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Did you have a brilliant inspection / inspection? Please share your positive inspection / inspector stories...
If you were in charge of training Ofsted inspectors how would you want them to act? What tips would you share with them to improve your inspection experience?
Thank you :D
Mine was fab! She put me at ease, interacted with the little ones, laughed with them, pretended to drink tea but declined coming into the "cave"!
I was lucky that she was the same lady as for my pre reg so knew her, a fellow cm was inspected by her last week and she has the same experience. I came away feeling like I'd been properly assessed and so her grading really meant something to me. thumbs up all round really!
I have to be honest, my inspections have all been positive, although other local cms have had the same inspectors and found them awkward.
I think part of it is that I am quite confident and tend to take charge. I started my last inspection by asking the inspector what her experience was of childminding, how long she'd been an inspector etc, and during the inspection I asked her view on things.
But I know that a lot of childminders are incredibly nervous and I do think inspectors should take that into account and should try to put them at ease. I'm sure they would get so much more out out of their visits if the childminder was more relaxed.
Their training should include a bit of empathy. It doesn't mean they have to be a push over, but neither do they have to be intimidating, or in some cases, downright nasty.
I would also make sure their training included reminders that these are our homes they are visiting. Any criticism is a personal criticism of us and our home. Don't pick fault unless it's justified and even then, be tactful in the way they say it.
Things my last inspector did particularly nicely:
she interacted with the children
she stopped asking me questions and waited if the children needed my attention
she didn't nit pick
she reworded questions if I obviously didn't understand what she was asking
and at the end of the inspection she thanked me for a lovely visit, saying it had been a real pleasure after a tough week!
Like mouse has said, inspectors I feel need to have the relevant hands on experience of working with early years children ie ex childminders, nursery nurse. Schools inspectors ex teachers. My previous inspectors (2) were lovely. Both ex nursery workers. Both had over 12 years experience, had been inspectors for over 7 years. They appreciated and understood that my setting was a home from home not a nursery (ie having endless of toys/resources). They got on the floor and interacted with the mindee's, got involved in the pretend role play we were doing at the time. I relaxed therefore the mindee's relaxed and to fair at points forgot that I had this government official sitting on the floor, having a cup of tea made by a mindee's.
There needs to be regular training in what Ofsted is looking for uniformly as a establishment, ensuring all inspectors are working from the same song sheet. Too many posts have conflicting stories inspectors wanting to see this, some inspectors wanting to see that.