Inspection report..what would you do?

[Rubybaby]

Hello all,
I wonder if anyone can give any fairly urgent advice please...
Have any of you felt that your written report didn't accurately reflect your inspection feedback, and if you DID call to query it, what sort of response did you get??
There are a couple of things that are bothering me, including being very highly praised on the day on some aspects of my provision and there being hardly any mention of that in the report...also , the one recommendation for improvement I feel reads like a criticism.
There are no factual inaccuracies as such, but I feel I want to put the record straight before it 'goes public', especially after waiting so long for this (not to mention working so hard towards it!)...If any of you have been in a similar situation, I'd be grateful for your thoughts asap, as I know I've not got long to contact them!xx

[Mouse]

I know for me, my inspection report was a real anticlimax. The inspector couldn't praise me enough during the inspection and spoke about all the wonderful things I was doing, then they didn't even get a mention in the report.

I think the problem is they have to word things in a certain way, so don't go into specifics. For example, one comment I had in the report was that I helped pre-school children develop advanced language skills. Sounds good enough, but I was disappointed it didn't point out that they were actually speaking the French I had taught them!
Other comments were just as general. They sounded fine and used words like "outstanding" and "exemplary", but didn't really clarify what I was actually doing. It was all just Ofsted jargon.

But, like you, there wasn't anything that was factually wrong, so nothing to complain about. For me, it was more a personal disappointment that the report wasn't as glowing as the inspection had been. I got over it though and now see that it actually reads well compared to others I have seen.

I do know people who have complained about reports that are factually wrong and still not got anywhere with it, so personally, I don't think it's worth complaining about a report that is basically correct, but just doesn't read as we want it to.

[Rubybaby]

Mouse, thank you for sharing your experience...I agree, it's the disappointment, really, and I'm feeling a bit crushed since the one thing that was recommended I do to improve is what I've always thought of as my 'Unique Selling Point', and an area for which I've gathered lots of evidence in LJ'S, displays etc, but didn't actually do much of on the day because 1) you can't do everything, and 2) on inspection day I followed with the children's interests and did activities with them that I knew they'd totally enjoy!
Am thinking now that it might be worth a phone call just to get it off my chest, but I might feel differently in the morning once I've slept on it! Thank you so much for your reply x

[Simona]

Hello all,
I wonder if anyone can give any fairly urgent advice please...
Have any of you felt that your written report didn't accurately reflect your inspection feedback, and if you DID call to query it, what sort of response did you get??
There are a couple of things that are bothering me, including being very highly praised on the day on some aspects of my provision and there being hardly any mention of that in the report...also , the one recommendation for improvement I feel reads like a criticism.
There are no factual inaccuracies as such, but I feel I want to put the record straight before it 'goes public', especially after waiting so long for this (not to mention working so hard towards it!)...If any of you have been in a similar situation, I'd be grateful for your thoughts asap, as I know I've not got long to contact them!xx

Your report will have gone through Ofsted Quality Assurance maybe?...the inspector praised you but the QA team did not hear that and therefore it is not reflected in the report...did the inspector mention QA to you?
You say you waited very long for your report...how long was that...a report should be with you within 15 days...was it longer?

If you need to 'put the record straight' you must do so very quickly and call either Tribal or Prospects but if there are no factual inaccuracies then there is little you can do ...in any case the report will be published ...they are even when providers are appealing

If you have a little time please read about Ofsted Big Conversation where all these worries have been flagged up ...and read what Ofsted are going to do as a result of listening to those who attended

It is disappointing. that what an inspector actually says on the day..... what she sees and hears is not reflected in our reports because they are checked by an outside body

Hope you got a good grade though?

My personal view is that it is worth 'complaining' about an inspection or reports or anything we feel went wrong...Ofsted is a regulatory body and accountable...things have not been as good since they privatised their inspections but we are making enough noises to make them listen to our concerns...they have printed enough guidance for us so they must also follow that guidance themselves
Those who have complained have at times won their case...I sat next to one at the last OBC...others are still fighting but not giving up and that shows their determination.

As I said above it looks like Ofsted are listening to those who have raised concerns so it is working!

[Rubybaby]

Simona, thank you for your reply...yes, it will have gone through the QA process, and I think that's where the problem is.
The report came through very quickly, it was the first inspection that was long overdue!!
Now I've calmed down a bit, I can see that it's the wording/phrasing which is bothering me, and her recommendation (she said she was hard put to find anything on the day) has been 'lost in translation' and now reads like a failing on my part, despite evidence to the contrary in my setting .
I guess a phone call can't hurt, though, unless it's going to be an uphill struggle to prove my point, in which case I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle? Sounds as though a lot of CM's have had similar situations. x

[Simona]

Simona, thank you for your reply...yes, it will have gone through the QA process, and I think that's where the problem is.
The report came through very quickly, it was the first inspection that was long overdue!!
Now I've calmed down a bit, I can see that it's the wording/phrasing which is bothering me, and her recommendation (she said she was hard put to find anything on the day) has been 'lost in translation' and now reads like a failing on my part, despite evidence to the contrary in my setting .
I guess a phone call can't hurt, though, unless it's going to be an uphill struggle to prove my point, in which case I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle? Sounds as though a lot of CM's have had similar situations. x

I would make that call to the company who inspected you but also to Ofsted itself ...why not?

The QA team is part of Ofsted itself and they must be aware of what is going on in their system...catch them while they appear to be listening and while they are willing to make sure the system works better...make sure Nick Hudson who is the Ofsted Director for CMs gets to know about it

Good luck and keep us posted