I justed wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who posts about their inspections and everyone who post tips, with a special shout out to Sarah707 as I read every newsletter she does and every thread she starts to pick up ideas and things that I need to know. Without all of these i would never have been able to get my Outstanding in my own inspection. :clapping:

To try and help others here is my feedabck about my inspection:

How Inspection ran:


Came in, introduced herself, set herself up on dining room table and did a quick chat about how she would inspect me. She talked about how she would mainly observe me, we would then do a joint observation and she would go through all my files. She would ask me questions intermittently and finally we would go through the judgements in the Inspector Handbook ready for feedback.
The inspector watched me play with the children during free play, watched the activity I set up for joint observation, watched me during one of my 10 minute teaching music session I do throughout the day, watched me take the children the toilet to wash their hands, observed dinner time, came with me upstairs as I put the children to bed, and then just observed everything else that happened.
One of the grandparents came half way through to collect their grandson, so she had a private word with them in the hall for feedback.
She read everything I gave her in great detail. This included looking at all of my certificates, reading all of parents feedback letters, going through a learning journal page by page, all progress reports, policies and procedures and my self-development sheets.
Lots of questions about Prevent, British Values, how I share information with parents, how I track children’s progress, how I gather starting points, the 6 monthly progress reports I do
She then went through every Good statement in the inspector EYFS handbooklet and asked me if I felt I had or could demonstrate each statement. We then did something similar with the outstanding grades but more of a overview.


What she liked:


I have a spreadsheet which detailed every course I have completed and I have then put 2 bullet points of things that I had taken away from the learning and that I was going to implement in my setting.
I use Facebook private groups (one for each child) to share the daily diary, photographs, videos, important notices and shared learning ideas with home. She was really impressed with the amount of parental input got through using this method as most of the parents respond to the daily diary, tag me in photos of children learning at home and also share ideas with me about what their child can do or likes.
I had not done a SEF however I do have a self-development spreadsheet which note’s down every time I change something in the setting, attend a course, gain knowledge from the internet, change a process or policy. I then note down the reason for change and what I hope to gain from it going forward.
That I am constantly evaluating my setting and what resources I have and adding new ones or tweaking existing ones to suit the children I have and that I am always making sure that each resource links to EYFS and understand how it aids me in teaching the children.
I do quick 10 minute focus activities throughout the day to support teaching the children. I do things like number songs, reading books, welcome song in morning were we register each other with photos on the board and talk about the weather, etc. She felt that these were good ways of getting the children school ready as all my children are just around 2, so it was teaching them to sit and listen for a short time whilst being engaged
That my activity I set up was simple, kept the children engaged, and that at the beginning when she asked me what my objective was with each child that I was to the point and kept it realistic and again simple. She said the simplicity of the activity let her know that I knew my children really well and wasn’t doing it to impress the inspector, but instead to create a fun activity for the children.
I use a form called ‘My Play Plan’ from Sarah707 for children’s individual planning. She liked that it meant that all my planning was then linked to the children’s own interests therefore giving the children in the setting unique and individual ways to learn whilst being engaged. My next steps were then taken from this and followed through.
That I encourage children to be independent and also get them involved with things like tidy up time or choosing which songs we sing too.


What she focused on


Knowing your children inside out
Prevent – what it is, how you would report a concern, how you embed this in the setting. She loved that I had completed the free course for this.
British Values – explaining how I embed these. I explained that these are already imbedded in the EYFS in regards to turn taking, sharing, allowing the child to have their voice heard, responding to each other’s feelings, understanding and following the boundaries of the setting and that all of these I already do and that I would just continue to do so.
Promoting Children’s health – how I teach this to the young children.
How do I challenge children’s view on equality
How do I teach the children – through child led activities and through adult led activities
What were the childrens starting points, how did I include the parents in this, and were the children making good progress.


Hope this helps someone else. Any questions just ask.

