quitting

[The Juggler]

just wanted to send a really big hug and to say make sure you take care of yourself, your family and your bump right now. everyone else xx

[benandjerrys]

What was the reason for another inspection if its not a complaint? It sounds like ofsted have got it in for you?

[hectors house]

A childminder in my area was routinely inspected last week - had satisfactory on first inspection, the inspector asked to see car insurance - childminder said she didn't know where the document was, she would have to phone her husband, the inspector said not to worry and gave her good with outstanding elements. It is so wrong that these inspectors follow their own agenda. Take care of yourself and your family and keep in touch - will be interesting to hear about what it's like to be under an agency instead of Ofsted.

[rickysmiths]

hi thanks for the support the thing with the car insurance because my husband took the finance out its obviously in his name and the insurance documents are in his name with me as a named driver i gave ofsted the required paperwork and because it was a print out from email not original papers and the insurance wasnt registered as a business car in solely my name they stated that i wasnt safeguarding the children i contacted the insurance company whilst ofsted was here to confirm to them it was a business insurance and i was insured but they couldnt tell them anything nor me due to data protection with it being in my husbands name, iv contacted our local early years team who have confirmed that this has happened to 2 other minders in my area and is becoming more common
iv had a response from safegaurding and they have made a complaint to ofsted due to the situation they put my son in my early years team have been brilliant and are bringing me paperwork out today to look at but tbh i really cant be bothered with ofsted anymore iv contacted a agency this lunchtime and it all sounds brilliant they are coming out next week with a view to me signing with them in september when everything gets up and running which will aleviate ofsted turning up unnanounced etc this alone sends me into a panic and i get palpitations
but in the mean time im going to take a break from work i start uni in april doing a law degree and concentrate on my 5 kids i currently have and the new baby xx

This is how many companies do do this now. I am insured with Tesco and I only have documents that I have printed out and so does my husband and he is with a different company. We are both fully covered on both cars to drive with the children. You shouldn't have to do it but as you are a named driver and are at the same address maybe your husband could speak to the insurance company and give his permission for you to speak to them as well. Might be useful from a generally practical point of view anyway. My husband and I do this if bills are in one name or the other. It is not a safeguarding issue at all because you have the correct insurance in place.

I would so haul these stupid Inspectors over the coals. They sound totally incompetent and should be disciplined and they should be made to apologise to you as well.

You may want to cast an eye over an Ofsted Document and see how it compares to you Inspection experience. It is called Evaluation schedule for inspections of registered early years provision. doc number 120086 published in Oct 2013 Here to download:

Ofsted | Evaluation schedule for inspections of registered early years provision

Pages 16,17 and 18 would be good ones to look at first because it gives the indicators that Ofsted are looking for to award the different grades.

[WibbleWobble]

I don't really know what to say... Well I do but I would be banned from the forum.

Big hugs

Wibble xxx

[rickysmiths]

A childminder in my area was routinely inspected last week - had satisfactory on first inspection, the inspector asked to see car insurance - childminder said she didn't know where the document was, she would have to phone her husband, the inspector said not to worry and gave her good with outstanding elements. It is so wrong that these inspectors follow their own agenda. Take care of yourself and your family and keep in touch - will be interesting to hear about what it's like to be under an agency instead of Ofsted.

It is for this reason that I keep both our car and our house hold insurance documents in my Risk Assessment folder. Not just for Ofsted bit then I know where they are as well!

[Simona]

For those who followed another thread on Ofsted turning up unannounced for scheduled inspections...was this allowed? was the question

We all agreed we should receive notice for this as per guidance but not for a 'complaint driven' inspection

I followed this up with a letter to Ofsted CIE last week explaining some cms were reporting inspectors turning up unannounced for a scheduled inspection and, no name mentioned, about the cm who was told inspectors will turn up because cms are 'hard to pin down'
I have just found their response in my inbox...I am not happy so will take it further

This is what it says
We usually give childminders a telephone call in the week before the inspection, to find out what days they are operating.
However, if the inspection is prompted by a concern, then we attempt to carry it out unannounced
Our published guidance on Conducting priority and brought forward inspections explains this.
I understand your concern about children not being present but if a childminder is registered then we have a legal power to conduct an inspection whenever we judge it necessary.

That was not my question!!!!...my question was ...do we still get a call for a scheduled inspection and if YES why is this not happening in some cases?
No point in mentioning the Guidance as I, like many Cms, have read it properly.

Sorry it is not a clear answer ....I have done my best...now I will go back

[AdeleMarie88]

The inconsistencies of ofsted makes my blood boil. I also emailed ofsted about unnanoucned routine inspections and got a very evasive answer. The lady that replied wouldn't say they don't happen, neither did she say whether or not they do occur. It was so maddening.

As for the print out versions of insurance documents, my contents insurance is a printed out version as this is just how my provider does it!!!

Inspectors are clearly so different, the standards are muddled. It makes me nervous as I feel we have to develop mind reading skills in order to avoid a low grading!!

