Unsupervised children and Ofsted

[clareelizabeth1]

I think I will make a point of locking the inspector outside my house when I go toilet.

[rickysmiths]

Sorry to bang on about the new framework but... look at page 18 and in there it states clearly providers' are allowed to raise concenrs at the end of the inspection

My advice is study it very well and make notes so you are ready for judgement day....confidence can be achieved via knowledge when you are arguing for the right reasons!!
CMs are the last to raise an appeal...other providers do it more often

But that is nothing new Simona. We have always been able to 'raise' concerns at any point during an inspection. The point is that too many people do not have the confidence to do this. Also as was discussed at the Ofsted Big Conversation sometimes discussing issues for a childminder, at the end or during an inspection is not possible when you are still caring for children. In schools feed back is done to staff in the quiet of an office and they are not at that point directly responsible for the immediate care of children. This can often be the case in a Nursery or Pre School where there is more than one member of staff.

We have to help develop childminder's confidence and ability to speak up. To help reduce the fear of Ofsted and the tenancy to regard them as some kind of God that they are not. To regard them for the humans they are doing an ordinary job like you and I.

[shortstuff]

CMs are the last to raise an appeal...other providers do it more often

I am one CM who did raise an appeal and it got me precisely no where. Because the inspectors own firm investigate why would they believe me over what was said when she denied all?

In my experience I wouldnt bother to appeal again as they dont seem to take you seriously and then keep you waiting for what seems like forever to say they are siding with their own employee!

[Simona]

But that is nothing new Simona. We have always been able to 'raise' concerns at any point during an inspection. The point is that too many people do not have the confidence to do this. Also as was discussed at the Ofsted Big Conversation sometimes discussing issues for a childminder, at the end or during an inspection is not possible when you are still caring for children. In schools feed back is done to staff in the quiet of an office and they are not at that point directly responsible for the immediate care of children. This can often be the case in a Nursery or Pre School where there is more than one member of staff.

We have to help develop childminder's confidence and ability to speak up. To help reduce the fear of Ofsted and the tenancy to regard them as some kind of God that they are not. To regard them for the humans they are doing an ordinary job like you and I.

Yes we have been able to raise concerns but in the past Ofsted listened and often made adjustments to a report...I am one of those who benefitted from that.
I have enjoyed each of past 5 inspections because I felt valued and respected by each of the inspectors who walked into my setting...
I saw inspections as a challenge to do better and recommendations always welcome to further reflect on my practice
I have no fear of Ofsted and never elevated them to godliness...I am also prepared to challenge where I see wrong

Unfortunately the regime is different now and if you read all the feedback from #OBC and the miriads of articles you will see how few concerns succeed now...that is what the campaign is all about.

The new framework also states that inspectors have to be mindful of when they feedback to providers...during an inspection discussions have to take place regularly...this is the time for a cm to start jotting things down and raise later.

As for making CMs more confident I can go back years when I have said that our ability to challenge positively is something CMs need to acquire via knowledge of the statutory requirements and doing things independently too....using our initiative and leadership.
I have often called for training on this subject and raised recently at a meeting with a variety consultants
I would like to know apart from PLA which other associations is speaking up for CMs at present?


Gail Tracey...I appreciate your comment very much and fear many would not repeat the experience...it must be disheartening and frustrating
but we must not lose motivation and determination....if we give in Ofsted will do as it pleases forgetting they are actually accountable for their practice...they are the DfE agency and that is where the problem lies in my view.

Can anyone really believe that this state of affairs can continue for much longer?

And these are the statistics from this article
Three in ten settings downgraded following complaints-driven inspections | Nursery World

Only five childcare providers out of a total of 405 who complained about their inspection succeeded in having their complaint upheld.
The response also shows that 44 inspectors were the subject of three or more complaints relating to unscheduled inspections completed following concerns raised with Ofsted.

[emma04]

The world has gone utterly crazy!

Where on earth are these Martians from!

Good grief! Millions of children have survived being left alone while their parent or carer has a flipping wee!!!

Our homes have to be close to the equivalent of a padded cell, our doors must be kept locked, sockets covered, wine and poisons out of reach, blind cords tied up or removed, cupboards locked, every danger area gated off, our pets kept in confinement, visitors security checked as if they're entering MI5 and every solitary thing and activity risk assessed, written up and with some sort of policy attached for good measure!

Even with all of this in place, a child could still be at risk of injury whether I'm playing hawk eye or whilst I have a pee in peace or deal with my "monthly!!!"
Life is one big gigantic risk and if a child is going to injure themselves, they will whether we are hovering round them or not!!!

Current practice is gradually getting more and more difficult to adhere to and I predict that in 20yrs time, child minders won't exist!

Children with be institutionalised in strictly monitored nurseries, where they are observed constantly to the point where they could easily be confused with a zoo animal!
They will accomplish nothing without a body guard, disguised as a key worker, by their side
They will leave nursery, dazed, confused, terrified of being alone, and full of pessimistic notions of the way of the world!