I justed wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who posts about their inspections and everyone who post tips, with a special shout out to Sarah707 as I read every newsletter she does and every thread she starts to pick up ideas and things that I need to know. Without all of these i would never have been able to get my Outstanding in my own inspection. :clapping:

To try and help others here is my feedabck about my inspection:

How Inspection ran:


Came in, introduced herself, set herself up on dining room table and did a quick chat about how she would inspect me. She talked about how she would mainly observe me, we would then do a joint observation and she would go through all my files. She would ask me questions intermittently and finally we would go through the judgements in the Inspector Handbook ready for feedback.
The inspector watched me play with the children during free play, watched the activity I set up for joint observation, watched me during one of my 10 minute teaching music session I do throughout the day, watched me take the children the toilet to wash their hands, observed dinner time, came with me upstairs as I put the children to bed, and then just observed everything else that happened.
One of the grandparents came half way through to collect their grandson, so she had a private word with them in the hall for feedback.
She read everything I gave her in great detail. This included looking at all of my certificates, reading all of parents feedback letters, going through a learning journal page by page, all progress reports, policies and procedures and my self-development sheets.
Lots of questions about Prevent, British Values, how I share information with parents, how I track children’s progress, how I gather starting points, the 6 monthly progress reports I do
She then went through every Good statement in the inspector EYFS handbooklet and asked me if I felt I had or could demonstrate each statement. We then did something similar with the outstanding grades but more of a overview.


What she liked:


I have a spreadsheet which detailed every course I have completed and I have then put 2 bullet points of things that I had taken away from the learning and that I was going to implement in my setting.
I use Facebook private groups (one for each child) to share the daily diary, photographs, videos, important notices and shared learning ideas with home. She was really impressed with the amount of parental input got through using this method as most of the parents respond to the daily diary, tag me in photos of children learning at home and also share ideas with me about what their child can do or likes.
I had not done a SEF however I do have a self-development spreadsheet which note’s down every time I change something in the setting, attend a course, gain knowledge from the internet, change a process or policy. I then note down the reason for change and what I hope to gain from it going forward.
That I am constantly evaluating my setting and what resources I have and adding new ones or tweaking existing ones to suit the children I have and that I am always making sure that each resource links to EYFS and understand how it aids me in teaching the children.
I do quick 10 minute focus activities throughout the day to support teaching the children. I do things like number songs, reading books, welcome song in morning were we register each other with photos on the board and talk about the weather, etc. She felt that these were good ways of getting the children school ready as all my children are just around 2, so it was teaching them to sit and listen for a short time whilst being engaged
That my activity I set up was simple, kept the children engaged, and that at the beginning when she asked me what my objective was with each child that I was to the point and kept it realistic and again simple. She said the simplicity of the activity let her know that I knew my children really well and wasn’t doing it to impress the inspector, but instead to create a fun activity for the children.
I use a form called ‘My Play Plan’ from Sarah707 for children’s individual planning. She liked that it meant that all my planning was then linked to the children’s own interests therefore giving the children in the setting unique and individual ways to learn whilst being engaged. My next steps were then taken from this and followed through.
That I encourage children to be independent and also get them involved with things like tidy up time or choosing which songs we sing too.


What she focused on


Knowing your children inside out
Prevent – what it is, how you would report a concern, how you embed this in the setting. She loved that I had completed the free course for this.
British Values – explaining how I embed these. I explained that these are already imbedded in the EYFS in regards to turn taking, sharing, allowing the child to have their voice heard, responding to each other’s feelings, understanding and following the boundaries of the setting and that all of these I already do and that I would just continue to do so.
Promoting Children’s health – how I teach this to the young children.
How do I challenge children’s view on equality
How do I teach the children – through child led activities and through adult led activities
What were the childrens starting points, how did I include the parents in this, and were the children making good progress.


Hope this helps someone else. Any questions just ask.

You are a star!! Firstly many congratulations on your Outstanding inspection grade! And secondly for the very detailed report! I will read it several more times as I am due the phone call myself. Many thanks and well done.

Congratulations :clapping::clapping:

That's some great feedback. It sounds as if it was a very positive experience.