Good luck for your future xxx

[alex__17]

That's so shocking cant believe they behaved like that, are they not human?!
And I was told at pre reg inspection I was within my rights to ask a visitor or indeed ofsted inspector to step out of the house for example if I needed the loo and didn't feel comfortable taking all my mindees with me so they wouldn't be left with the visitor, so it's unbelievable they wouldn't leave while you calmed your son down!
Def write it all down and when you feel up to it in a few weeks maybe complain, good your safeguarding team are complaining too shouldn't be allowed to get away with bullying like that!

[FloraDora]

Whilst I really feel for you, making a change of career decision is always difficult, and being inspected by two inspectors could not have been pleasant, I feel we shouldn't panic about ofsted visits.

Tinkerbelle, you have had issues with Ofsted since 2011, you said in Dec 2011 that you cheated ofsted regarding variation, the police raised issues, your garden has been criticised, complaints have been the bain of your life for the last two years. The fact that two inspectors came I think is a follow up from an inspectors judgements being questioned a while back, all the issues over the last two years will be on file, whether you agree with their judgements or not, the recent visit comes about as follow up from your most recent complaint visit, which we know prompts an inspection.

I think your situation is awful, but unique, in general, other childminders should not start panicking.

[tinkerbelle]

flora dora the previous concern was inspected in august 2013 there have been no other issues since and the inspector that visited that day has been dealt with by ofsted and my complaint upheld due to her taking photographs clearly showing my children's faces every time they have visited and there's been 30 malicious (all proven and no fault found )complaints since september 2009 the day my ex husband left, iv never cheated ofsted so where's that come from?? and the police concern was i had a cracked tile in my kitchen , a chameleon and a broken railing on my front steps then she complained again a week later saying the railing was now in my garden then the day after that she complained again that the railing had gone the ipco looked in to her behaviour and she was also reprimanded my complaint was upheld and her behaviour deemed as harassment the reason for her initial visit was my car was broken into everything she reported me for was known to ofsted as iv always had a chameleon my last inspection in march 2013 the inspector saw the railing and the tile and had no problem however this instigated a full inspection iv had 2 full inspections in less than a year and always had everything in place all the paper work the same etc and every insepector has had different views its about time that ofsted sang from the same song sheet and as for problems with them the police have tried getting details of the complainants to look at bringing charges against them (my sister-in-law and my ex husband ) ofsted said due to data protection they cant divulge the details so why then do i have them in black and white in front of me divulged by ofsted to myself ?
its got to the point im now on first name terms with social services because my sister in law keeps making referrals and they are now not bothering coming out just phoning me as a matter of courtesy and marking them as malicious (all from the same phone number ) so why cant ofsted do the same

[tinkerbelle]

and two inspectors came because apparently one was being assesed by her manager

[Simona]

Tinkerbelle...in your original post you said your recent inspection was not triggered by a complaint so we remain in the dark as to why they visited you again

If it was some sort of complaint the inspector should have made that very clear to you at the start of her visit...this is very clear here in the guidance on the EY Register following the risk assessment process. on page 5 under 'Sharing concerns with the provider'

Ofsted | Inspection guidance for inspecting provision on the Early Years Register following the risk assessment process

You have taken the best possible step by asking for help from your EY team and I understand they will take it forward for you by raising the matter with Ofsted.

I don't think that CMs panic about inspections...what we are concerned and anxious about is the lack of consistency despite numerous guidances issued by the inspectorate, the individual interpretation of the inspectors which make our preparation for an inspection rather worthless, the extra steps we take to second guess what is going to be right in terms of evidence by one inspector and what is deemed not good enough by another...the example of the car insurance certificate given here is very pertinent.

This is the next step that Ofsted Big Conversation is taking: tackling the inconsistency and ensuring inspectors have a common system of doing inspections.

Those CMs who will be attending the OBC meetings in future...many still have to be confirmed, will have a chance to raise these concerns as are some of the associations who have issued a press release yesterday on this matter.

[Emra81]

Tinkerbelle, I'm so sorry to hear about all that you've been through and through no fault of your own.....on the bright side, sounds like you're well rid of your ex husband and his crazy family! I hope that you can find a positive way forward and one day put all this stress and upset behind you. Big hugs x

I must say, about the car insurance I had a similar, although not ofsted related, issue with mine. A few years ago dh used my car to drive to a course that was several weeks long and it had to be business insured for him to claim his petrol each week and so I phoned up and added business insurance, easy peasy. Petrol expenses were claimed and paid to him BUT they did a random spot check on him and when we went to print out the insurance cert (no paper copy provided as it's all done online) we discovered that only I had business insurance under my name on the cert and he, as the named driver, didn't. Fortunately his company realised it was an honest mistake and didn't do him for fraud but we had to pay back all the expenses he'd claimed! I wonder if yours is a similar situation?

