Every day, the staff ensure the building and areas the service will use are safe for children to use before they arrive. The staff do this by completing an online form regarding different equipment and resources within the different areas they will be using. Ensuring there are no sharp edges that will harm the children and nothing there that should not be there. Whilst completing the checklist they also look at the toys ensuring they are all safe for the children to use and will not harm them or others around them. These forms are then stored online to be viewed by relevant staff members, as and when they are needed. Staff also make sure the toys are accessible for the children so they can engage and play with the equipment safely. Keeping the area both safe and secure is something that is vital for the children in our care, and it is also something that is noticed by the parents as one parent commented, ‘the gates are secure and robust systems are in place to protect my child’. Another parent stated that, ‘doors are locked and staff ensure children are safely handed to parents’.

Within Wraparound, staff always ensure that the environment is clean and ready for use by both the children and staff. Throughout the day staff will clean as they go when finishing with an activity or session ensuring that it is clean and ready for the next task to be undertaken. Also, when it comes to the end of the day, the staff will have a clean through ensuring that all equipment is cleaned appropriately and put away and the surfaces are all wiped, ready for use again the following day.

Another way in which the premises and environment ensures safety, would be with regards to registers. Any visitor that requires access to the building would need to sign in using a touch screen system located in the foyer before entry. Once in the building they will be given a visitors’ sticker with their name and picture on that they must wear whilst they are on the premises, this allows us to keep a record of anyone that is in the building in addition to staff and how long they are there for. Another register that we use daily would be the children’s register this document allows us to know exactly what children are in on what day and we are then required to write the time that they arrive and leave. Another register that we use daily is our fire register, this has a list of all the children on and we mark off the ones who are absent, this showing staff exactly who is in and how many children there are at any one time. The fire register is taken with the staff and children as they move around the building so that it ready for use in the event of the fire alarm ringing. Both those registers are available to all staff so they will be aware of how many children they have in their care at any one time and also who else they are expecting to come in and who is due to go home. The final register that is used is a staff sign in/out book, staff are required to sign in and out writing the time they are arriving and leaving their duty daily. This is so that we know who is working in what area of the service and how long they are there for. 

In relation to outdoor learning, we have been following the structured plans and timetables that are in place which means the outdoor areas are used more often by the service for both learning and playing. The children are clearly enjoying and benefiting from the time they spend outside as they are engaging with the activities, learning the specific outcomes of the task and importantly for their well being having fun and enjoying being out there. 

Priorities for Improvement:

• Continue to develop our outdoor zone to provide rich opportunities for all children.

LPSW Assessment of Environment: Good