Well done :clapping:

Congratulations! Brilliant feedback, thank you. x

Congratulations and brill feedback :clapping::thumbsup:

I justed wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who posts about their inspections and everyone who post tips, with a special shout out to Sarah707 as I read every newsletter she does and every thread she starts to pick up ideas and things that I need to know. Without all of these i would never have been able to get my Outstanding in my own inspection. :clapping:

To try and help others here is my feedabck about my inspection:

How Inspection ran:


Came in, introduced herself, set herself up on dining room table and did a quick chat about how she would inspect me. She talked about how she would mainly observe me, we would then do a joint observation and she would go through all my files. She would ask me questions intermittently and finally we would go through the judgements in the Inspector Handbook ready for feedback.
The inspector watched me play with the children during free play, watched the activity I set up for joint observation, watched me during one of my 10 minute teaching music session I do throughout the day, watched me take the children the toilet to wash their hands, observed dinner time, came with me upstairs as I put the children to bed, and then just observed everything else that happened.
One of the grandparents came half way through to collect their grandson, so she had a private word with them in the hall for feedback.
She read everything I gave her in great detail. This included looking at all of my certificates, reading all of parents feedback letters, going through a learning journal page by page, all progress reports, policies and procedures and my self-development sheets.
Lots of questions about Prevent, British Values, how I share information with parents, how I track children’s progress, how I gather starting points, the 6 monthly progress reports I do
She then went through every Good statement in the inspector EYFS handbooklet and asked me if I felt I had or could demonstrate each statement. We then did something similar with the outstanding grades but more of a overview.


What she liked:


I have a spreadsheet which detailed every course I have completed and I have then put 2 bullet points of things that I had taken away from the learning and that I was going to implement in my setting.
I use Facebook private groups (one for each child) to share the daily diary, photographs, videos, important notices and shared learning ideas with home. She was really impressed with the amount of parental input got through using this method as most of the parents respond to the daily diary, tag me in photos of children learning at home and also share ideas with me about what their child can do or likes.
I had not done a SEF however I do have a self-development spreadsheet which note’s down every time I change something in the setting, attend a course, gain knowledge from the internet, change a process or policy. I then note down the reason for change and what I hope to gain from it going forward.
That I am constantly evaluating my setting and what resources I have and adding new ones or tweaking existing ones to suit the children I have and that I am always making sure that each resource links to EYFS and understand how it aids me in teaching the children.
I do quick 10 minute focus activities throughout the day to support teaching the children. I do things like number songs, reading books, welcome song in morning were we register each other with photos on the board and talk about the weather, etc. She felt that these were good ways of getting the children school ready as all my children are just around 2, so it was teaching them to sit and listen for a short time whilst being engaged
That my activity I set up was simple, kept the children engaged, and that at the beginning when she asked me what my objective was with each child that I was to the point and kept it realistic and again simple. She said the simplicity of the activity let her know that I knew my children really well and wasn’t doing it to impress the inspector, but instead to create a fun activity for the children.
I use a form called ‘My Play Plan’ from Sarah707 for children’s individual planning. She liked that it meant that all my planning was then linked to the children’s own interests therefore giving the children in the setting unique and individual ways to learn whilst being engaged. My next steps were then taken from this and followed through.
That I encourage children to be independent and also get them involved with things like tidy up time or choosing which songs we sing too.


What she focused on


Knowing your children inside out
Prevent – what it is, how you would report a concern, how you embed this in the setting. She loved that I had completed the free course for this.
British Values – explaining how I embed these. I explained that these are already imbedded in the EYFS in regards to turn taking, sharing, allowing the child to have their voice heard, responding to each other’s feelings, understanding and following the boundaries of the setting and that all of these I already do and that I would just continue to do so.
Promoting Children’s health – how I teach this to the young children.
How do I challenge children’s view on equality
How do I teach the children – through child led activities and through adult led activities
What were the childrens starting points, how did I include the parents in this, and were the children making good progress.


Hope this helps someone else. Any questions just ask.

Thank you and well done! :-)
How long was she with you?

Thank you and well done! :-)
How long was she with you?

4 and a half hours!!!! although felt like 8!

Well done, AgentTink!

I'm exhausted just reading your inspection feedback.

I love the sound of your Private Group Facebook stuff. I'm an oldie so haven't quite figured this out yet, but your feedback might just inspire me to have a go at setting something similar up soon (or at least to think about how I might begin to implement something like this).

Thank you so much for taking the time to feedback, and in such detail.

By the sounds of things, you're an amazing childminder, and very much deserve your (sounds to me like) very hard-earned grade.

Wow!

:thumbsup:

LK

Brilliant achievement. Great feedback - thankyou.

4 and a half hours!!!! although felt like 8!

