Holiday Playschemes in Kingston upon Thames

• Home
• Childcare, Education and Learning
• Childcare and Education
• The Families Information Service
• Holiday Playschemes

This list contains detail of holiday play schemes that provide childcare during school holidays and holiday schemes providing activities which run during some of the holidays.

For further information on activities to keep your children busy during the school holidays we recommend that you also obtain copies of the Spring and Summer activity brochures. All are available from the Families Information Service or your local library.

First of all you know your child best – look for an out of school service you feel will be suitable for your child. holiday playschemes registered with Ofsted are checked to make sure that the staff are suitable to look after children.

At least half of them must hold a NVQ level 2 qualification appropriate for the care and development of children and there are rules on the ratio of staff to children depending on the ages of the children catered for.

A check is also done on the premises of the registered playscheme to ensure it is safe and suitable for children.  After the playscheme is registered, regular inspections are carried out to ensure a safe and suitable service is being provided.

All registered providers must operate using national standards for under 8's day care. Some holiday playschemes do not currently need to be registered, for example, those which only cater for children aged over 8 years old. You can ask if they are registered.

Most Holiday playschemes provide places for between 10 and 40 children although some are smaller and others are larger.

Most children attending out of school services are aged between 5 and 11. Some services provide places for three and four year olds to fit around nursery or preschool education. Some services provide places geared for older children and sometimes children with special needs. Places may be available in mainstream provision for children with special needs. Contact the Team for Disabled Children on 020 8547 6524 to find out about assistance with support workers.

You can expect to pay between £35 and £90 per child per week for a place at a holiday playscheme. However, these are average costs and charges will vary. Many clubs fund-raise to keep fees at a very reasonable rate; others offer reductions for siblings or lone parents.

Registered childminders can also provide childcare during holidays. Kingston Families Information Service can provide you with a list of childminders.

Contact the out of schoo developmebnt advisor if you would like to know more about opening an out of school or holiday playscheme:-

Out of School Development Advisor
Wendy Holland on 020 8547 6585 or email Wendy.Holland@rbk.kingston.gov.uk

Further information on the registration and inspection of childcare can be obtained From OFSTED’S helpline 0300 123 1231 and OFSTED’S website www.ofsted.gov.uk.www.ofsted.gov.uk.

We recommend that Ofsted Inspection Reports are viewed before choosing a childcare provider. To help you choose your childcare we have included the date of the last inspection and grade on the list. Full reports can be downloaded from the Ofsted website or contact the Families Information Service (020 8547 6582) to make arrangements to read the latest report.

All Ofsted registered childcare providers should have copies of their latest inspection report to view at the premises.

Ofsted inspect registered childcare providers at least once every three years, and give them one of four grades: outstanding, good, satisfactory or inadequate. The inspector arranges a visit, usually with no notice, where they will look at the premises and the way the provider cares for children. Inspectors think about what the provision is like for the child, asking 'What is it like for a child here?'

To answer this important question, they judge how well childcare providers meet a series of outcomes for children that are set out in law. These are how they:

• help children to be healthy
• protect them from harm or neglect and help them stay safe
• help them enjoy what they do and achieve well
• help them make a positive contribution to the setting and the wider community.

They also judge how well settings organise their childcare to help promote children's well-being, taking account of whether they meet the National Standards, and whether they use the best practice guidance. Inspection of daycare has been carried out on this basis since April 2004.

If a setting has been inspected since that time, their overall Ofsted inspection outcome will be shown on the attached list. We have not included inspection outcomes for settings whose last inspection was prior to April 2004 because the inspection criteria used would be different. In these cases the inspection grade box will “Not available”.

Also please note that inspection outcomes will not be available for settings who have only received an inspection on registration. Ofsted will inspect these settings again once they start caring for children so that a judgment can be made when children are attending the setting.

Where this is the case the box will say “Registration Inspection”. Where a setting is not registered with Ofsted the grading box will display “Not applicable”.