hectors house
31-03-2009, 10:01 AM
Had a phone call from Ofsted last Monday lunchtime - saying she would be coming end of the week or early following week. It is such a pain when they don't specify a day - because if she had wanted to catch me out she should have come on Wednesday when I put the telly on for the kids while I caught up on paperwork.
Stayed in Thursday till 10 - no show - not worth going to Toddlers then as we already had activities set up at home and it takes half an hour to get 3 under threes ready and out the door.
Same Friday - activities all set up which kids loved and it was a real pity Ofsted didn't come that day as it was a great day.
Monday - she arrived at 9.15 and left about 1.45 - the children were ok but the baby was clingy as she doesn't like strangers and the older boys railroaded my original plans - Inspector wanted to look at garden then the boys wanted to play out - didn't want to play in the lovely clean sand with the shells and pebbles and plastic finger puppet monsters I had in the sand pit - they wanted to fill empty squash bottles with gravel and run round the garden with them.
This meant I couldn't show the inspector my toy store/play room because I couldn't leave the kids in the garden - so didn't feel that I managed to sell myself and the choice of resources I offer - she looked at it on her own.
Also picked me up for not putting a child to bed before lunch as he fell asleep eating it -but I know that there was no way that child would have come in from the garden to go to bed while others were still playing (also would have brought all others in as well) and I couldn't get food on table any quicker as it was covered in 6 learning journey folders, risk assessment, planning sheets, portfolios, references from parents, menu folders etc etc and her handbag and laptop!! Also he is a creature of habit and will only go to bed after lunch any way.
Any way I know we aren't supposed to tell people what we got until we get the report through but I kept my Good on all areas- which I was disappointed with - I know I have improved 100% since my last inspection - I was hoping for a few areas to be outstanding. But I only got one recommendation which was to liase more with other providers the children attend.
I would advise people when they know which inspector is coming to look them up on the Ofsted inspection reports site - bit tedious clicking on lots of reports - but that way you can find out what recommendations they have made against other inspections - had a job to find my inspector - I am in Somerset but she told me on phone she was travelling from Dorset - she doesn't seem to have inspected any other childminders recently in Somerset so I found her under some Dorset inspections.
The inspection did seem to all be about paperwork so glad I spend all those nights till midnight catching up.
I thought I would sleep better last night but was constantly thinking "should have told her that or showed her that" - after she went yesterday I opened my post and found I had a DVD from world vision that the children and parents all support me with fund raising - which i forgot to mention and when I checked my e-mails I had correspondence from a nursery a child is going to attend - that I had contacted - sods law!
Anyway - time to move on - all the parents have told me that as far as they are concerned I am Outstanding, fantastic and brillant - so that is what counts.
To anyone else with their inspections soon - I wish you luck - I think it depends on the inspector you get on the day - the one I had didn't seem to have given anyone else any outstandings either and I had less recommendations.
Stayed in Thursday till 10 - no show - not worth going to Toddlers then as we already had activities set up at home and it takes half an hour to get 3 under threes ready and out the door.
Same Friday - activities all set up which kids loved and it was a real pity Ofsted didn't come that day as it was a great day.
Monday - she arrived at 9.15 and left about 1.45 - the children were ok but the baby was clingy as she doesn't like strangers and the older boys railroaded my original plans - Inspector wanted to look at garden then the boys wanted to play out - didn't want to play in the lovely clean sand with the shells and pebbles and plastic finger puppet monsters I had in the sand pit - they wanted to fill empty squash bottles with gravel and run round the garden with them.
This meant I couldn't show the inspector my toy store/play room because I couldn't leave the kids in the garden - so didn't feel that I managed to sell myself and the choice of resources I offer - she looked at it on her own.
Also picked me up for not putting a child to bed before lunch as he fell asleep eating it -but I know that there was no way that child would have come in from the garden to go to bed while others were still playing (also would have brought all others in as well) and I couldn't get food on table any quicker as it was covered in 6 learning journey folders, risk assessment, planning sheets, portfolios, references from parents, menu folders etc etc and her handbag and laptop!! Also he is a creature of habit and will only go to bed after lunch any way.
Any way I know we aren't supposed to tell people what we got until we get the report through but I kept my Good on all areas- which I was disappointed with - I know I have improved 100% since my last inspection - I was hoping for a few areas to be outstanding. But I only got one recommendation which was to liase more with other providers the children attend.
I would advise people when they know which inspector is coming to look them up on the Ofsted inspection reports site - bit tedious clicking on lots of reports - but that way you can find out what recommendations they have made against other inspections - had a job to find my inspector - I am in Somerset but she told me on phone she was travelling from Dorset - she doesn't seem to have inspected any other childminders recently in Somerset so I found her under some Dorset inspections.
The inspection did seem to all be about paperwork so glad I spend all those nights till midnight catching up.
I thought I would sleep better last night but was constantly thinking "should have told her that or showed her that" - after she went yesterday I opened my post and found I had a DVD from world vision that the children and parents all support me with fund raising - which i forgot to mention and when I checked my e-mails I had correspondence from a nursery a child is going to attend - that I had contacted - sods law!
Anyway - time to move on - all the parents have told me that as far as they are concerned I am Outstanding, fantastic and brillant - so that is what counts.
To anyone else with their inspections soon - I wish you luck - I think it depends on the inspector you get on the day - the one I had didn't seem to have given anyone else any outstandings either and I had less recommendations.