Oh my goodness, i can imagine!! :-)
When did you get the call that she would be coming..?

Well done, AgentTink!

I'm exhausted just reading your inspection feedback.

I love the sound of your Private Group Facebook stuff. I'm an oldie so haven't quite figured this out yet, but your feedback might just inspire me to have a go at setting something similar up soon (or at least to think about how I might begin to implement something like this).

Thank you so much for taking the time to feedback, and in such detail.

By the sounds of things, you're an amazing childminder, and very much deserve your (sounds to me like) very hard-earned grade.

Wow!

:thumbsup:

LK


Thanks Lollipop for such kind words.

I really wasnt aiming for an Outstanding just hoping to keep my Good grade, so when I got Outstanding I thought the least I could do was give other childminders some feedback on what worked for me becuase sometimes it is the small things that can really make a difference. Plus the more prepared you are for what they might be looking for the better you can answer their questions when asked about your own setting x

Oh my goodness, i can imagine!! :-)
When did you get the call that she would be coming..?

Last Wednesday, and she gave me three days she would be here and came the second one.

Thanks Lollipop for such kind words.

I really wasnt aiming for an Outstanding just hoping to keep my Good grade, so when I got Outstanding I thought the least I could do was give other childminders some feedback on what worked for me becuase sometimes it is the small things that can really make a difference. Plus the more prepared you are for what they might be looking for the better you can answer their questions when asked about your own setting x

That is so helpful, AgentTink. Thank you once again.

PS: I think a change of grade on your profile is in order.

:thumbsup:

LK

Wow. Well done you on a fantastic inspection. That's brilliant. And thank you for such an in depth review.

Like MOH I'm due soon so shall re read and take notes!

Congrats again!

Thank you sooo much for sharing in such detail X well done you for all your hard work x

Well done you!!

How long since your last inspection? I know a few childminders with very long time periods In between, myself included.

A big CONGRATULATIONS

And thank you for the feedback :thumbsup:

How long since your last inspection? I know a few childminders with very long time periods In between, myself included.

Almost exactly 4 years so not that long. I suppose because I was last inspected towards the end of the last inspection cycle that mine couldnt be longer than 5 years anyway, but I imagine if you were last inspected in 2008/2009 at the start of the last cycle then potentially the wait could be up to 8 years for some!!

Almost exactly 4 years so not that long. I suppose because I was last inspected towards the end of the last inspection cycle that mine couldnt be longer than 5 years anyway, but I imagine if you were last inspected in 2008/2009 at the start of the last cycle then potentially the wait could be up to 8 years for some!!

In my area there aren't any 2008/2009 left to inspect, in fact they are at the end of 2010's so they are getting closerrrrr! Although loads of 2011/2012's have been inspected recently. There doesn't seem any logic to whom they choose next outside of emergency inspections.

In my area there aren't any 2008/2009 left to inspect, in fact they are at the end of 2010's so they are getting closerrrrr! Although loads of 2011/2012's have been inspected recently. There doesn't seem any logic to whom they choose next outside of emergency inspections.

I was last inspected october 2008! I know of two other minders who is if not local, are only about 20 miles from me (in different dirdctions) who have also been waiting as long.
I know a local minder who has had the call, but her minded children were going to be away and then she was ill ... so still waiting and other than that, everyone else has been 'done'!

I was last inspected october 2008! I know of two other minders who is if not local, are only about 20 miles from me (in different dirdctions) who have also been waiting as long.
I know a local minder who has had the call, but her minded children were going to be away and then she was ill ... so still waiting and other than that, everyone else has been 'done'!

Blimey I've had two since then.. lol Aug 2008, March 2012 and Oct 2015.

Well done Angent Tink, Amazing and a great write up :D

Sounds like your hard work was worth it and sounds like you do a great job :thumbsup:

Congrats on your grade :clapping:

I was last inspected october 2008! I know of two other minders who is if not local, are only about 20 miles from me (in different dirdctions) who have also been waiting as long.
I know a local minder who has had the call, but her minded children were going to be away and then she was ill ... so still waiting and other than that, everyone else has been 'done'!

