Ashfield play care group restores its high standards after ticking-off by Ofsted

Ashfield Play Care Scheme, which has 70 youngsters aged four to 11 on its books, has been running a successful after-school club and a holiday club since the 1990s.

But after an inspection by the education watchdog last April, concerns were raised about the way the scheme, based on Lammas Road, was being managed.

It had previously been rated ‘Outstanding’, but after a top-level resignation, inspectors found that the “quality and standards of early-years provision were not being met”.

Their report said “the person responsible for the scheme” had “a poor understanding” of the statutory requirements and of safeguarding practice. And the management committee had failed to follow safe recruitment procedures, making no checks for criminal records and hiring staff without obtaining DBS (disclosure and barring service) checks. It was also not clear if new members of the committee were suitable to be working with children.

However, a fresh inspection by Ofsted has now found that the contentious issues have been fixed and that the required standards are being met by the scheme.

"The management team have made sure that improvements have been sustained,” the inspector’s report said. “All staff and committee members have their suitability confirmed through robust vetting procedures.

"Those responsible for the running of the play scheme have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The chair of the committee and the manager meet regularly and work together to drive improvements, and the manager makes sure staff fulfil their roles.

"There is also an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts the children first.”

The inspector was full of praise for the way the play scheme operates, saying children are excited to spend time there and “know what is expected of them”.

The report said: “Staff provide a range of activities and resources that they know children enjoy. They offer a combination of adult-led creative activities and provide age-appropriate toys and games. Staff have created a well-organised environment.”

Ofsted also found that children “benefit from daily outdoor exercise” and have access to healthy food. They are taught how to stay safe when using the internet and are given the opportunity to make new friends they meet at the clubs from other local primary schools.

For the play scheme, its chair, Susan Ambler said how pleased she was with the Ofsted assessment and issued this statement:

"The scheme’s trustee board and the staff team are delighted with the recent Ofsted report, which we feel very accurately reflects the lived experience of our young people and their parents or carers. We also feel it reflects the hard work that the whole team puts in to the scheme.

"We will continue to drive excellence in the provision of affordable after-school and holiday childcare for the local Ashfield area.

"As a registered charity, we will also drive to improve our facilities and provision through fundraising and awareness in our community.”