow them to thrive within the wraparound setting.

Play

Play England's Charter for Children's Play defines play as: 'what children and young people do when they follow their own ideas and interests, in their own way, and for their own reasons.'

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 'Article 31' states that countries must 'recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.' General Comment 17 further clarifies that governments are expected to 'respect, protect and fulfil' this right.

Regardless of which register the provider is on and/or if the provider is under the school registration staff should be familiar with the Playwork Principles.

Staff should provide high quality environments which enable all children to thrive and flourish and be active in their play. For further information please visit Play England's website.

Child's voice

Children's right to be heard and have their views taken seriously was established via Article 12 of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child. It is vital that children are involved in shaping the wraparound provision they attend. They should have an opinion on the resources and the environment, and it is important that their opinions are heard and valued as the users of the provision.

Food

As noted in the National Wraparound Childcare Programme Handbook - a guide for local authorities (p.47) it is important that children eat nutritious, tasty food at school to help their growth and development. Over time, this will lead to developing healthy eating habits and fuel for learning. Although food is an optional element of wraparound provision, we expect many providers will wish to offer children food as part of before and after school childcare. There is an expectation that food will be nutritious, healthy and will meet the dietary individual needs of the children attending. You will need to be aware of any allergies/intolerances and make sure you have several items of equipment to ensure cross contamination does not occur if you have children with allergies attending eg. Multiple toasters with one being dedicated to use for celiacs/gluten free. Staff will have an awareness of how to prepare food for children to prevent choking.

All staff preparing or handling food must complete a Level 2 food safety and hygiene course.

You may wish for your staff to attend a nutrition course, information is available on the training section of our website.

Please see information on school food standards.

For schools who are not already registered as a 'food business' with the food standards agency (if you are not providing food for children at lunch) you will need to do so to be able to provide food in your wraparound provision. Please register and read further information if necessary.