Letter from ofsted

[Kirsty90]

A while ago I posted about me having trouble getting payment from a parent that left due to me being pregnant. She had threatened complaining to ofsted etc and this morning I received a letter. It said that they have received information concerning my provision & it said the complainant had claimed she had not seen any evidence of planned daily activities, I don't have a policy for nappy changing or toilet training, the food provide is not in accordance with healthy eating, friends & family are at the setting when minded children are present and that my dog has shown aggression towards a minded child.

It says I don't need to contact ofsted or anything I just need to keep a record & it will be reviewed at my next inspection. What should I do & will this now be down as a complaint against me?

Thanks x

[Kiddleywinks]

If it was me, I would investigate the complaints formally as per my complaints policy

On xx date, ofsted informed me (attach letter received) they had received the following complaints:
1. complainant had claimed she had not seen any evidence of planned daily activities
2. complainant had claimed I don't have a policy for nappy changing
3. complainant had claimed I don't have a policy for toilet training
4. complainant had claimed food provided is not in accordance with healthy eating
5. complainant had claimed friends & family are at the setting when minded children are present
6. complainant had claimed that my dog has shown aggression towards a minded child

Having investigated these complaints I conclude:
1. I do/do not have planned daily activities written down (If you do, say where they are and that parents are welcome to view them at any time. I have a sheet in the playroom. If you don't, do you complete daily diaries for either children or yourself, in which case they are written in there. If you don't do any of that, how do you plan and monitor each childs development)
2. Do you have a nappy changing policy? If so, include a copy of it. If not explain what you do with regard to nappy changing. (I don't have a nappy changing policy personally, but I do have a sheet where I write down the childs initials, the time they were changed, & whether it was a wet or soiled nappy, I also make a note in a childs daily diary of nappy changes done.)
3. Do you have a policy for toilet training? If so, include a copy of it. If not, explain why not. (I currently don't have a specific policy myself, however I do mention working with parents in my policies, and that a child should be dry at home for 2 complete weeks before I will accept a child without nappies due to health and safety.)
4. I have a 4 week meal rota, and receipts to back up my food purchases, so I'd be enclosing copies of the rota and the previous months receipts, and my healthy eating policy
5. You are allowed visitors when working, do you have a visitors record, if so, use it to compile a list of dates of these visits. Decide whether it is excessive or not, if it's not then don't worry about it, if you think maybe she has a point, that there are too many visitors, then cut back, and that will be an action taken (Ofsted like it when we do actions apparently )
6. Has your dog been aggressive against a minded child? If so was the incident logged and any action taken to prevent any further incidents. If not, do you recall a time when it could have been perceived you dog could have been aggressive toward a minded child? If so, what happened. If not, then you are unable to recall any incident when this could have happened, and enclose your pet policy.

I would then forward a copy to ofsted, and keep a copy in my folder for ofsted to view when they eventually get round to your inspection.

With regard to whether it will be recorded as a complaint, you'd need to speak to ofsted I would have thought.



On a personal note, try not to let this get you down, parents can't be that bothered if they never brought it to your attention before. I'm guessing there could be a monetary/contractual dispute involved somewhere?

[sarah707]

When Ofsted receive complaints which are not considered serious / safeguarding they send them to the childminder to deal with internally.

What I would do is to note them all down individually, answer them all and then keep it somewhere safe for Ofsted.

If you know it was this particular parent who made the complaint you might send her a letter answering the individual complaints eg.

Thank you for sharing your concerns with Ofsted. They have asked me to investigate internally.

I have looked into each of the situations you note and I have found -

she had not seen any evidence of planned daily activities - my planning is displayed on my notice board each week and shared with parents. A copy of my routine is given to parents .... etc

I don't have a policy for nappy changing or toilet training - it is not a statutory requirement to have this policy in writing. However, the following information was shared with you verbally blah, blah

the food provide is not in accordance with healthy eating - we provide parents with a copy of our healthy eating menu which is updated seasonally. I have attached some copies from the time your child/ren was with us

friends & family are at the setting when minded children are present - the statutory requirements state that we must have a visitor policy - I have attached it to this letter. It states that all visitors are supervised etc......... the statutory requirements do not state that visitors cannot be on the premises when childminded children are present. Please be reassured that outcomes for children are not compromised when visitors are present

that my dog has shown aggression towards a minded child - my dog is very child friendly .........

Thank you again for raising these issues. I hope I have reassured you.

Best regards etc...

Hth x

[Kirsty90]

Thank you for replying! I'll do that this weekend and just keep everything together for the next time I have an inspection. It's all lies to be honest because she is just trying to get out of paying me the money she owes me.

Thanks again x

[chezzagriff]

I would say yes it is a complaint against you as if a parent doesnt feel confident that they can complain directly to you they can phone Ofsted. I would maybe do some sort of questionnaire for parent to fill in about your provision, policies, the dog etc and if you do daily diary sheets then keep copies as proof of your meals, reciepts will also provide some sort of proof. Did you document anything when the parent refused to pay and threatened to ring Ofsted? And a visitors book will show who has been in your house. Hope everything works out ok for you shame this has happened and people are so spiteful

[Kirsty90]

So this will go down against my registration number? Who will be able to see this complaint? I've got proof of everything that has happened between me & this parent & the money issues are still ongoing. She left my setting 3 month ago & I called ofsted at the time to say she had threatened to make a complaint & a note was made of this by ofsted. She has only just decided to contact ofsted after receiving a letter from the county court about the money she owes me x

[sarah707]

Your inspector will look at the evidence during your next inspection - and you might find your inspection is brought forward.

The inspector will want to see your response and will ask you questions to check that you understand, for example, your safeguarding policy and procedures.

The best thing to do is to be totally transparent in your reply - keep it in your files - be confident in your responses.

ofsted will only mention it in your report if they find any of the complaints to be true.

Hugs x

[Kirsty90]

Yeah thought they might bring my inspection forward because I'm not actually due one for over 2 years. I'll do my responses this weekend & keep them on file. Hopefully money issues will be resolved soon then I can just put it all behind me & learn from it. I'm due to go on maternity leave in about 7 weeks time looking forward to that even more now! X