Wow, that is a long time! My last one was feb 2011. I want them to come this month, please, pretty please. December is full of xmas preparations with mindees crafts etc and going to minded schoolies dress rehearsal plays, along with the current mindees (3 plays in total to see). Plus xmas parties. And then there is my weekends. I'm socialising every weekend till xmas and therefore don't want the thought of an inspection on the following monday morning hapging over me! Sooo. I need it next week, ideally.
But best of luck your end!!!

Wow, that is a long time! My last one was feb 2011. I want them to come this month, please, pretty please. December is full of xmas preparations with mindees crafts etc and going to minded schoolies dress rehearsal plays, along with the current mindees (3 plays in total to see). Plus xmas parties. And then there is my weekends. I'm socialising every weekend till xmas and therefore don't want the thought of an inspection on the following monday morning hapging over me! Sooo. I need it next week, ideally.
But best of luck your end!!!

Lol! Hope they come for you!
Ideally I'd like mine in the new year! From Friday onwards I am ridiculously busy with things whilst minding and just as busy when I'm not! I've spent so long waiting for them to come I can't remember what it is like not to be waiting!

Last Wednesday, and she gave me three days she would be here and came the second one.

Meant to ask what your activity was and what aged children you had on the day? :-) x

Meant to ask what your activity was and what aged children you had on the day? :-) x

The ages of my children were 20 mths, 22 mths and 28 mths.

They all love things that roll/push and love vehicles.

I set up a cardboard tube from the inside of a carpet roll on a chair so it was on a slope. I had got out the tube a few times over the last few weeks with just the small cars and it was always a hit so I knew that they would be engaged

I then got out my box of vehicles but this time left all the different size vehicles in the box including ones that I knew would not fit down tube.

My aims at the beginning had been as follows for each child:
20 mths - not yet speaking clearly but babbles alot and he loves vehicles so my aim was to support his communication of using single words
22 mths - Talks lots of one words, I wanted to support 2 and 3 words sentances such as "fast car" "red car" "big van" etc
28 mths - can count to ten but does not relate the counting to actual objects so wanted to focus on counting 1, 2 and 3 in relation to the vehicles

Also a overall aim was to give the children a opportunity to explore different sizes and to investigate what would fit and what wouldn't fit and how they would deal with the things that didnt fit. Also wanted to explore with the children fast, slow, loud, quiet, understanding that things disappear and where they will reappear etc

Outcome of activity:
20 mths - said car, plane and boat correctly to different vehicles and lots of "all gone" once he put cars down tube
22 mths - said to a traffic light I had set up at bottom - "green go" and "red stop" and "big car" "car stuck"
28 mths - could tell me she had either one or two cars correctly after lots of support of counting them in our hands. She then understood when Isaid lets just put one car down the tube and lets put 2 cars down the tube etc

All the children identified which vehicles were too big either by saying too big, stuck or oh oh and after a certain amount of trying, stopped trying to put the big vehicles down the tube altogether.

I was able to show through activity that I support taking turns, sharing and that children have choices as when i tried to change activity and one child said no i listened and allow them to further play. Also at the end they all helped me tidy up when asked.

Well done! Don't forget to change your 'grade' status on the forum :thumbsup:

Fantastic activity, Agent Tink. Really inspiring.

:clapping: :idea: :clapping:

So simple, but really effective and demonstrates brilliantly how well you know your children.

Well done again,

LK

(PS: Are you sure you're not FloraDora under another guise? I only say this as I always find her posts so inspiring. I miss her. I hope she comes back soon. Hope you don't mind the comparison - it's meant as a big compliment from me.)

Fantastic activity, Agent Tink. Really inspiring. :clapping: :idea: :clapping: So simple, but really effective and demonstrates brilliantly how well you know your children. Well done again, LK (PS: Are you sure you're not FloraDora under another guise? I only say this as I always find her posts so inspiring. I miss her. I hope she comes back soon. Hope you don't mind the comparison - it's meant as a big compliment from me.)

Shes posted just this week?!

Fantastic activity, Agent Tink. Really inspiring.

:clapping: :idea: :clapping:

So simple, but really effective and demonstrates brilliantly how well you know your children.

Well done again,

LK

(PS: Are you sure you're not FloraDora under another guise? I only say this as I always find her posts so inspiring. I miss her. I hope she comes back soon. Hope you don't mind the comparison - it's meant as a big compliment from me.)

