I had my first inspection today. The very first thing Mrs O said was that the first inspection is normally a satisfactory and that is the level she is expecting me to be at. Nice to know she has decided even before arriving. My heart pretty much sank at that:(

Then she looked at my certificate and said I have been overminding because I did not have it changed when my son started school! She said it might have to be an unsatisfactory because of that. I thought the rising five clause applied to my son but she said it only applies to minded children. I pretty much burts into tears and was a complete wreck. Obviously it was my fault for not realising and not reading the sticky on the forum carefully enough.

So I tried to pull myself together an we continued with the inspection. She read through my SEF and said it was the best she has ever seen (thank you Sarah for the fab ebook:) ) She said I had put in a tremendous amount of work and she could see that the children really enjoy coming. She also said that my observations are very good and she can see that I have a very good understanding of all the aspects of the EYFS and that everything is tied in together really well. She said she would really like to give me a good across the board but will have to talk to her supervisor about the overminding and whether that can be overlooked with just a warning letter. She reiterated that she doesn't normally give a good at a first inspection and that I should be really proud of myself. At this point I was still a bit tearful due to the earlier comments!

The improvements I need to make are to ensure better free flow between the indoors and the outdoors (well we were outside for about 90 minutes during the inspection and the door was wide open the whole time so not sure what more I can do). The other improvement is to teach the children why they are washing their hands (the mindee I had is aged one and I talked about washing the dirt and germs away while I washed her hands but clearly that was not enough!). She did say that they are only minor recommendations because she has to give some.

I just called my CDO in a flood of tears and she is quite disappointed because she thought I might get outstanding so now I feel like I have let her down too:(

I will just have to wait and see if it comes back as a good or an unsatisfactory now. Wish me luck!

Sorry you've had a bit of a Hitler inspector. But from what you said, it sounds like you did quite well. Don't worry about crying, it's a very stressful time being inspected and she'd have to be made of stone not to notice.

She gave you lots of praise, but it seems they are so fixated on paperwork, they can't see the wood from the trees.

Good vibes for the good!:thumbsup:

I had my first inspection today. The very first thing Mrs O said was that the first inspection is normally a satisfactory and that is the level she is expecting me to be at. Nice to know she has decided even before arriving. My heart pretty much sank at that:(
Nice of her to say that as soon as she walks in the door - beyond me why inspectors do that. My first grading inspection I was told point blank that I would not get outstanding and that if I got a good I would be very lucky. I was very lucky!

Then she looked at my certificate and said I have been overminding because I did not have it changed when my son started school! She said it might have to be an unsatisfactory because of that. I thought the rising five clause applied to my son but she said it only applies to minded children. I pretty much burts into tears and was a complete wreck. Obviously it was my fault for not realising and not reading the sticky on the forum carefully enough.
I am assuming you have been looking after 3 under 5 as your son is now in school? If so and your cert says you can only care for 2 under 5's then yes you are in breach of what your certificate says. Always check with Ofsted if you are unsure regarding your numbers. However saying all this it does not sound as though you are over maximum numbers. When my son and then my daughter started school I spoke to Ofsted and they changed my ratios as my children became in the 5+ ratio rather than in the under 5's. So essentially your ratios have been skew wiff. Try not to worry - if the inspector and their boss have any common sense they will change your ratios and be ok.

I just called my CDO in a flood of tears and she is quite disappointed because she thought I might get outstanding so now I feel like I have let her down too:(Nice of her to make you feel better.

Hope it all sorts itself out. Just remember as long as the kids in your care are happy and their families are happy thats the main thing.

I had a fight with them over the wording re my child starting school and I was told categorically and in writing that rising five DOES apply to my own child so you shouldn't be overminding. If he is in full time school therefore he is considered in the 5-8 years category. I fought with them about it when my DD1 went to school and they have just changed my certificate again as DD2 is now at full time school and they haven't questioned it at all. I would be prepared to fight this if I were you.

As for getting outstanding for a first inspection - it's very unfair of your CDO to expect that of you. I was told at my first inspection that satisfactory was the norm for new minders. The first inspection is pressured enough without having other people's expectations on you. Please don't feel you've let anyone down as you've done really well.

