here goes. ofsted

[leeanne910]

She arrived at 10.20

We were in the garden about to have snack.

She came in i checked her id she went into playroom loved the displays parents board n my plannin display so parents can be involved.

She got excited when she went into the garden. She watched us play n take pics of kiddies for obs n write obs which triggered questions as to why n what we do next n she looked in lj and loved it she spoke to parents had parent questionares asked how i manage assistant. Asked about safeguarfing....then about that complaint this week. Which she said i dealt with correct. However. The incident with my son should have been notified to ofsted in 14 days (safeguarfing) where i had logged on incident form. Id actioned it as i went up to sons school about what was goin on.... so outcome was inadequate. I sobbed. She said its not what she wanted to give i would of got good maybe even outstanding. She said to take comfort in when she says im doin everythin right n excellent but its that one issue that bought it to that result she said dont give up as the lil boy she saw loves it here his parents love him here and you can clearly see his developing here. It was almost like a kick in the teeth. Ive cried non stop. I understand the result. And now understand in everycase my own child or not i have to phone them. Me and my assistant were gobsmacked as in nurseries we kno that doesnt happen. Hense why as it only happened once it was logged. So yesterday i felt inadequte aftrr bein told i graded inadrquate and missed my sons sports day for the inspection so felt inadequate mom.... :( i loved my job till yesterday. My assistant even said she felt confident and never did in other settings with ofsted. Sad day for us :( then u have friends n family askin how it went.....and now i have to tell early years. Which i am so not looking forward to a grilling... :,(

[Rick]

Oh I'm so sorry. Just remember your general setting is good/outstanding. :group hug:

[munch149]

So sorry hope your ok. Which bit should have been notified. Your son touching the other boy. I probably wouldn't have thought much of it first time and would have just done an incident form. If it reoccurred it might have been different. Or was it the complaint after the event you should have notified??? Typical your ofsted was so close otherwise it may have been all sorted beforehand

[Optimalstar]

Not the overall grade you wanted but wont your full report show you are 'good' or 'outstanding' in other areas? Most importantly you know if was just that one incident that dragged your overall grading down, next time that wont be the case. Sorry i know it's not helping you right now but you are not inadequate as a childminder or a parent. Think of all the times you were there to watch your child at sports day or for other things :) (((((((hugs))))))

[The Juggler]

hon, I think you have to look at the way she viewed your setting and what she thinks of that.

with regards to the grade and the reason why. If you don't understand exactly why, ring and speak to her. Did she explain exactly what you should have done. With your grading now, will you be reinspected within a certain period?

I can't imagine how you are feeling honey but you must put your health first at the moment and try not to stress too much. Maybe take time to think about what you want to do.

Sending a huge hug. xxx

[sing-low]

Really really sorry to hear this. I agree with others - try to take comfort in the good and outstanding aspects the inspector talked about. I know that's easy for me to say. Well done on those, particularly with everything else, that's an immense achievement that you were still doing everything right with the children. And thanks for being brave enough to share this with us. Hugs.

[sarah707]

:group hug:

Do you feel it was the wrong judgement? Do you feel it was just 'children being children'? Do you think it's totally wrong to blow it up as a safeguarding incident when in fact it was just a little bit of child silliness?

I will pm you xx

[leeanne910]

It was child sillyness it had never ever happened before and when i spoke to him n he said his friends were doin it at school i was straight up there. And i will get monitoring visits every 3 months and inspection no later than 12 months. But doesnt feel right

[Simona]

You must raise your objections and very quickly too
I am not clear what the incident was about
We were told yesterday that if we felt inspectors were wrong it needs to be raised...get support and advice

we want this practice stopped and looked into

[The Juggler]

if you do raise objections honey then I would say you should push for the reinspection to be early than a year.

[sskent08]

but if it happened at school should it not have been at the school that reported it?

if she only brought this up after a disagreement, then you have actioned her complaint by writing up the incident, bearing in mind Ofsted were coming in a few days

I don't think it is a safeguarding concern, if maybe when it happened she spoke to you about then she would have been upset and wanted to see that you had done something about it. But to only bring it up when she knew you were having an inspection, is wrong.

Surly if there was a safeguarding concern the school should be the one calling Ofsted?

I would appeal

[blue bear]

:group hug::group hug:

[Helen79]

so sorry that you're going through this. Not sure how old your son is but guessing about 4/5. It's normal developmental behaviour for most children to go through a phase of showing others and having a peek at others. It's all part of them learning about their own bodies and how other people are different and learning about acceptable social boundaries. Surely an ofsted inspector should be able to understand that.

I would question whether it was an actual safeguarding incident. Schools and nurseries certainly don't phone ofsted everytime it happens there.
If you've logged it, spoken to other parent, risk assessed and and taken steps to stop him having chance to do it again then you've been able to show ofsted that surely your safegaurding procedures are actually excellent.

[blue bear]

Not sure if it's the same,my friend some years ago found two children with knickers down touching each other, boy was 6. Girl was four.
She logged it talked to parents and risk assessed to prevent future happenings. The children were playing doctors and he was examining her.