Glad you liked it. I agonised all weekend about what activity to do and was so glad I went for simple and engaging.

I love and appreciate the comparrison to FloraDora, I too have always loved reading her different perspective and her sharing her years of knowledge within teaching. :thumbsup:

Glad you liked it. I agonised all weekend about what activity to do and was so glad I went for simple and engaging.

I love and appreciate the comparrison to FloraDora, I too have always loved reading her different perspective and her sharing her years of knowledge within teaching. :thumbsup:

You're so welcome, AgentTink - now when are you going to change your "Inspection Grade" to "Outstanding"? Go on - you earned it!

:D

LK

You're so welcome, AgentTink - now when are you going to change your "Inspection Grade" to "Outstanding"? Go on - you earned it!

:D

LK

:cool: I have just changed it.....it felt weird to do so...not sure it has sunk in yet!

:cool: I have just changed it.....it felt weird to do so...not sure it has sunk in yet!

:clapping: YAY! :clapping:

I justed wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who posts about their inspections and everyone who post tips, with a special shout out to Sarah707 as I read every newsletter she does and every thread she starts to pick up ideas and things that I need to know. Without all of these i would never have been able to get my Outstanding in my own inspection. :clapping: To try and help others here is my feedabck about my inspection: How Inspection ran: Came in, introduced herself, set herself up on dining room table and did a quick chat about how she would inspect me. She talked about how she would mainly observe me, we would then do a joint observation and she would go through all my files. She would ask me questions intermittently and finally we would go through the judgements in the Inspector Handbook ready for feedback. The inspector watched me play with the children during free play, watched the activity I set up for joint observation, watched me during one of my 10 minute teaching music session I do throughout the day, watched me take the children the toilet to wash their hands, observed dinner time, came with me upstairs as I put the children to bed, and then just observed everything else that happened. One of the grandparents came half way through to collect their grandson, so she had a private word with them in the hall for feedback. She read everything I gave her in great detail. This included looking at all of my certificates, reading all of parents feedback letters, going through a learning journal page by page, all progress reports, policies and procedures and my self-development sheets. Lots of questions about Prevent, British Values, how I share information with parents, how I track children’s progress, how I gather starting points, the 6 monthly progress reports I do She then went through every Good statement in the inspector EYFS handbooklet and asked me if I felt I had or could demonstrate each statement. We then did something similar with the outstanding grades but more of a overview. What she liked: I have a spreadsheet which detailed every course I have completed and I have then put 2 bullet points of things that I had taken away from the learning and that I was going to implement in my setting. I use Facebook private groups (one for each child) to share the daily diary, photographs, videos, important notices and shared learning ideas with home. She was really impressed with the amount of parental input got through using this method as most of the parents respond to the daily diary, tag me in photos of children learning at home and also share ideas with me about what their child can do or likes. I had not done a SEF however I do have a self-development spreadsheet which note’s down every time I change something in the setting, attend a course, gain knowledge from the internet, change a process or policy. I then note down the reason for change and what I hope to gain from it going forward. That I am constantly evaluating my setting and what resources I have and adding new ones or tweaking existing ones to suit the children I have and that I am always making sure that each resource links to EYFS and understand how it aids me in teaching the children. I do quick 10 minute focus activities throughout the day to support teaching the children. I do things like number songs, reading books, welcome song in morning were we register each other with photos on the board and talk about the weather, etc. She felt that these were good ways of getting the children school ready as all my children are just around 2, so it was teaching them to sit and listen for a short time whilst being engaged That my activity I set up was simple, kept the children engaged, and that at the beginning when she asked me what my objective was with each child that I was to the point and kept it realistic and again simple. She said the simplicity of the activity let her know that I knew my children really well and wasn’t doing it to impress the inspector, but instead to create a fun activity for the children. I use a form called ‘My Play Plan’ from Sarah707 for children’s individual planning. She liked that it meant that all my planning was then linked to the children’s own interests therefore giving the children in the setting unique and individual ways to learn whilst being engaged. My next steps were then taken from this and followed through. That I encourage children to be independent and also get them involved with things like tidy up time or choosing which songs we sing too. What she focused on Knowing your children inside out Prevent – what it is, how you would report a concern, how you embed this in the setting. She loved that I had completed the free course for this. British Values – explaining how I embed these. I explained that these are already imbedded in the EYFS in regards to turn taking, sharing, allowing the child to have their voice heard, responding to each other’s feelings, understanding and following the boundaries of the setting and that all of these I already do and that I would just continue to do so. Promoting Children’s health – how I teach this to the young children. How do I challenge children’s view on equality How do I teach the children – through child led activities and through adult led activities What were the childrens starting points, how did I include the parents in this, and were the children making good progress. Hope this helps someone else. Any questions just ask.