I've also found out that if an inspector comes into your setting and says for example 'I don't give Outstandings' then you can ask them to leave as they are not giving you a fair inspection.

I know EXACLTY how you feel. I had an inspector who was very friendly, chatty and seemed really kind and made me relax, but as she was going through stuff she was saying how it is not good enough. She too asked to if the children know why they wash their hands and funnily enough it was almost lunch and the kids went to the downstairs loo and said "bye bye germy germs" so hopefully that was her answer.

I still feel rubbish about it now. I still feel I am doing better than what she said but hey I am no expert... We both have two choices... Carry on as we are and know we do a good job, our parents and mindees are happy, or get over christmas, gather ourselves together and get ready for a new year and a new start... Not sure what I feel like doing now.

PM me if you want to chat... perhaps we can moan together lol

My son is aged 4 and in reception, my daughter is 19 months. I only have two mindees, aged 20 months and 9 months. So I am within the numbers that childminders are generally allowed, the only problem is that when my son started school I took on a new mindee without asking Ofsted to change my certificate. I have called Ofsted now and they are going to email out a new certificate. They were really nice about it and didn't seem concerned at all. They are going to try to do it before Friday so that I don't need to let my families down!

Thank you for all the support. I am starting to feel better now. Just glad that it is over and I can enjoy Christmas.:)

:group hug:
The more I read about OFSTED inspections of Childminders the more angry I become. They seem to have lost sight of who we are and how we work to ensure the childrens needs are met and provide evidence that we are following the Statutory Framework of the EYFS.
I can understand the issue of the certificate as we must display a correct one for our circumstances. Is your son 4 rising 5 and attending school full time? If he is at school full time he can be classed in your numbers as over 5 and not in the Early Years range.You can apply to get a clause put on your cert that states this, but I bet not all childminders know this. To mark you as unsatisfactory would be pretty nasty and in my opinion uncalled for.
As to the free flow from inside to out, all well and good if you can but what if you have ages/ children that this just doesn't work for. I have 3.5yr old, he's fine going in and out on his own but 2x 1 yr olds, if one chooses in the other out I can't be in two places so my rule is, one out , all out. Same as most minders we go out most mornings park, forest,woods etc.
CHIN UP HUN, sounds to me you're doing a good job.
Carol xx

I know it won't make you feel better, but my recent inspection the lady came in and said I see a lot of satisfactory childcare, I see occasional good childcare, and I rarely if ever see outstanding childcare!

So you don't even have to be a new childminder to get this comment at the start of an inspection. It's really not helpful at the outset of an inspection to have 2 grades basically written off - although it did make me stop stressing cos I figured I was screwed anyway lol.

I'm pretty certain they'll agree to let the whole school age ratio thing slide this time, it is their fault they've made it so flipping complicated. Make sure you don't forget in the stress of it all to get your certificate altered though, you never know they might be checking how fast you get it sorted.

You did well, so cheer up. Even if it comes to the horrible and they count the 'overminding' then you'll get another chance really really soon to prove them wrong and get that good, so chin up and order your new certificate and move on :)

You should not be made to feel like that in your own home :(

Why are you over-minding? Do you have more than 6 under 8 including your own children or is it that the inspector means your certificate isn't worded correctly?

You could complain about the inspection (although this might mean you have to go through the whole process again) or you can wait until your report comes through and see how it reads - you will get a chance to give feed back at this point.

Sending you hugs

Miffy xx

This makes me so cross and it's not fair that we are being made to jump through X, Y and Z hoops in the same way that schools are when it comes to inspections and there is absolutely no recognition that we are totally on our own, doing a job that we enjoy doing because we care about the children we look after. It doesn't seem right that nurseries are inspected in the same way and to much the same criteria, when they have much higher staffing levels.
Why can't they cut us some slack?

At the end of the day if your children and parents are happy...

Chin up xx

Why are you over-minding? Do you have more than 6 under 8 including your own children or is it that the inspector means your certificate isn't worded correctly?

