Ofsted

[Guest]

Have just checked Ofsteds website and there are lots of new style reports online .They might be useful for anyone expecting a visit

 

Though from first glance(have not had time to read them yet) they appear to be very brief-Probably because we ve done all the work in the SEF !!!

and I have to say they dont appear to do much for selling yourself to prospective parents !!

They do though have a list of the grading for each area

Will check them out later

[Gezabel]

Thanks for this

I have read a couple at random and I agree they seem very brief.

 

What really surprises me is that one I read got outstanding in all areas and yet there was a recommendation for improvement

 

The recommendation was that they updated all their polices, procedures etc to reflect the EYFS requirements????????? I don't understand that at all even though the report said their lack of updated policies did not impact on provision!

 

I thought that 'outstanding ' meant there was supposedly no recommendations necessary.

 

The reviewing and updating of all our paperwork was where we started but maybe I have just lost the plot!

[Beau]

Surely this is a good thing Geraldine! It shows that your daily practice is what is important, not a pile of papers explaining what you do. Surely groups should be inspected on what they are doing/offering rather than their ability to keep up to date with all the latest paperwork.

[Guest]

Surely this is a good thing Geraldine! It shows that your daily practice is what is important, not a pile of papers explaining what you do. Surely groups should be inspected on what they are doing/offering rather than their ability to keep up to date with all the latest paperwork.

 

 

Good point Beau.

 

Also this does indicate that good practitioners were understanding of the EYFS principles and practice, even before it was written.

 

Peggy

[Guest]

Geraldine, I think they changed it recently so that a few recommendations didn't stop you getting outstanding. I thought they were more like suggestions for improvement than the rather stronger worded recommendations, though. Personally I would welcome that, because surely even an outstanding group can find something to work on.

 

I am a bit surprised by the example given, though. On the other hand you could read it as encouraging that maybe on this occasion good practice was seen as more important than good paperwork!

[Gezabel]

Like lots of things I suppose it's open to interpretation

I totally agree that is better to be inspected on daily practice rather than 'paperwork' and i bet their are settings where the paperwork is brilliant but the daily practice doesn't reflect it.

 

Maybe I didn't word myprevious message very well but I was kind of thinking that the policies etc are the documentary evidence that underpin our daily practice. For me they are very much working documents.

 

I thought reviewing and updating such paperwork was a good starting point but don't mean to suggest that paperwork is more important than practice

 

Mmm mayhbe I am digging myself into a hole here and not making any sense so I will toddle off and use my looming exam as an excuse for my ramblings

 

Maybe my thoughts came from my own inspection where we missed 'outstanding' because our paperwork had not noted the change of OFSTEDS phone number!!!!

[Guest]

Our last inspector (Nov 07) actually told us that even Outstanding settings should be given recommendations as no-one was that perfect, and practice should be continually reviewed. I also agree that the paperwork has always been sold to us as the underpinning of the practice and needs to be in place first - not that I agree necessarily.

[Masha]

Although I agree that practice matters more than paperwork, at our inspection last week the inspector spent ages trawling through paperwork, giving me a ticking of for minor (in my opinion) omissions, and spent a grand total of 20 minutes looking at practice.

 

In my opinion we simply cannot get past the subjective nature of the inspection process.