Do you send LJs home?

[sarah707]

A childminder received an unexpected inspection recently - the inspector just turned up for no reason other than she was passing.

The childminder had just that weekend sent Learning Journeys home for parents to look through - all nicely completed with some summary assessments...

The inspector asked to look at evidence of children's learning - she couldn't show the Learning Journeys - she was downgraded from outstanding to inadequate

I suggest you do 1 of 2 things -

1. Send them home one at a time, staggered over a few weeks so you always have evidence in the house.

2. Ask parents in for a meeting to look through them.

xx

[cherry]

Oh my goodness, that's terrible.

I always stagger mine as each childs LJ is started when they start with me and sent home every 6 months to look at.

[Amandak28]

Surely you can appeal this! And can they do 'im just passing visits'?? Sounds very harsh to me.

[FussyElmo]

Surely you can appeal this! And can they do 'im just passing visits'?? Sounds very harsh to me.

Appeal what? As harsh as it is the inspector can only give you a grade on what she sees on the day so if they are no ljs how do you prove you have been following the eyfs.

Unexpected inspections do seem to becoming more and more common. Its been said more than once but you have to work as though Ofsted could turn up the next day.

The poor childminder though because it is very very harsh

[Mrsh3103]

This is why I don't let them leave the house! I invite the parents round & give them a cuppa & cake.
I'm so paranoid they'll just turn up. Poor woman

[FizzWizz]

That's dreadful! Shall certainly stagger mine in future and ensure I send home only over one night!

It does make a bit of a mockery of the whole inspection thing though, they are trying to fail the outstanding childminders rather than flag up those who genuinely are providing inadequate care and could do with further intervention as far as I can see, not in the best interests of the child at all but hey ho!

[hectors house]

That is terrible - I would hope that childminder would be able to send in photocopies of extracts from LJ and summary sheets with letters of objection against the grading from parents. If you get stopped by the police for a traffic offense you have so many days to present your documents to local police station if you don't have them with you.

I do actually send home my LJ's at staggered intervals but only because I find it physically impossible to have them all up to date at the same time. I do go to the parents home in the evening to go through the 2 year development check with them but don't want to invite them round in the evening to view journals. I am trying to cut down on the amount of unpaid (my time) hours I do each week.

[Amandak28]

Appeal what? As harsh as it is the inspector can only give you a grade on what she sees on the day so if they are no ljs how do you prove you have been following the eyfs.

Unexpected inspections do seem to becoming more and more common. Its been said more than once but you have to work as though Ofsted could turn up the next day.

The poor childminder though because it is very very harsh

Im new to all this just finished my CYPOP5 course so don't know how it all works in great detail. Sorry to sound so naive in asking if it possible to appeal lol.

I feel for this lady. Very hard way to learn a lesson. :-( xx

[FussyElmo]

Im new to all this just finished my CYPOP5 course so don't know how it all works in great detail. Sorry to sound so naive in asking if it possible to appeal lol.

I feel for this lady. Very hard way to learn a lesson. :-( xx

I think a lot of people will be thinking the same :-(

Quoting the lovely Sarah707 from fb page you cannot present evidence for an inspection retrospectively. So unless you have permission for Ofsted for the documents to be of site there is very little you can do. These are both Ofsted rules which Im betting most of us don't know :-(

I guess this goes for people who store their information digitally if for some reason you have no internet access on the day have you got a back up plan to show the inspector.

[smartbear]

I think a lot of people will be thinking the same :-(

Quoting the lovely Sarah707 from fb page you cannot present evidence for an inspection retrospectively. So unless you have permission for Ofsted for the documents to be of site there is very little you can do. These are both Ofsted rules which Im betting most of us don't know :-(

I guess this goes for people who store their information digitally if for some reason you have no internet access on the day have you got a back up plan to show the inspector.

Had exactly this for my partner's first grading. Hard drive crashed night before with all LJs on it. Although she had a name for being unreasonable his inspector sat him down & asked him to analyse the l & d for each child on the photo obs he had on his mobile for that week, & I gave her what we had on file ( several months old) to show how our system worked. Those records got me an outstanding, he was awarded good for them - in retrospect that inspector now seems to have been truly inspired!

So much depends on the individual inspector...

[Bumble Beez]

One of my families had lost their child's LJ when I sent it home for viewing...following advice from on here I now don't send them home.

I have explained the situation to all my families and that I would rather keep them here than for them to be misplaced...they're happy with that and so am I

But now I have another reason!

Sarah x

[Mouse]

How awful!

I don't do LJs. Mine is all combined in with the diary, which goes home weekly. I have none of them here at the weekend, but all of them during the week (unless the child is absent).

But...and it is a big but...I have records of everything on my laptop & back up hard drive. I have never had a parent lose a diary in 17 years, but I know it's always a possibility.

[MessybutHappy]

How awful! Makes sense, the retrospective paperwork bit, but my goodness it's harsh!

I do a lot of my stuff electronically so could print it off, I'd probably have panicked though!

I hope she doesn't loose children over this though

[Simona]

Sarah is right ...we need to show evidence so staggering them maybe a good idea

Unless LJ or whatever we call them go home how can parents input their comments? which is something else Ofsted want to see as in 'working in partnership with parents' and showing 'parents engagement'

Maybe we need to ask the inspector who calls us this question: my LJjs have gone home so I cannot show you my evidence can you delay a day? no help if it is an unannounced inspection I know

Whatever we do they seem to want to trip us up...I hope that cm wins her appeal and reports her concerns to her representing association if she has one!

[MessybutHappy]

Unless LJ or whatever we call them go home how can parents input their comments? which is something else Ofsted want to see as in 'working in partnership with parents' and showing 'parents engagement'

My parents fill in their bits at the kitchen table with a nice cuppa!
I shoo have other forms that go home too be completed, but not my learning journeys, they're mine until minded child leaves! :-)

[angeldelight]

Never thought to send mine home

Not letting all my hard work out of my sight

Great tips and advice though Sarah

Angel xx

[tashaleee]

Mine dont go home.... well they do and I meet up with my parents a couple of times a year at their homes and we look through the LJ together - there is no way my hard work is going out of my sight - I leave them a comments sheet so they can say they have seen it and anything else they want to put about it