St Chad's Out of School Care

Childcare and practical family help share the same address at St Chad's Out of School Care. Part of St Chad's Community Project in Bensham, this setting combines a nursery with a community creche, afterschool care and holiday provision. Its character comes from that connection: parents can use childcare alongside adult learning and family support, rather than treating each as a separate service.

At its 10 January 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good and found safeguarding effective. The strongest practical detail is the way children's play and family circumstances inform provision. Garden access, opportunities for children to shape their own activities and consultation with parents sit alongside a Family Support team that works across services.

There are 65 places in total, a whole-setting capacity rather than a nursery group size. The nursery serves children from birth to four, while afterschool and holiday care cater for ages three to 14. Nursery opening hours are term-time only; holiday care and afterschool provision serve different parts of the family timetable.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning and development, with play supporting communication, physical skills and relationships. St Chad's uses Birth to Five matters, non-statutory guidance that helps practitioners plan children's development across the framework's seven areas of learning. It is planning guidance alongside the statutory framework, rather than a separate entitlement or an exemption from it.

Play and exploration are central to the nursery's activities. Staff plan together, and parents are encouraged to participate in their child's education. The emphasis on communication, physical development and emotional and social development gives everyday play a clear purpose: learning to express an idea, handle materials or take part with other children.

In January 2024, staff combined observations with information from parents when deciding children's next learning steps. One example involved using familiar rhymes before group stories when children were still developing the attention needed for story time. That is a useful illustration of the planning: the starting point was what children could manage, rather than expecting everyone to join the same activity immediately.

A sensory tray provided another concrete example in January 2024. Children poured, mixed and scooped, practising small hand movements and looking closely at what happened. Staff also followed children's play ideas, including making a cosy space beneath blankets and singing lullabies. These examples give substance to the current emphasis on children having resources to organise their own play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children can move freely between the indoor environment and the garden, with outdoor access continuing in different weather. That makes outdoor play part of the ordinary day, rather than something reserved for a separate outing. The garden is the clearest physical feature of the childcare offer.

Beyond nursery attendance, the Family Support team runs Messy Play Group, a parent-and-child sensory play group for children aged six months to four years. It meets on Tuesdays during term time, from 1.30pm to 2.30pm. This is a separate family activity, allowing adults and children to explore materials together.

Parent and Toddler Group provides another route into the project's activities. On term-time Thursdays, from 9.30am to 11am, children from birth to four join their parents for crafts, adult-led activities and free play. Both groups invite a suggested donation. They add opportunities for shared play, but should be understood separately from booked nursery care.

Relationships and Communication

Regular consultation with parents and children is part of the childcare approach. Children's ideas also influence play opportunities. For families, this creates two routes into planning: adults contribute knowledge of their child, while children help shape what they do during the day.

In January 2024, staff responded to children seeking comfort with affectionate reassurance and calming conversation. They also used information from home when planning learning. Practical preparation for school included supporting independence and toilet training, putting attention on everyday self-care rather than implying an admissions advantage.

The current staff structure includes a Deputy Childcare Manager and a Head of Children and Family Services who also holds the Designated Safeguarding Lead role. Childcare and family support sit within that head of service's responsibilities. This brings childcare and family support within the same management structure.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked promptly with parents and other professionals on developmental concerns, with children with SEND making good progress in communication and social skills. Strategies were used at home as well as in the setting, helping adults work towards the same goals.

There were also clear improvement points in January 2024. Disruptions to familiar routines sometimes unsettled children, including longer waits for snacks, and children needed more help to understand their feelings, share and take turns. These are practical issues for parents to weigh alongside the positive findings, especially where a child finds changes between activities difficult.

Family support extends beyond children's time in care. The Family Support Outreach Service helps with advice, outreach, food, baby equipment, clothing and household goods. Support and Advice Sessions also bring the Family Support team together with housing officers and Citizen’s Advice Gateshead. Childcare therefore sits within a project that can respond to pressures affecting the whole household.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 21 Liddell Terrace, Bensham, Gateshead, NE8 1YN. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on 0191 490 1032 or by email to ltreception@stchadscommunityproject.org.

Nursery opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday during term time. Afterschool club runs from 3pm to 6pm on term-time weekdays, with collections from local primary schools. Brighton Avenue Primary School, Kelvin Grove Primary School and Corpus Christi Primary School are among the collection points. These are collection arrangements, rather than a nursery-to-school admissions pathway.

Holiday care is for children aged three to 14 and offers half-day and full-day attendance during school holidays, training days and occasional days. Its opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday during school holidays. Families can therefore distinguish the term-time nursery day from care designed around school closures.

The community creche is free for parents and carers attending the specified groups. It caters for children aged birth to four, from 9.30am to 11.30am on Mondays while adults attend the women's group and on Wednesdays while they attend the English Language class. Women Together is the project's Monday women's group; the creche's purpose is to enable adults to participate, rather than provide an interchangeable nursery booking.

Funding and Paid Extras

In January 2024, the setting provided funded places for two-, three- and four-year-old children. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The free community creche is a separate arrangement supported by the project's funders, with attendance tied to the relevant adult groups.

For afterschool care, the price includes school collection, activities and a home-cooked afternoon snack. Holiday care includes breakfast and a teatime meal, but parents supply a packed lunch for morning and full-day attendance; fruit, snacks, milk and water are also served during the day.

• Transitions and feelings. In January 2024, inconsistent routines sometimes unsettled children, and further work was needed on sharing, turn-taking and managing emotions. During a visit, ask how staff now organise snack time and changes between activities.
• Different services, different timetables. Nursery opening hours are term-time only, afterschool club follows the school day, and holiday care offers half-day or full-day attendance. Choose the service that matches the child's age and the part of the week needing cover.
• Nursery charges and care supplies. Afterschool snacks and holiday meals have specific arrangements.

St Chad's suits families seeking a term-time nursery alongside practical support for the household, as well as those needing afterschool care or half-day and full-day holiday provision. Its garden access, child-led play opportunities and separate parent-and-child groups give the offer substance. The connection with family support is its clearest strength of character.

The January 2024 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by specific work needed on daily transitions and emotional understanding. Families should weigh those everyday care questions alongside the substantial difference between the nursery, creche and school-age services.