Guest Posted December 3, 2008 Posted December 3, 2008 Hello, We are lucky enough to have 24 hours notice for our inspection...( my colleague had her EYPS assessment today, then Ofsted knocked on the door too...so to cut a long story short..they went away , and will return tomorrow) PLEASE has anyone had their post-EYFS inspection and have they any tips or advice for us...we are quite relaxed as we feel confident enough, but a little of someone elses experience doesnt go amiss...does it? I woudl really appreciate your help folks.....Many thanks in anticipation. Lucy.x Quote
HappyMaz Posted December 3, 2008 Posted December 3, 2008 Have you tried a forum search Lucy? I'm sure some people have posted their inspection experiences. Has your SEF been submitted? Good luck! Maz Quote
Sue R Posted December 3, 2008 Posted December 3, 2008 Yes, the forum search is a good idea, as I'm sure there have been some posts. Also, have a look on the OFSTED site at recently posted reports, that should give you some ideas? Good luck from me, too! Of course, when it's over you'll pop on here and offer some words of advice for the rest of us???? Pretty please Quote
Guest Wolfie Posted December 3, 2008 Posted December 3, 2008 Good luck! Let us know how you get on! Quote
Guest Posted December 3, 2008 Posted December 3, 2008 Good Luck - hope it all goes well, 2 major hurdles for your setting in one week. At least OFSTED offered to come back tomorrow. Really hope it is OK tomorrow, I will be thinking of you with crossed fingers and toes Julie x Quote
JacquieL Posted December 3, 2008 Posted December 3, 2008 Best of luck for tomorrow. Just think in 24 hours it will all be over. Quote
Guest Posted December 3, 2008 Posted December 3, 2008 Good Luck for tomorrow - and remember, there have been NO reported sightings of 2-headed Ofsted inspectors some of them are even quite human Nona Quote
Guest Posted December 3, 2008 Posted December 3, 2008 Good luck for tomorrow. Hope it all goes well. xxx Quote
Guest Posted December 4, 2008 Posted December 4, 2008 Many thanks to you all for your kind words of support... The morning inspection went well and she told us that we have very happy children and staff and that is the basis for a happy environment!! She is coming back tomorrow to fill in any gaps and give us feedback...so watch this space. Some of the general questioning: How do we promote inclusion ? How do we plan for the childrens next steps.. One issue she is going to have is that we wrongly had one table set out for the children to make tree Xmas cards..with card, glitter, pre-cut strips for the trees etc..and her point was that it should have been on the free-creative table so they can choose what to put on their card..so they are not all the same etc...hope this makes sense! She was very impressed that we went outside in the torrential rain this morning..( children and staff were not too impressed though) she even came out with us!! Do we have a separate complaints folder in the filing cabinet? I created a new Brag Book last night with all the thank you cards, parents feedback, minutes from meetings with happy parents etc stuck in ...she liked that! Anyway will fill you all in tomorrow after the feedback session..although I cannot attend as I am on 1st Aid training!!! AAAHH Thanks again. Lucy.X Quote
Guest Posted December 4, 2008 Posted December 4, 2008 Hope tomorrow goes well too. Would love to know what you did in the torrential rain! Quote
Guest Posted December 5, 2008 Posted December 5, 2008 Things went well...unofficially!! We ran around in the torrential rain and got our faces wet!!!! Allowed the children to scream and shreak freely!! Great fun was had by all..including the adults actually!! Will post results when they are official. Quote
HappyMaz Posted December 5, 2008 Posted December 5, 2008 Well done you! Sounds as if you had all bases covered. Will be sure to pass on your comment about Mrs Ofsted loving the fact that you went out in the rain to my staff on Monday! Maz Quote
Sue R Posted December 6, 2008 Posted December 6, 2008 Our Inspector liked the put in the rain thing, too - although she watched safely from inside Quote
Guest Posted December 6, 2008 Posted December 6, 2008 can I ask you all what you do with the children in the rain. Do you get resources out or do you just allow the children to run around letting off steam? mrsW Quote
Guest Posted December 7, 2008 Posted December 7, 2008 can I ask you all what you do with the children in the rain. Do you get resources out or do you just allow the children to run around letting off steam? mrsW We do get resourses out..not necessarily the ones on the planning!! More weather proof ones! Sometimes we will just go out to run off steam for 10 minutes then back inside..to dry off and talk about wet, rain,cold, etc. It is really hard to actually get wrapped up and go out..but even the staff benefit from going out...we also need a change of scene. x Quote
Guest Posted December 7, 2008 Posted December 7, 2008 We do get resourses out..not necessarily the ones on the planning!! More weather proof ones!Sometimes we will just go out to run off steam for 10 minutes then back inside..to dry off and talk about wet, rain,cold, etc. It is really hard to actually get wrapped up and go out..but even the staff benefit from going out...we also need a change of scene. x Hi lucys, thanks for the reply and well done by the way. My outside area tends to flood when it is raining so don't tend to use it but I do feel the children still need to get outside, even if its only for 10 minutes. I like the idea of the chat about wet, rain, cold etc. when you come back inside. I will try it, thanks. mrsW Quote