You could complain about the inspection (although this might mean you have to go through the whole process again) or you can wait until your report comes through and see how it reads - you will get a chance to give feed back at this point.


I have 4 under 8 (including my own). It is just the certificate that isn't worded correctly because I did not ask Ofsted to change it when ds started fulltime school last September. I am going to wait and see what the report says. I can understand that I have made a mistake so don't really blame the inspector.

I have 4 under 8 (including my own). It is just the certificate that isn't worded correctly because I did not ask Ofsted to change it when ds started fulltime school last September. I am going to wait and see what the report says. I can understand that I have made a mistake so don't really blame the inspector.

I know you should have had the certificate changed but that is a small clerical error, it's not like you are minding over your numbers or anything, so seems very unfair to me for you to be penalised for it with your grading.

Miffy xx

I just had a parent come to collect and she wanted to know how the inspection went. I told her I would have to wait for the final result and explained the certificate thing to her. She was really nice about it. She said there is far too much regulation and that I am doing a really good job and not to worry about it. She works in the public sector so knows all about it!

Just realised that I have been so upset all day that I completely forgot to eat any lunch so I am going to go and treat myself to some well earned mince pies now :)

First Hugs - what a day you have had.


First the inspector should not pre judge - just because you are a new childminder - childminders can and do get outstanding at first inspection. Personally I would want to complain about that - but you may be better to wait to see your written report because if happy with how it reads - you may decide not worth the bother to complain- as it can add stress.

However if not happy with written report - then CHALLENGE

Free flow outdoor play - THIS IS NOT A REQUIREMENT OF EYFS therefore you can not be marked down for it. As you went outside you met the rerquirement for EYFS - (and even that does not insist on daily!)

I do not do free flow outdoor / indoor - and did not do so on inspection day.

Information you gave about why wash hands - more than enough for age of children

However you may find when you read the report that it does actually say positive things about these two aspects - because they do have to give a recommendation - remember a recommendation is not the same as an action
(on my report one line reads how good my self evaluation is (extensive it says)- and the line under it says I need to consider how to improve my self evaluation) So you may not need to challenge those bits.

As to the so called overminding - a admin mistake / misunderstand - easy put right - if you were to get unsatisfactory for that - Challenge (and if you want me to I will support you to do so)

From what you have said you are doing very well and if the parents are happy and the children happy - that is the most important thing.

And your DO - I would complain about that - she should not say that, suggest that or be disappointed. She she support you and not give personally opinions.

Chin up - and lets us know what the report says

Penny :)

Hope you are feeling a little better. Just wanted to let you know that I have just recieved my report. And although I felt and still do feel a bit deflated as you do, reading the report and making notes has helped me to clear my head and think about what is next.

Hopefully you will get your actual report soon and it may well read better than what you expect. :thumbsup:

First Hugs - what a day you have had.

As to the so called overminding - a admin mistake / misunderstand - easy put right - if you were to get unsatisfactory for that - Challenge (and if you want me to I will support you to do so)



Thank you for the support Penny:) The inspector did say that the report would read well and there would be no negative comments, provided that her supervisor agrees that they can overlook the "overminding". So I am going to wait and see. Hopefully the report will arrive quickly. It seems crazy that the grade would either be good or unsatisfactory (i.e. difference of two grades rather than one) based on what they decide!

I will update once I find out:)

hi, oh bless you sound like me. However pls do know that you can never get an outstanding on your first inspection and ofsted always have to give you some form of improvements....
just look at things as it;s your first year and you can move things on from there and eventually we will all get outstanding :)
However don't understand all this how 4-5 yrs aren't included in numbers? does that mean if i am registered for 2 in total on my registration...that i don't count children between 4-5/school age??? don't get all that...

I have just had my new certificate come for a variation I requested and I notice on it is the " Rising 5 " clarification. I did not request this so it seems Ofsted may be adding this clause to new certificates as routine now. They are obviously aware of the problem.
Carol xx

hi, oh bless you sound like me. However pls do know that you can never get an outstanding on your first inspection and ofsted always have to give you some form of improvements....
just look at things as it;s your first year and you can move things on from there and eventually we will all get outstanding :)
However don't understand all this how 4-5 yrs aren't included in numbers? does that mean if i am registered for 2 in total on my registration...that i don't count children between 4-5/school age??? don't get all that...