Can I ask you more about your ten minute focus activities?

I actually do a lot of ten minute activities but not intentionally just because my mindee gets bored fairly easily! Did you do it because of their attention span or so you could fit more in to the day...just wondered what your logic was and how you feel it works and what it was the inspector liked about it? :-) x

Can I ask you more about your ten minute focus activities?

I actually do a lot of ten minute activities but not intentionally just because my mindee gets bored fairly easily! Did you do it because of their attention span or so you could fit more in to the day...just wondered what your logic was and how you feel it works and what it was the inspector liked about it? :-) x

As the focus is more on how we teach children and get them prepared for learning I knew I had to show more adult-led activities taking into account the age of the children. Sarah707 had produced a fab guide which she had put on childcare.co.uk called Quick Focus activities which really got me interested, and i knew that these were going to be the easiest way to engage my children.

About 8 months ago I started incorporating them into our daily plan and from there I was able to have specific 5/10 minutes linked to different areas. For example we do 10 minutes song time linked to numbers using number songs, 5 minute welcome time in the morning to get the children to self register using their photo, with a song to say hello to everyone and them a chat about the weather whilst we update calendar, 10 minute sessions on colour, shapes and drawing using paper/crayons/songs, 10 minute session on book of the week, etc

Therefore the inspector was able to see the children actively taking part in these by listening, sitting and joining in, learning new skills, an adult focus on learning, whilst still being fun and playful. If a child didnt wish to take part they were free to continue playing however they always end up coming to see what is going on and taking part.

As these can be spread out through the day and changed really easily to fit the children in the setting and their own learning goals they are easy to incorporate on a daily basis and help show progression through a childs learning journey :thumbsup:

As the focus is more on how we teach children and get them prepared for learning I knew I had to show more adult-led activities taking into account the age of the children. Sarah707 had produced a fab guide which she had put on childcare.co.uk called Quick Focus activities which really got me interested, and i knew that these were going to be the easiest way to engage my children.

About 8 months ago I started incorporating them into our daily plan and from there I was able to have specific 5/10 minutes linked to different areas. For example we do 10 minutes song time linked to numbers using number songs, 5 minute welcome time in the morning to get the children to self register using their photo, with a song to say hello to everyone and them a chat about the weather whilst we update calendar, 10 minute sessions on colour, shapes and drawing using paper/crayons/songs, 10 minute session on book of the week, etc

Therefore the inspector was able to see the children actively taking part in these by listening, sitting and joining in, learning new skills, an adult focus on learning, whilst still being fun and playful. If a child didnt wish to take part they were free to continue playing however they always end up coming to see what is going on and taking part.

As these can be spread out through the day and changed really easily to fit the children in the setting and their own learning goals they are easy to incorporate on a daily basis and help show progression through a childs learning journey :thumbsup:



I've just read the 'quick focus' guide as it sounded like what I already do and phew - it is more or less what I already do! very well written and given me a few more ideas! THANK YOU AgentTink for mentioning it, and THANK YOU Sarah707 for writing it!

I've just read the 'quick focus' guide as it sounded like what I already do and phew - it is more or less what I already do! very well written and given me a few more ideas! THANK YOU AgentTink for mentioning it, and THANK YOU Sarah707 for writing it!

