View Full Version : Inspection day - activities
Lu 2010
21-05-2016, 07:37 PM
Evening,
I have my inspection on Tuesday and am looking for ideas for simple activities to do on the day. I will have an almost one year old who is just learning to walk and a three year old that is very difficult to engage in any sort of play!
Any ideas will be gratefully received.
Thank you
Lu x
moggy
21-05-2016, 08:32 PM
Great tips here
Ofsted are coming! - Independent Childminders (http://independentchildminders.weebly.com/blog/ofsted-are-coming)
Your inspection is not the time to try anything new- go for tried and tested favourites, have plenty of alternative things ready to go -a tray ready set up for play dough, a few things ready outside, favourite books easy to reach, props for a favourite story/song/rhyme. The inspector wants to see a normal day, it is not so much what you do but how you do it (leaving time for children to respond, open questioning, working on next steps, allowing independence, knowing where the children are in their learning and building on that)- the simplest story time, or playing with dolls or whatever, is perfect. Go with children's direction on the day and extend their play. No one is going to expect a 3yo to engage for long in an activity- more important is to be able to follow what they want to do and be able to talk about what they are learning and how you provide experiences to support etc. It is fine to sit back and let them play, you do not need to be there playing 'with' them all the time.
Good luck!
sarah707
21-05-2016, 08:32 PM
It is really important to stick to the child's interests - do things you normally do - no surprises on the day the inspector in the house will be enough for most los!
There are lots of ideas here - Preparing an activity for Ofsted inspection - Independent Childminders (http://independentchildminders.weebly.com/blog/preparing-an-activity-for-ofsted-inspection).
I hope it goes well :D
loocyloo
21-05-2016, 09:09 PM
:-) good luck.
I also echo the thought of doing what you usually do ; reading stories, singing songs, playing with water etc and follow the children's lead.
At my inspection I had a few activities 'ready to go' ... puppets, painting, etc and an idea how I would get there (linked to the story we read) but my LOs took the story in a totally different direction and we didn't do any of the 'prepared' activities!
mumofone
22-05-2016, 06:54 AM
Evening, I have my inspection on Tuesday and am looking for ideas for simple activities to do on the day. I will have an almost one year old who is just learning to walk and a three year old that is very difficult to engage in any sort of play! Any ideas will be gratefully received. Thank you Lu x
Good luck, will you let us know how it goes? :-) x
k1rstie
22-05-2016, 07:30 AM
My little one was almost one as well. We didn't do much, just played with see through balls ( saying shoes, colours, sizes etc), then exploring big reflective pebbles ( that look like big shiny minstrel sweets), then peekaboo with sheer scarfs. Inspection day is not the day to teach a child to ride a bike, just go with the flow and do what you normally do.
Good luck.
catswhiskers
22-05-2016, 06:09 PM
Good luck Lu! I've got my inspection on Tuesday too so getting a bit nervous!
I'm trying to think of bits to get out but am just going with the flow with what we already do hopefully. I'll have a 19 month old who can concentrate quite well for a while and a 16 month old who sometimes doesn't sit still for a minute but we shall see.
mumofone
22-05-2016, 06:18 PM
Good luck Lu! I've got my inspection on Tuesday too so getting a bit nervous! I'm trying to think of bits to get out but am just going with the flow with what we already do hopefully. I'll have a 19 month old who can concentrate quite well for a while and a 16 month old who sometimes doesn't sit still for a minute but we shall see.
Good luck to you too catswhiskers :-) Hope you'll both give feedback to those of us still nervously waiting!! :-) xx
BallyH
22-05-2016, 06:57 PM
Best of luck to you both. Be yourselves, be confident and use every available opportunity to 'teach' as your lo's go about their normal day.
mumofone
24-05-2016, 09:32 PM
Good luck Lu! I've got my inspection on Tuesday too so getting a bit nervous! I'm trying to think of bits to get out but am just going with the flow with what we already do hopefully. I'll have a 19 month old who can concentrate quite well for a while and a 16 month old who sometimes doesn't sit still for a minute but we shall see.
How did the inspection go catswhiskers? Xx
mumofone
24-05-2016, 09:33 PM
Evening, I have my inspection on Tuesday and am looking for ideas for simple activities to do on the day. I will have an almost one year old who is just learning to walk and a three year old that is very difficult to engage in any sort of play! Any ideas will be gratefully received. Thank you Lu x
How did the inspection go Lu? X
catswhiskers
24-05-2016, 10:02 PM
Hi Mumofone, very nervewracking but I knew I had everything in place for the inspection and was aiming for good.
Had a lot gone on since my last inspection over 4 and a half years ago. My lovely Mum, Dad and Father in law have all passed away in that time but I know my Mum was looking down on me today!
Very proud to say I had an outstanding from the inspector today!
mumofone
25-05-2016, 07:09 AM
Hi Mumofone, very nervewracking but I knew I had everything in place for the inspection and was aiming for good. Had a lot gone on since my last inspection over 4 and a half years ago. My lovely Mum, Dad and Father in law have all passed away in that time but I know my Mum was looking down on me today! Very proud to say I had an outstanding from the inspector today!
Oh goodness that's amazing,well done!! :-) I'm so sorry to hear of your losses too, how awful :-( To get an outstanding in those circumstances is even more commendable :-)
If you have any pointers from the day once you've celebrated and put your feet up that would be great! :-) x
Hi Mumofone, very nervewracking but I knew I had everything in place for the inspection and was aiming for good.
Had a lot gone on since my last inspection over 4 and a half years ago. My lovely Mum, Dad and Father in law have all passed away in that time but I know my Mum was looking down on me today!
Very proud to say I had an outstanding from the inspector today!
Congratulations! Well done. Sorry you've had such a tough time. I'm sure you family would have been so proud of you and your wonderful result! x