Kids’ Clubs Network, the leading childcare charity, is delighted to announce that trailblazing quality assurance scheme, Aiming High, has won the endorsement of the DfES Sure Start Unit’s Investors in Children Kitemark.

Quality assurance is essential to the development of a childcare scheme. Parents and children need to know that they are using high quality childcare and providers need to know and to demonstrate that they are offering a quality service. Kids’ Clubs Network has developed Aiming High over the last decade - a dynamic quality assurance programme for out of school childcare schemes, which involves self-assessment, portfolio building and a final independent assessment involving either a lead assessor or a national quality panel.

Kids’ Clubs Network’s Aiming High Quality Assurance Scheme sets clear standards of quality for all aspects of an out of school club including staffing, premises, health and safety and especially relationships with children, parents and the wider community. The scheme provides a framework of quality indicators, setting goals for clubs to aspire to, which helps the club continually improve its practice.

In celebrating, Anne Longfield, Chief Executive Kids’ Clubs Network said, “With the number of out of school clubs reaching 10,000, the quality and safety of the club is still one of the most important considerations for any parent. Aiming High, since its introduction many years ago, provides a trusted assurance scheme to meet their demands. It is important that the clubs are empowered to undertake their own quality assurance and Aiming High provides them with the framework and ability to do so.”

“Aiming High is tried and tested, and has been adapted over time. With the Investors in Children endorsement, it shows that Aiming High has a continuing vital role to play in out of school childcare provision, and highlights that the standards based approach provides the best framework for making improvements.”

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