Schools out @ Bowdon is 5th consecutive OFSTED Outstanding award in 2016 for local Elmscot Group

School’s Out @ Bowdon, an out-of-school Club for children aged 3-11 operated by the local Elmscot Group of childcare settings and located in Bowdon CofE School has achieved the highest Ofsted rating of Outstanding. School’s Out Clubs operate at 8 local primary schools: Altrincham Preparatory, Bollin, Bowdon C of E, Cloverlea, Heyes Lane, Navigation, Well Green & Worthington, and is part of the local Elmscot Group of childcare settings, which also includes the highly regarded and award-winning Broussa, Elmscot, Hale and Woodlands Day Nurseries all located in the Altrincham area. This is the second time School’s Out@Bowdon has been found Outstanding by Ofsted, a grading shared by 8 of the Elmscot Groups 12 childcare settings – a level of quality not matched by any other regional provider.

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The Ofsted inspector recognised that the leaders are highly focused and committed to continuously raising the exceptional quality and implementing new initiatives. This impacts significantly on their ability to maintain the outstanding practice. The key worker system is robust with children being emotionally secure in the care of the thoughtful and attentive staff. Partnership working with parents and external agencies is highly effective; there is a strong commitment to working cohesively to provide the very best care, experiences and opportunities for all children including children who have special educational needs or disability.

“Leaders are inspirational and demonstrate a strong desire to achieve excellence. The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, children’s welfare and safety are given the upmost priority. Robust policies and procedures are embedded and thoroughly understood by all staff. Staff are vigilant, alert and extremely confident in the procedure to follow should they have concerns about child in their care.” reported Ofsted.

Staff are well qualified and use their knowledge and experience to provide superb activities which capture children imagination and curiosity. The staff provide a variety of splendid resources, toys and equipment which help to increase children’s awareness of diversity.

Extremely positive relationships are evident in this lively and exciting club, where younger and older children play harmoniously together. Children and staff have a wonderful time together with children instinctively invite staff into their games. Children’s physical well-being and understanding of healthy lifestyles are exceptionally well promoted during daily routines, including sociable mealtimes and by following positive hygiene practices.

School’s Out Group Manager, Hannah Reeves, stated, “To be awarded and maintain the Outstanding in all areas by Ofsted is a fantastic achievement for the team who have worked hard to achieve this. The School’s Out team at Bowdon are committed to delivering high-quality childcare and education to all children on a daily basis often spending their spare time preparing for the next day. We are delighted that the inspector recognised this. ”