Clwb Mes Bach was registered with the Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) over 6 years ago. It provides childcare for up to 44 children of mixed abilities. The Club offers the 30 Hour Childcare Offer at its After School Club (ASC), and Holiday Club (HC), set adjacent to Ysgol Commins Coch.
The benefits of CIW registration are evident for children, families, and the management of our setting. It was shortly after I took over the management of Clwb Mes Bach in 2018 that I received my first ever CIW inspection. It was terrifying, there’s no denying it but the experience did embed the learnings from my recent induction and gave me the tools required to quickly make changes for the benefit of children and staff in my care.
As a result of that first inspection, we knew exactly what we were doing well and where we could make changes to be even better going forward. As a result we updated files, policies, procedures and were able to implement the feedback given to improve our service.
Registration has also enabled us to benefit from Tax Free Childcare and The Childcare Offer payments to support families accessing our childcare services. We currently have 5 children in our holiday club, and 6 children in our after school club accessing these funding opportunities.
There is no doubt that re-opening after the pandemic was a difficult time for the setting and with parents working from home we saw that numbers were significantly lower than pre pandemic, we are certain that without our CIW registered status and consequent ability to offer families subsidised childcare places we would not have been able to increase our numbers as quickly and our club's sustainability would have continued to be a concern’ - Rhian Pugh / Clwb Mes Bach, Ceredigion.
The setting received a number of tailored business support sessions from Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs to support business planning, Welsh language, applying for funding and updating policies and procedures in line with latest governmental guidance, particularly when the setting re-opened during the pandemic in the summer of 2021. Staff also attended webinars on cash flow forecasting and fund sourcing with Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs’ “Money, Money, Money” series of webinars.
It has been great working with you. Thank you for all your support