Ofsted inspector read the incident form and told my friend it had been dealt with correctly, no mention of reporting it for safeguarding.

[leeanne910]

She said i managed it well and complaint well and theres no issues there its because i didnt notify them in 14days of the incident happenin i got marked inadequate. I undserstand that and definately learned from it like a good hiding but....surely inadequate is real mean from this?! I just dont want to be treated by early yrs as someone who hasnt a clue. When i do. More than most. Since being registered i seen them once in january. I was registered in december. I been on safeguarding foundation and intermediate worked in nurseries and even have the advanced safeguarding from previous job. I hate not knowing what i will be made to do by early yrs

[leeanne910]

Thanks for that blue bear. See i questioned it when she told me that and i said if it was other child done it to my child would i of had to phone and she said yes. In my policy it said any allegations of family members. There were no allegations there was an incident. Which i logged. The parent was present too. So i just dont understand now

[Mouse]

I wonder if it's worth phoning Ofsted on Monday and asking what the procedure is if there is an incident like this. Don't give your name, just ask the hypothetical question. If they say it doesn't need reporting, you have more evidence behind you to challenge the inspector's decision.

It does seem an incredibly harsh decision over something that happens a lot and which most people wouldn't consider a safeguarding issue. Blimey, if a school had to report it every time it happened, they'd be forever on the phone to Ofsted! In reception class one of my mindees was caught showing the boys what was inside her pants. School didn't even speak to her parents about it & asked me to do it! Mum was horrified when I told her, but at no time was it every considered a safeguarding issue by any of us.

Keep strong. You know you've got a lot of support here.

And if your grade does have to stand, use the monitoring & early inspection as an opportunity to show how fab you really are :thumbsup:

[The Juggler]

I wonder if it's worth phoning Ofsted on Monday and asking what the procedure is if there is an incident like this. Don't give your name, just ask the hypothetical question. If they say it doesn't need reporting, you have more evidence behind you to challenge the inspector's decision.

It does seem an incredibly harsh decision over something that happens a lot and which most people wouldn't consider a safeguarding issue. Blimey, if a school had to report it every time it happened, they'd be forever on the phone to Ofsted! In reception class one of my mindees was caught showing the boys what was inside her pants. School didn't even speak to her parents about it & asked me to do it! Mum was horrified when I told her, but at no time was it every considered a safeguarding issue by any of us.

Keep strong. You know you've got a lot of support here.

And if your grade does have to stand, use the monitoring & early inspection as an opportunity to show how fab you really are :thumbsup:

good idea mouse

[blue bear]

I think you should contact ofsted and ask where in the guidance it tells you that you need to report this sort of incident, I can't find it's and wasn't personally aware of it. Ive been googling and can only find reference to adults.

[madredann]

Leeanne I really feel for you - can you just clarify that the incident happened at school with your little one and the minded child (when did it happen and when did parent bring it to your attention)and that the parent complained to you about it over the last 2 weeks-you logged it as an incident but ofsted have pulled you up as you didnt ring to inform them of the incident. You went to school and spoke to them about it- I think the grey area here is that the incident happened at school not whilst the children were in your care sorry to go over it im just a little confused and want you to get the best advice out there x

[Emra81]

That does seem a really harsh grade given the quality of everything else she saw and the nature of the incident. I'd definitely get in touch with Ofsted and ask for further clarification. I can only begin to imagine how rotten you must feel - what a rollercoaster ride that inspection must have been!

I'm pre reg so I've still got A LOT to learn but where does it say that you have to notify Ofsted? The Ofsted doc about serious accidents, injuries and deaths says that you have to notify them in the case of the death of a child in your care, serious injury to a child, if they have to go to A & E for more than 24 hours or 'any significant event that is likely to affect the suitability to care for children'. Obviously there's more detail attached to each of these but it doesn't say anywhere about notifying them of an incident like yours. Is it dependent on the procedures your local safeguarding board recommend or is there other guidance out there that I have yet to discover?

Sorry if I'm being dense but, if I was you, I'd want to know the exact wording of whatever guidance says you should have notified so that, at the very least, you can evaluate effectively and know precisely what you need to change in your p & p's and ultimately how to ensure you're never in the same situation again.

I agree with everyone else though - try to focus on the positives of the inspection and take pride in the high quality provision you have in place. You are clearly very good at what you do and don't you forget it!

[leeanne910]

Children and i were in garden. I answer door to the mum. Child says xxx went to grab my privates. So i speak to my son. I then speak again on evening who said what was goin on at school at playtime and i told him.tell teacher. I logged all this. And few weeks later he tells me it happening still so i go school and have words with teacher and that i logged to. Parent was fine with it and never bought it up to complain, in her words "i only mentioned it to be a b....h" but then she handed notice.

