More Complaints

[Guest]

Here we go again.Have worked in Early years for over 20 years 15 of them with out a moan -since a competitor has opened all the rd from me i have had nothing but complaints to Ofsted . Today we had spot checks on numbers at two of our Nurseries and this is where i want your help.We were over staffed by one in the building but one down in our under 2's. in that room at the time were 3 qualified staff,a student that had been with us a year,another student and a staff members daughter (aged 19) working for the week to decide if she wants to work in childcare full time.as the room was not very big and there was loads of bodies I did see a problem in using that extra staff member to prep snacks etc but available if needed.Ofsted says we failed to keep the standards.what do you think?How can i prove that the complaints are not from the public/

BOO -i also got a parking ticket today.

[Running Bunny]

How many children do you have in the room?

 

This is still one of the grey areas... to my understanding (and I've been out of the loop for the past 7months) as long as staff are on site and can be called on, they can be included AND it is the managers discretion as to whether to include long term placement students in ratios if they believe them to be competent.

 

Like I said,things may have changed in the last 7months...

[Guest]

There were 6 babies and 5 toddlers,3 qualified staff ,one is deputy manager, one long term student ,one newish student and a lady trying us out for the week.

I want to give up-every morning I ring round to check all staff are in and if not find them cover,work one to 6 with older children as i think that is good practise -even though we employ a graduate, and still this is not good enough-as I say we were over staffed in the building as a whole

[Guest]

We had this where we were told there weren't enough staff on one area to cover ratio, yet the inspector we had a couple of weeks ago told us not to worry too much , as long as there's enough staff members on the premises!!! It all depends on what inspector you get, there's no consistency.

[Guest]

I just wanted to offer my support - it is such a grey area and needs some clarification.

 

By the way, we asked ofsted to take into account one of therir errors last year and we received a written apology - after another problem this year, we have just received another apology in writing - if you think you are right, stick to your guns and get you local councellors involved (we went for our tory one as he is experienced and well known-not because we agree with his point of view)!

 

Please don't let this get you down :-)

[Guest]

I really do empathise, a few years ago I had malicious complaints made against me, Ofsted did many spot checks over a period of 6 months, te resulting 'actions' were not relevant to the original complaint, ie: they said I didn't have enough signatures on accident forms, (I ended up having 5 signatures to meet their requirements) my register didn't have time in and time out (talking back in 2003). Not ALL my staff were familiar with how to work the heating system. In other words each time Ofsted visited it appeared that they had to find something to warrent their visit. The actual complaint of me dragging a child into a room was not 'responsibly' investigated by ofsted until a year after the original complaint, and this was because I chased up a conclusion as I discovered they hadn't even spoken to the parent of the child who I allegedly 'dragged into a room'. 18 mths after the original complaint Ofsted sent a vey ambiguous letter saying the investigation was concluded and no standards were evidenced to be compromised.

 

The emotional drain is difficult to describe, and the feeling of total vulnerability and defenselessness made me lose all confidence in myself even after 20 yrs of experience in the profession (like you).

 

I never found out who made the complaint but guessed it was a disgruntled ex supply member of staff who was disappointed at not haveing her contract extended.

 

What was the original complaint against you? Has this been resolved, cleared? Not sure what rights you have under the freedom of information act to find out how Ofsted have carried out investigations of the complaints made against you, maybe you could get some legal advice on this, possibly starting with citizens advice. Maybe then you can defend yourelf by proving that your suspicions are correct in that these complaints are malicious and not founded on fact.

 

Have you been given a clear complance order from Ofsted? What staffing have they indicated you require from this 'spot check' visit? My knowledge of staffing numbers is similar to running bunnies response ( I closed my preschool in December 07) I've been 'out the loop' so to speak. But 6 adults to 11 children, to me, doesn't compromise standards, 50% of those present being qualified.

 

Peggy

[Guest]

I was told recently by an inspector that ratio's count for and mean nothing! Now where is that brick wall for me to back my head against!!!!!

[Guest]

Hi there - we had an anonymous 'complaint' about staff in charge not being suitably qualified and a walk in from an inspector in May - she spent two hours with us and then after checking her records ( which our last inspector had not updated for us despite a written confirmation she had) issued a no action required , no breach of standards letter very speedily! She was happy with what she found and since has been a positive source of assitance for us ( as we had retreated into double triple check everything you do mode !) . Our complainant was classed as anonymous - i.e. we think is was malicious by a past staff member also and Ofsted told us after investigating would write to them with findings if there was anyone to write to ! However - if you check on the Ofsted site anyone considering using your childcare service can ask for information on your settings complaints recieved - we were actively considering finding a new parent to send one to see if it gave us any more details about the actual complaint ....but we decided it would only be a hiding to nothing. We knew we were fine and now so do all our parents ! We sent them a copy of the letter from ofsted after the investigation and we were pleasantly surprised how many were very upset and angry for the staff but also willing to say publicly how much they were happy with our service. It is a vile thing to have to go through and very demoralising as you wonder who it is -so good luck with your investigations !

[HappyMaz]

Welcome to the Forum, nealclaire

 

What a reassuring first post!

 

Maz