Dilemma

[Guest]

Hi all

On the committee of our school club. We are registered for 48 children and registration says

 

provides care in the following areas, main hall, library area, classroom with kitchenette, early year's classroom, adjacent playgrounds and associated facilities (Early Years Register, compulsory part of the Childcare Register, voluntary part of the Childcare Register

 

The thing is the school itself uses the hall approx 3 times per week so we dont get to use it!. This has been the case every since registration ie over 10yrs! Not so bad as when nice weather we go to the park or use outside playground. Is a problem if it rains.We have to split club into the 3 rooms. Have spoken to head about it but he has said he still has to run table tennis etc clubs and just says that school club children can go and use it if they wish.

 

Without use of the hall would this reduce our numbers that we are registered for? Im not really happy about this and wondered what OFSTED would think if they came on a day we couldnt use the hall?

 

Not sure what to do next? We are a full club most days.

[Cait]

Hmm, it's possible they've taken the 'square footage' into account. Have you got your original registration pages?

[Inge]

as Ciat says they could have taken that into account.. just registered the hall so you can use it if available...

 

we hired a hall and were registered for the 2 rooms it had even though we operated form one of them and occasionally used the second one... they knew and it was fine.. just allowed us to use it if we wanted to..and not needed as a regular use for space requirements

[Guest]

Have seen the registration certificate but didnt realise that it came with "other stuf"!!! So on these pages it tells you how they have worked out children numbers???

Will have to see if the current chair has a copy!

 

Thanks ....for more info that I didnt know!

[Cait]

There may or me not be. I asked for a copy when Mrs O measured the rooms and she said 'Oh yes' as if it was standard, so I don't know

[Inge]

Nothing on ours to say how it was worked out.. but ours was limited by number of toilets so think the space was joint consideration

 

must say the smaller room we used daily always seemed too small for the number of children , but was calculated as suitable..

[Guest]

It's a straightforward measurement, I had to check it recently as we were looking at possibly increasing our registration. It's somewhere in the EYFS statutory stuff.

 

The measurement is I think from memory 2.5 square metres per child for under 3's and 2.3 square metres for over 3's. That must be 'usable space' and does not include toilets/kitchen/corridors etc.

 

We worked out that we could fit in 31 (current registration 24 max) but we decided that would be madness - we are quite crowded already on a day when we are full.

[Guest]

aaarrrrggghhhh.....school are now saying that one of the rooms that we are registered for needs to be closed off from club at 5pm that the caretaker can get in and clean. They feel that we shouldnt be using it every day!! So why tell us to include it

 

I feel like calling OFSTED and saying well actually registered for the hall, only use twice per week, only allowed other class to 5pm so actually taking this into account how many children should we be registered for...oh only 20 and not 48???!!! How the parents would then complain if we couldnt give them a place..oh and this would mean our youngest children would not get a place as priority is given to those that have used club the longest...oh so we therefore dont have to be OFSTEDed!!!! :(

 

Surely we should be working together?? Tearing my hair out here.

[Inge]

haver to ask but what space requirements apply to you if not Ofsted inspected... is there one for after school clubs / voluntary registered groups...

 

is space only calculated re eyfs children and not others...

 

 

I do think I would contact and ask Ofsted.. although we all know they will say you have to follow the requirements and not give a yes or no answer... but it would give you something to go to ehad with and say if we don't have the rooms we cannot take the number of childrne we currently do... but would be restricted to...... children... if you can get the answer out of Ofsted that is....

[Guest]

Inge..I dont know what the space requirments are aswe take children over 8yrs. I know it means calling oFSTED but i want to avoid it if I can! Im such a !

[Inge]

Email works well too... even if not in a setting I have used them for questions... something along the lines of how many rooms with size in daily use and how many children this would accommodate..

 

and then you get someone else to do the same and get 2 answers.... have done that before... !!

[Guest]

The last time I emailed OFSTED i didnt understand a word they wrote back