Hun it has been known for minders to get an outstanding on their first inspection. It normally happens for people who have previous childcare experience though.

With regards to the 4-5 yr old thingy - yes you can look after that age group the 'controversy' around this is the 'rising 5' - the child who is age 4 but in full time education. There is a pinned thread somewhere about that fully explains this

Bless you! You sound like you are doing an excellent job!

I know that sinking feeling, my possible downgrade and 20 minutes of waiting was because I did not have in writing who had legal reposnsibility for the children. Her supervisor said this was ok as I extablished this at interview and I would amend my paperwork going forward. No mention of this whatsoever in my report though, so I read through the EYFS guidance and it states you have to ascertain who has parental responsibility not have it in writing.

I hope you do get a good.

I know you should have had the certificate changed but that is a small clerical error, it's not like you are minding over your numbers or anything, so seems very unfair to me for you to be penalised for it with your grading.

Miffy xx

I agree

I think you did really well and hope you get the credit you deserve

Angel xxx

so ofsted now require us to knock out our whole back walls so they can see free flow???? wheres that yellow pages ....i need a demolition man!:rolleyes:

I finally received my Ofsted report in the post today. It has felt like a long and anxious wait! I got a good in all areas except for the partnership one because none of my children attend another setting. There is a sentence in the first paragraph which says I am registered for one early years child but that this is being raised to two. Other than that single sentence there is no mention about the problem with my certificate or the 'overminding'. A parent reading it would never know that there was any problem. The whole report reads extremely well and I am very happy with it. There is only one negative sentence in the whole thing and that is to do with not explaining the importance of hand washing to children.

A real weight has been lifted off my mind and I feel like I have had a lucky escape. I am so pleased! :D

Great news - glad you are happy with the wording in yopur report. Now you can forget about it and enjoy Christmas


Penny :)

Great news so happy that you are happy now enjoy Christmas

Cx:jump for joy:

So pleased for you - well done!

I am so pleased you had such a great Ofsted but sorry you had such a rubish inspection. I have my first inspection due soon and reading so much feed back about so many different inspections is depressing. It makes me wonder why I am working so hard to get it right if I am going to be marked a satisfactory before she's even looked! whats the point of an inspection at all! I hope you are having a huge celebratory christmas for being such a fab childminder.

How can you be marked down for your cm children not attending another setting? Hardly your fault!

hon, lots of good advice already just wanted to send a hug - what a nightmare inspector :angry:

I finally received my Ofsted report in the post today. It has felt like a long and anxious wait! I got a good in all areas except for the partnership one because none of my children attend another setting. There is a sentence in the first paragraph which says I am registered for one early years child but that this is being raised to two. Other than that single sentence there is no mention about the problem with my certificate or the 'overminding'. A parent reading it would never know that there was any problem. The whole report reads extremely well and I am very happy with it. There is only one negative sentence in the whole thing and that is to do with not explaining the importance of hand washing to children.

A real weight has been lifted off my mind and I feel like I have had a lucky escape. I am so pleased! :D

That's great - glad everything turned out OK

Miffy xx

How can you be marked down for your cm children not attending another setting? Hardly your fault!

that was the recomendation for my last inspection! but only for the EY children.

none of my mindees attended another setting and i could show how i worked with the teachers at school! ( messages in reading records, parental permission to talk to teachers etc )

You should not be made to feel like that in your own home :(

Why are you over-minding? Do you have more than 6 under 8 including your own children or is it that the inspector means your certificate isn't worded correctly?

You could complain about the inspection (although this might mean you have to go through the whole process again) or you can wait until your report comes through and see how it reads - you will get a chance to give feed back at this point.

Sending you hugs

Miffy xx

i agree with miffy she should give you your deserved grade not that she never gives this or this

i snotted all over my inspector and he said its ok it was a shock !:blush:

How can you be marked down for your cm children not attending another setting? Hardly your fault!

I got satisfactory on this one too for that same reason:(



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