1st graded inspection done!!

[lisbet]

Finally! The thing I have been stressed about for ages is over!

The inspector was really nice. I can't really remember the details as I was trying to concentrate on the LO, on what Mrs O was saying, on trying to make sure I gave her all the info I wanted her to have AND on making sure I didn't do anything silly like forget to wash my hands or to ask her to sign in (nearly!)

I was a bit nervous because all my children are very young and I thought I might not be able to demonstrate how I am contributing to their learning and development very easily (no chatty 4yr olds around to demonstrate sustained shared thinking during my ingenious adult-led activity! ) She seemed to believe I knew what I was doing and why though!

She didn't take nearly as much notice of my SEF as I would have liked considering the amount of time and effort I put into it! She did say that she thought I had a good understanding of my strengths and areas for improvement though.

She LOVED my combined care and learning journals, thanks to my lovely parents really getting on board with them and providing lots of news from home and feedback. (And NOT losing them!)

I'm going to be on tenterhooks until I've seen the actual report and know how she's described everything! She said that I should have counted more during an activity, and that I should get the children some wristbands or similar with my phone number on for when we're out. So I just hope it doesn't end up sounding like I'm weak on maths and outing safety!

I wanted to post lots of tips like others have, because I found it so helpful when getting ready for inspection, but I can't really think of anything specific so I'll just say THANK YOU to everyone who has posted inspection advice on this lovely forum.

[kellyskidz!]

Oh yay! Well done Hun, so pleased it went well for you!
You can relax a bit now, hope you're celebrating in style

[Simona]

Well done Lisbet...and cheers as I raise my glass of wine to you!!

[FloraDora]

A fantastic achievement today then, I hope you are celebrating. Well done!

[MessybutHappy]

I can hear your happiness in your post!! Well done, it's such a relief, and it sounds like you did well! Things will come back to you in time!

[miffy]

Well done!

Hope you've had your report by now and you're happy with it.

Miffy xx

[Little miss]

Well done! What age children do you have and what was your activity if you wouldn't mind sharing please

[lisbet]

Thanks everyone Yes, I got my report back on Wednesday and it still says GOOD

Not yet outstanding because I 'do not use every opportunity' to help the children learn to count.

I've had time to reflect on the inspection now and have thought of things I'd do differently with the benefit of hindsight:

I was trying to keep it like a 'normal' day, but actually I think that for the purposes of inspection I should have talked to the inspector a bit more even though it meant interacting with the LO less than I normally would: She had ample evidence of how I interact with the LO, but there were lots of things that I didn't get to explain to her about my provision. For example, she left without me having shown her a big cupboard full of art and craft resources (labelled and indepedently accessible to 3+ yr olds) which had me paranoid that she would say I had none on my report! I think I should have said I would show her around when she got there, and then I could have pointed everything out.

I was so worried about slipping up with a bit of paperwork or a detail like forgetting to wash hands, that I didn't feel brave enough to politely challenge anything the inspector said. So for example, when she said I didn't count enough I wish I had explained that I had seen that the LOs were interested in filling and emptying the containers and so focused my commentary on that - introducing concepts such as 'heavy', 'light', 'full', 'empty', 'in', 'out', 'up' and 'down' - and that I thought to add number names to all this would have overloaded the very young 1yr olds with chatter when they were absorbed in actively learning about the materials. Maybe she would still have disagreed with me, but I would have at least conveyed my rationale.

The really silly thing is, I had read great tips on here that said TALK AND EXPLAIN to the inspector and COUNT EVERYTHING! but on the day I think I went a bit numb with nerves. Hopefully I'll be able to do it on my next inspection though.

Little miss: My children are all under 18mths old. I had a very large, shallow, transparent Ikea box with dry rice in it. I also had various sized scoops and containers (some with lids.) I explained to Mrs O that I planned it because I have a LO who is unsure about the texture and mess of sand/ paint etc, so I thought he might be more comfortable using the dry rice for sensory exploration. And because I also have a LO who is very interested in fitting spoons into pots/ lids onto containers etc.

[Little miss]

Thanks lisbet - I have my inspection this Friday and am planning a similar activity - but with cereals as my only mindee 13 months likes to eat everything!

[sarah707]

Thank you for the fab feedback Lisbet ... and congratulations!