[FloraDora]

flora dora the previous concern was inspected in august 2013 there have been no other issues since and the inspector that visited that day has been dealt with by ofsted and my complaint upheld due to her taking photographs clearly showing my children's faces every time they have visited and there's been 30 malicious (all proven and no fault found )complaints since september 2009 the day my ex husband left, iv never cheated ofsted so where's that come from?? and the police concern was i had a cracked tile in my kitchen , a chameleon and a broken railing on my front steps then she complained again a week later saying the railing was now in my garden then the day after that she complained again that the railing had gone the ipco looked in to her behaviour and she was also reprimanded my complaint was upheld and her behaviour deemed as harassment the reason for her initial visit was my car was broken into everything she reported me for was known to ofsted as iv always had a chameleon my last inspection in march 2013 the inspector saw the railing and the tile and had no problem however this instigated a full inspection iv had 2 full inspections in less than a year and always had everything in place all the paper work the same etc and every insepector has had different views its about time that ofsted sang from the same song sheet and as for problems with them the police have tried getting details of the complainants to look at bringing charges against them (my sister-in-law and my ex husband ) ofsted said due to data protection they cant divulge the details so why then do i have them in black and white in front of me divulged by ofsted to myself ?
its got to the point im now on first name terms with social services because my sister in law keeps making referrals and they are now not bothering coming out just phoning me as a matter of courtesy and marking them as malicious (all from the same phone number ) so why cant ofsted do the same

I was just pointing out that your awful experiences are unique to you as it appeared to me that some CM on the forum were thinking that if it happened to you it could happen to them, and I personally don't think it will. As you have just outlined you have very personal circumstances that has triggered the inspections.
It sounds like you have had an awful time, I hope that it will be easier on you and your family now.

( i cheated with my variation i contacted ofsted...
'i cheated with my variation i contacted ofsted and told them a child had gone to aother setting but wasnt settling and mum really wanted them to return to me and ofsted granted it' 6/12/11- this was the post I was referring to.)

[tinkerbelle]

they gave no reason for the inspection other than it was unannounced we've checked the car insurance and im insured for business as a named driver as well as my husband as he was my registered assistant, iv got a covering letter from the insurance company outlining im fully insured for business etc and have contacted ofsted to make a formal complaint seems like all i seem to do is complain to ofsted about their inconsistent visits a full complaints log has been emailed to them also which was available for the inspector to see she chose not to look at it and again i got inadequate im also consulting a solicitor and like i say iv got a agency coming next week to visit which will then aleviate the stress of having ofsted round anymore and at least my son will feel safe hes now terrified of any knock to the door and all my family/ friends have to ring first before knocking so i can pre warm my son

[nicjelley]

My car insurance is also in my husbands name as car is also , I am named on it and have business insurance ? Sounds like they are nitpicking here as I have had it checked once at my pre reg inspection then at normal inspection and it was never mentioned ....this is unfair to you hope your lo is ok and you obviously. I would also be complaining about the way you have been treated ; (

[Simona]

they gave no reason for the inspection other than it was unannounced we've checked the car insurance and im insured for business as a named driver as well as my husband as he was my registered assistant, iv got a covering letter from the insurance company outlining im fully insured for business etc and have contacted ofsted to make a formal complaint seems like all i seem to do is complain to ofsted about their inconsistent visits a full complaints log has been emailed to them also which was available for the inspector to see she chose not to look at it and again i got inadequate im also consulting a solicitor and like i say iv got a agency coming next week to visit which will then aleviate the stress of having ofsted round anymore and at least my son will feel safe hes now terrified of any knock to the door and all my family/ friends have to ring first before knocking so i can pre warm my son

Tinkerbelle....inspectors cannot say that...below is very clear why they should share the reason why they visited you unannounced
Have you contacted the sub contractor: Tribal or Prospect and asked if your visit was scheduled?
If there was no concerns why was she inspecting you again?

Sharing the concern with the provider
11. Inspectors should raise any matter of potential non-compliance as soon as possible on arriving at the setting, usually during the introductory discussion with the childminder or provider/manager. The inspector should:
 give brief details of the information/concern received
 explain that the inspection will be a full inspection covering the matters in inspection guidance including a check on the provider’s compliance with the requirements for registration
 indicate there will be an opportunity for further discussion during the inspection
 ensure that matters concerning potential compliance are discussed during the introductory tour where appropriate (for example, staff deployment or ratios in particular rooms).

I feel what is happening is that Ofsted are getting away with these unannounced visits because cms are not ensuring the system is working
we are allowed to ask the inspector to wait while we ring Ofsted Head Quarters and check or report
we can do this the minute we feel something is not right......all that is happening is cms are letting them carry the inspection without checking....we can't turn them away but we can check what is going on.

If there is a mechanism for checking lets use it....
Although I have few details and no names I will certainly raise this matter at the London Ofsted Big Conversation on 11 April ....Ofsted have listened in the past and we will gently try to make sure they listen again