And me for asking about it!!! ;-) Haha I'm joking! :-) :-) x

As the focus is more on how we teach children and get them prepared for learning I knew I had to show more adult-led activities taking into account the age of the children. Sarah707 had produced a fab guide which she had put on childcare.co.uk called Quick Focus activities which really got me interested, and i knew that these were going to be the easiest way to engage my children. About 8 months ago I started incorporating them into our daily plan and from there I was able to have specific 5/10 minutes linked to different areas. For example we do 10 minutes song time linked to numbers using number songs, 5 minute welcome time in the morning to get the children to self register using their photo, with a song to say hello to everyone and them a chat about the weather whilst we update calendar, 10 minute sessions on colour, shapes and drawing using paper/crayons/songs, 10 minute session on book of the week, etc Therefore the inspector was able to see the children actively taking part in these by listening, sitting and joining in, learning new skills, an adult focus on learning, whilst still being fun and playful. If a child didnt wish to take part they were free to continue playing however they always end up coming to see what is going on and taking part. As these can be spread out through the day and changed really easily to fit the children in the setting and their own learning goals they are easy to incorporate on a daily basis and help show progression through a childs learning journey :thumbsup:


Thanks agent tink that's so useful. I had a look for Sarah's guide and will have to pay up to be a gold member again in order to read it but sounds like it could deffo be worth me doing so. Thank you for all your feedback :-)

As the focus is more on how we teach children and get them prepared for learning I knew I had to show more adult-led activities taking into account the age of the children. Sarah707 had produced a fab guide which she had put on childcare.co.uk called Quick Focus activities which really got me interested, and i knew that these were going to be the easiest way to engage my children. About 8 months ago I started incorporating them into our daily plan and from there I was able to have specific 5/10 minutes linked to different areas. For example we do 10 minutes song time linked to numbers using number songs, 5 minute welcome time in the morning to get the children to self register using their photo, with a song to say hello to everyone and them a chat about the weather whilst we update calendar, 10 minute sessions on colour, shapes and drawing using paper/crayons/songs, 10 minute session on book of the week, etc Therefore the inspector was able to see the children actively taking part in these by listening, sitting and joining in, learning new skills, an adult focus on learning, whilst still being fun and playful. If a child didnt wish to take part they were free to continue playing however they always end up coming to see what is going on and taking part. As these can be spread out through the day and changed really easily to fit the children in the setting and their own learning goals they are easy to incorporate on a daily basis and help show progression through a childs learning journey :thumbsup:

Sorry...still thinking about this one(!), I was wondering if by doing ten minute activities it may go against us because an inspector could ckaim we don't give the children enough time to finish an activity (a criticism ive seen in other inspection reports)...what are your thoughts on this? X

Sorry...still thinking about this one(!), I was wondering if by doing ten minute activities it may go against us because an inspector could ckaim we don't give the children enough time to finish an activity (a criticism ive seen in other inspection reports)...what are your thoughts on this? X

My thoughts also but you follow the child's lead. If one wanders off then 'play' with the other one, encourage more interaction from them but also keeping an eye on the one that escaped as ofsted also want them to be individual and choose resources themselves. It's a juggling act, but we do it all day long, we just are't always aware of it.
I'm also trying to imagine my inspections day, but as I've got 5 lo's over 4 days, different combinations, it's hard to plan ahead.

Well done, I'm newly registered and have done just 2 days at my new job :)
You work hard and definatly deserve that OUTSTANDING. I must admit I want to achieve outstanding but I'm focusing on good for first inspection which will hopefully be about 2 years away!
I think your facebook idea is great!
Also how do we work with parents to do our starting points? Just ask them? Do I ask what they can do in relation to development matters?
Thank you :clapping:

Well done, I'm newly registered and have done just 2 days at my new job :)
You work hard and definatly deserve that OUTSTANDING. I must admit I want to achieve outstanding but I'm focusing on good for first inspection which will hopefully be about 2 years away!
I think your facebook idea is great!
Also how do we work with parents to do our starting points? Just ask them? Do I ask what they can do in relation to development matters?
Thank you :clapping:

Hi summer23 thanks for your post.

In regards to starting points I normally give parents a copy of the development matter grids for the age brackets of their child plus a higher one incase the child can do more advanced things. I ask parents to highlight any statements that they feel that their child constantly displays at home. I then do obs over 4 to 6 weeks of settling in to see if they match up to what the parents see's. At this point I then do a quick settling in report detailing in which age bracket for each of the 7 areas of developments i think the child is. I then sahre this report with the parent and get their comments /views and we come up with next steps. This clearly shows that I had detailed starting points for each child and then I can easily show progress through development matters through all my future obs, tracking and progress reports.