We are damaging children through constantly striving to protect them from risk and danger! We don't know it yet but the toddlers of 2012 will be the adults of 2030! Adults that will have difficulty functioning, unless they're part of a team and will find life utterly stressful without a right hand man!! Empathy and emotion will be replaced with human calculators and articulate lumps of flesh that function like robots!!

Never ever thought I'd say this but I'm actually glad I will soon be leaving this profession! Reckon I could give little miss "I know jack ****" Truss a run for her money!!

[hectors house]

One of my 3 year olds yesterday just opened my lounge door and said as she did so "just going for a wee", one of the mums was just dropping off her 20 month old and thought that the little one was very grown up to be taking herself to the toilet - this child has just started Nursery - I doubt if her Key Worker accompanies her to the toilet and this time next year she will be starting school where she definitely will have to find her own way to the loo.

Obviously I have risk assessed this child taking herself to the toilet and know that she can be trusted to not throw a whole loo roll down the toilet or flood the room by leaving the tap on - surely I am preparing this child for school, don't we hear all the time about childminders failing in "school readiness" - how can they be independent if they aren't allowed out of our sight?

[emma04]

One of my 3 year olds yesterday just opened my lounge door and said as she did so "just going for a wee", one of the mums was just dropping off her 20 month old and thought that the little one was very grown up to be taking herself to the toilet - this child has just started Nursery - I doubt if her Key Worker accompanies her to the toilet and this time next year she will be starting school where she definitely will have to find her own way to the loo. Obviously I have risk assessed this child taking herself to the toilet and know that she can be trusted to not throw a whole loo roll down the toilet or flood the room by leaving the tap on - surely I am preparing this child for school, don't we hear all the time about childminders failing in "school readiness" - how can they be independent if they aren't allowed out of our sight?

All of mine go to the toilet unsupervised! My dd goes unsupervised at nursery and is the same age. Makes sense to me!

[sarah707]

I hoped my blog would spark a discussion - then I went to training last night and worked 2 days - so it has taken me ages to read through the comments!

I want us to raise the issues that are happening during inspections openly and honestly without feeling angry or anxious ... I hate to think that by making suggestions and telling you how I do things and giving you ideas for different ways of thinking about things that I am upsetting members I am so sorry JCrackers and anyone else who has read the blog and been upset by the debate - that is not my intention

I just feel that it is very important we discuss what is happening during an Ofsted inspection near you - because it could be you it happens to next... and by reading comments and sharing ideas you will hopefully feel more empowered to either change your practice or try something new - or challenge the inspector if you feel they are wrong!!

As independent childminders of the future we have to feel confident to stand up for ourselves

[Simona]

I wonder what participants and readers of this thread have gained from the discussion?
what have we reflected we should do about the situation should it happen to us?
how have we reflected on our ability to challenge should the need arise?

For some unknown reason the new inspection framework has not had much discussion in this forum but it is now published and effective from Nov 2013...you will find that cms are included, contrary to what Ofsted led us to believe.

I would use that to gain as much knowledge as possible to prepare for your cycle inspection or indeed that unannounced one.

Whatever we say in this forum or whatever happens to others on the day of the inspection we are on our own and have to think and react quickly.
Will anyone add this to their SEF?

PS: I wonder if the new framework should be moved to a 'sticky' where it catches cms' attention?

[TooEarlyForGin?]

I wonder what participants and readers of this thread have gained from the discussion?
what have we reflected we should do about the situation should it happen to us?
how have we reflected on our ability to challenge should the need arise?

For some unknown reason the new inspection framework has not had much discussion in this forum but it is now published and effective from Nov 2013...you will find that cms are included, contrary to what Ofsted led us to believe.

I would use that to gain as much knowledge as possible to prepare for your cycle inspection or indeed that unannounced one.

Whatever we say in this forum or whatever happens to others on the day of the inspection we are on our own and have to think and react quickly.
Will anyone add this to their SEF?

PS: I wonder if the new framework should be moved to a 'sticky' where it catches cms' attention?

For me Simona, it makes me feel annoyed and fed up, but also determined and confident that I would definitely challenge an OFSTED inspector if I felt I needed to. I am a professional who has done this for 12 years now and will happily take on board constructive comments and thoughts, but if I felt in any way the inspector was just being "picky" or acting with self importance, I would put them in their place, I would ask them on what basis they made their decisions, especially as I have the back up of 3 inspections behind me. BUT this is me speaking with experience and knowledge that I run a good business with very happy families and children, if I was fairly new it would be a very different story.

[Little_steps]

I just had my reg visit and when asked the question "how would you safeguard children with visitors.?" I said the obvious answers, dbs cleared, out of hours visits, keep children if eyesight at all times. I ended with, and inc the inspector that If I couldn't keep children within my eyesight, I would ask them to leave my home until I was able to answer the door again!

The inspector didn't mention anything in reply and I got some helpful feedback so I can only assume she thought it ok. She must have typed it onto her laptop so if I'm ever queried I would say its in my reg visit notes that your people checked through.

It's ridiculous, kids at home aren't always watched. We are not a school etc yet it seems we have to do more and more than they do.....of course I don't want children harmed but I also won't be wrapping them up in cotton wool! Controlled risks are a good thing.