[munch149]

I dot know about others but I really don't think this should have affected your ofsted as it mostly affected your own child. Have the school told ofsted about your concerns. If you have to report it to ofsted so should they. If you hadn't been a childminder and someone touched your child I can't see it getting reported by anyone. I'm a little confused especially as she said you dealt with it correctly

[madredann]

I wonder if the school reported it as a safeguarding issue?
This is an issue that does not reflect on your ability to care for children in a way that obviously the Ofsted inspector recognised if anything it is knowing what we have to inform Ofsted about or not and Ofsted inspectors do not always get it right. I am sure Sarah will have some great advice for you and I hope you get this sorted out. If like me any knocks I get it takes a while to find my confidence again but it will be back just give it time fight for your rights and eventually you will feel able to move on x

[leeanne910]

From reading eyfs stat guidance. Its been linked to 3.8

"Registered providers must inform ofsted of any allegations of serious harm or abuse by any person living,working, or looking after children at the premises (whether the allegations relate relate to harm or abuse commited on the premises or elsewhere). Registered providers must also notify ofsted of the action taken in respect of the allegations. These notifications must be made as soon as is reasonably practicable, but at least within 14 days of the allegation being made. Registered provider who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with this requirement, commits an offence"

What i struggle to understand is it wasnt an allegation? It was an incident which was recorded and acted upon as to prevent it happenig again to any child again

[Simona]

Please lodge your concerns with Ofsted especially if you have proof you acted and followed EYFS
You only have 24 hrs..not sure what happens when the weekend is in the middle

Call ofsted and get an email to the person you need to write to as soon as possible...we can support you here and sympathise but cannot change that grade...have you called you early years team...some really help??

The message at the conference yesterday was: get your EYFS out and ask the inspector where what she is reporting or grading you about is...if not there then challenge
Ofsted are aware that inspectors can vary on judgement

[bindy]

From reading eyfs stat guidance. Its been linked to 3.8

"Registered providers must inform ofsted of any allegations of serious harm or abuse by any person living,working, or looking after children at the premises (whether the allegations relate relate to harm or abuse commited on the premises or elsewhere). Registered providers must also notify ofsted of the action taken in respect of the allegations. These notifications must be made as soon as is reasonably practicable, but at least within 14 days of the allegation being made. Registered provider who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with this requirement, commits an offence"

What i struggle to understand is it wasnt an allegation? It was an incident which was recorded and acted upon as to prevent it happenig again to any child again

But it was a child right? Crazy, crazy Ofsted, no wonder they are losing credibility!

[Emra81]

Hhmmm, I'd hardly say the incident qualifies as serious harm or abuse does it?! Like other posters have said, Ofsted would be inundated with calls if every childminder/school had to notify them of every incident of this nature. Definitely worth questioning her judgement, as lovely as she was!

[leeanne910]

I just looked at local safeguarding childrens board booklet and linked to eyfs 3.8 it has i should notify social services too!!!!!!!! Im angry now as my son is 6!!! And looking at my incident report form it says quoted from child "<my sons name> went to grab my privates" but ge actually didnt do it!!!!!!!!!!!

Im so annoyed upset angry confused and everythin into one.....i dont know what to do

[leeanne910]

And in the local scb info it says that incidents should be recorded for other children nothing about ofsted bein notified.... i feel like because its my children who are age 1 and my eldest is 6 that they are branded baddies and perverts in situations like this and are treated like adults rather than children there for i am not allowed to treat my children equal?

[Simona]

This is the link with explanations about how to raise a complaint about Ofsted
It also gives a number you can call
Ofsted | Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted (http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/complaints-procedure-raising-concerns-and-making-complaints-about-ofsted)

[blue bear]

Try not to panic Leanne, sounds to me like the inspector has made her own interpretation on the guidance,get onto ofsted on Monday ask to speak to someone who deals with safeguarding don't just speak to someone on the help line and talk it through with them,ask them to email you the answer so you have it in black and white.

Horrible situation for You, I hope it gets sorted quickly x

[leeanne910]

The inspecter called someone else for advice....thats where i start to doubt myself and go ohhh gosh there are 2 of them sayin it...but if a child has said "he went to" that means he didnt actually do it im meant to phone? Thats where i saw logging it as an incident....god i feel like i camt breathe....i have issues making phone calls...

[Simona]

Don't get in panic..
get someone to call for you on the number given on the link which is specifically for complaints about inspections
Find out what you have to do and go from there...will be thinking about you!

[Helen79]

The inspecter called someone else for advice....thats where i start to doubt myself and go ohhh gosh there are 2 of them sayin it...but if a child has said "he went to" that means he didnt actually do it im meant to phone? Thats where i saw logging it as an incident....god i feel like i camt breathe....i have issues making phone calls...

Please don't panic, it sounds like the inspector has taken the incident too seriously and over the phone wires have been crossed over what actually happened.
To be totally honest if that had happened here i don't think I would have even logged it as an incident and may not even have mentioned it to the other parent unless the other child was really upset over it. I worked in nurserys before being a cm and this sort of stuff happens all the time and is never treated as abuse or an allegation, parents are rarely told and it's just treated as one of those things that happen when kids are being a bit silly. How old is the other child?

Do you have a helpful DO who could phone for you?

[leeanne910]

Other child is 8years. My development officer i worry to be honest as they are very stern and worried about when she finds out they have a cm in the area with inadequate as they havent had many in the area with it. I feel that it has been blown up as if it was abuse....where child wasnt touched and they were playing on a slide.