Has anyone ever challenged their Ofsted Inspection Grading?

[chelseabun]

Well, I just have. Someone told me it would do no good, and they are unlikely to change anything, but I felt it was not an accurate record of what goes in my home.

How on earth can anyone make assumptions based on a 2 hour visit, with children cooped up in the house on a hot summers day?

I needed to let them know how I felt, so I have appealed. Wonder what will happen, if anything.

[Mouse]

Good luck. If you're really unhappy about your report, it's got to be worth a try

[tinkerbelle]

i appealed after my inspector sat at the table for the entire inspection didnt move yet claimed to have witnessed a almost 3 year old have a nappy change (she's in pants) she witnessed said child get their own bagel, cheese spread cut said bagel and put the cheese on the bagel (child cant reach any of the things as they are in a wall cupboard) spilt coffee over my entire files so couldnt read them (she denied this but EY have confirmed they have seen the proof)
down graded me for not working with another setting to unsatisfactory (despite giving her written proof and phone call evidence and daily diarys showing i had tried to work with this setting and they had refused to work with me )
apparently i should have a childs dead parents name written down as parental responsibilitie
claimed a 8ft by 4ft paddling pool should have been filled with water (ignoring my reasons for not having it filled due to having small children playing )
never read my sef at all (she claims she did)
apparently she saw paint and glue and puzzles in my playroom (doubt this very much they are all stored in the garage due to one particular child painting the playroom with them and eating the puzzle pieces
claims she saw no planning despite me showing her detailed learning journals, plans obs etc only thing i couldnt provide was photos as they couldnt be rescued from my memory stick that a child stole
claims to have looked around my entire setting (never moved her bum from the chair except to look at the garden got cctv footage showing this as well as a witness who was here when she was
i sent this to ofsted then to prospect the outcome was what a waste of time the inspector lied through her back teeth and they fell for it and to top it off because iv made this complaint i now have to have another health dec filed in as shes claiming im mentally ill because iv made this complaint

[jane5]

Oh my gosh, you poor thing

I seem to remember some one on here had there grading changed after they challenged it.

I hope you get yours changed.

[time_4_change]

tinkerbelle: just read your post, I can not believe an inspector would act this way ... and all the proof you have had too, it must have been horrible for you. I had my pre reg visit y'day, i found the inspector polite and helpful, dreading the actual grading inspction though . The inspector you had will probably get caught out sooner or later, what goes around comes around. I hope you get a better inspector next time.

Chelseabun: good luck and I hope you get the outcome you want

Leanne x`

[debratina]

i can believe that tinkerbell my prospects inspector was c p. i put a complaint in against he and low and behold i am the one who is not telling the truth. next time i am going to have a witness with me.

[time_4_change]

I think I am going to have a witness with me when I have my next visit! Just incase! I don't hear too many good things about the inspectors

x

[Helly Belly]

Hiya,
My inspector told me i had to have a written emergency procedure on the wall and that i would need to get this before i could carry on mindng.
After everything i'd done to be a minder i had it in my head that if i was given any actions i was going to quit as not worth it. I told her that the only person i look after is a 1yr old once a week, - who cant read, she said what would you do if you had a visitor, i said that i would expect them to ask me how do we get out of your two roomed house, she continued to say what if i'd had a heart attack? , i said i could have one of those with or without a vistor!!, i asked her to check with her supervisor as the EYFS says to have a clearly defined emergency procedure which i have- in my head, her supervisor agreed with me and then i got a terrible negative report that contradicts itself all the way through.
Its scary that some inspectors aren't up to the job.

[Bananabrain]

Gosh, Tinkerbell's post was sooooo similar to my experience. I won't bore you with the details but I appealed too. My Sef wasn't read [inspector claimed she had given an explanation as to why] That's just simply not the case. It didn't happen!
After a few weeks and Ofsted's reply to my appeal, I decided I couldn't waste any more energy on them!!!!!
I have read many reports and what peeves me is the way things are worded. They are so formatted and I think many bear no relation to what really goes on.

[karensmart4]

I had my inspection, the inspector sat in the kitchen and only witnessed me reading a story (well she went back into the kitchen part way through)! All she did was have a very quick walk through the house and just outside the back door, then she sat on that stool and kept calling for me to go to her!!!!

My feedback was very negitive and I felt she didn't do her job as best she could.

I put in an official complaint and so did 13 of my parents........ the inspectors views were upheld

[Donkey]

Ladies...

If any of you are experiencing inspections like this challenge the inspector on the day, ask them to come and see you do this,

if you can do this produce a list of all the evidence that you are showing the inspector and ask them to sign them to prove that you have shown them it (this is not tried and tested yet but reading some of the posts I am thinking its a damn good idea)

I am also pretty sure than you can halt an inspection, first and foremost this is you home and if the inspector has not completed the inspection then they can't grade you (sarah707 is this the case???? ) and if they are rude in your home then I would certainly be throwing them out!

[nic t]

Some of you may know already that i challenged actions and the content of some of my report.

Not the overall grading but 2 actions that i was given and the resulting "not met" issued next to "meets the requirements of the childcare register".

Well after a long process of complaining initially to Tribal who surprise surprise investigated themselves and found in favour of the Inspector I escalated it to a 2nd stage complaint via Ofsted where an independent person found mostly in my favour and changed/removed the actions along with some wording in my report and the "not met" to "met".

All in all the process of getting my new report posted on the net, after a verbal apology from Ofsted's Director of EYs, took almost 7 months from my inspection but it was well worth it.

[sarah707]

Yes Donkey you can complain on the day or later when you have received your report.

You can ask the inspector to leave under some circumstances though I wouldn't recommend this and i would always suggest childminders contact Ofsted for advice first before doing anything so serious.

I think a lot of the problem is that childminders worry about contradicting the inspector and are naturally nervous so they wait and cope during the inspection but get upset later when the inspector has gone.

many childminders have come here for support over the years who feel they have not got the result that they should.

However it seems that more and more childminders are coming up against a system where the inspector is judged by her peers rather than by an independent body.

If you feel you are right then you should fight it however as stories on here tell, it can backfire on you so you do need to be very secure in your evidence.

Hth x

[Donkey]

thing is though, now that the inspections are conducted by a 3rd party company who are profit making...

they are cutting corners...

I know of a childminder who had whole sections of her sef copied into her inspection report...

and another who suddenly gained pets who were not hers half way through another report. (inspector had copied and pasted from another report!!! )

I am worried, very very worried!

[khlwomitchell]

tinkerbelle.... shocking. why would you want to do this job with people like that judging you.?

My inspector was consumate professional but was narked at the satisfactory for working with other professionals. The bottom line is mindee is 9mths old and i DONT. how can i get a mark for nothing!? it should have been a N/A.
The wording is annoying, so cold and matter of fact.

They have been given tiny laptops but seem unable to move about. daft!!

[time_4_change]

What happend to the good old note pad and pen! I had my pre reg y'day and she was sat there for a good hour just typing on the little laptop! She did have a look around my house but now i think about it she didn't seem too interested in what I was saying and showing her, also she seemed clueless when I asked about the spindles/banister at top of stairs

I have no actions which I am not complaining about but it was my first ever visit I was expecting something?
She never read my policies file when I asked her but she said that'll happen at grading visit!

Just see what the report brings

Leanne