Guest Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 Happy New Year to you all...hope you are getting back into the 'swing' of things. We got 'GOOD' across the board on our recent OFSTED inspection...with only 2 small reccommendations..WE ARE THRILLED!! Things the Inspector really liked : Our parent relationships.. Self evaluation was a biggy...but we still only have it in pencil on forms..mid way to putting it online!! Recognising childrens uniqueness and planning for individuals Daily ( weekly really but she didnt realise this) diaries for those children who attend another setting Walks into the community ( all evidence from photo albums) Rewards system( child gets post it note for doing something really well that session and posts it into a 'shiny shoe box' then at the end of the session the box is opened and we read out all postits and those children get stickers..and the postit tells the parent why they have the sticker.) Risk assessements and policies up to date Childrens independence..free choice trolleys ( lots of them!!) Natural objects ( wormery, nature table) Outdoor - car tyre filled with compost and the children grew grass ... great for farmyard animals etc Antibac gel on staff desk to use when wiped noses..she was hot on that!! If she notices you 'havent done this' then it is ok to challenge her and say 'well we did this last month etc' UP TO DATE PHOTO ALBUMS ARE A REALLY USEFUL TOOL...she loved them..big brownie points!! Good luck to you all out there who are due their inspection soon....it wasnt as bad as we thought!! QUESTION...help can anyone tell me about their PRE-SCHOOL Keyworker systems..how many children have you got each? We feel we have far too many children each...how do you all do it and how many...please help!! Many thanks.xxx Quote
Cait Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 Key Person - my staff have about 6 children each, depending on the days the children attend and the days the staff are rota'd on and who naturally 'meshes' well, ie children go to specific adult continuously. I have the older children, the 'reception minus one's and we do different things. This makes it easier for planning adult led activities and assessing as children are 'kind of' at the same level or thereabouts. Children in my group are 'buddied' with the younger ones, they have a couple each and they help the Key Person with small tasks, helping with shoes/slippers etc and speaking out for them if something happens that we've not seen (Give it back please, Suzie had that) kind of thing. I strongly believe that this helps everyone and it's a system we have used for many years. Quote
Guest Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Many thanks Cait, This is great..at the moment we have 4 qualified staff ( capable of being a key worker) per session each with 12 children each...aaahhh it is nightmare...ok not all of them attend on the same days but observations, assesments and writing reports etc is really hard work... xx Quote
Cait Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 I Have only 10 Key children and each of my deputies have 8, leaving 5 for the newly qualified member of staff. In practice, this means that we have about 6 at each session - which is how I should have put it. I'm responsible for writing reports and things like that for the whole group too. It is a big workload, but you can space it out and make it workable - i'm a strong believer in not making work for people, so make it workable for YOU. That means doing only short, focussed observations - for a purpose - not just because you feel you should. Assessments are ongoing, as is planning, but again, do only what you need to to do and increase it as you feel confident with what you are doing. Does this make sense? Quote
Guest Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 Thanks for that...will take your thoughts back on Monday...much appreciated.x Quote
Guest Posted January 9, 2009 Posted January 9, 2009 Happy New Year to you all...hope you are getting back into the 'swing' of things. We got 'GOOD' across the board on our recent OFSTED inspection...with only 2 small reccommendations..WE ARE THRILLED!! Things the Inspector really liked : Our parent relationships.. Self evaluation was a biggy...but we still only have it in pencil on forms..mid way to putting it online!! Recognising childrens uniqueness and planning for individuals Daily ( weekly really but she didnt realise this) diaries for those children who attend another setting Walks into the community ( all evidence from photo albums) Rewards system( child gets post it note for doing something really well that session and posts it into a 'shiny shoe box' then at the end of the session the box is opened and we read out all postits and those children get stickers..and the postit tells the parent why they have the sticker.) Risk assessements and policies up to date Childrens independence..free choice trolleys ( lots of them!!) Natural objects ( wormery, nature table) well done!!!!! love your reward system !!!! am going to put that in place 1st thing monday!!!!!! Outdoor - car tyre filled with compost and the children grew grass ... great for farmyard animals etc Antibac gel on staff desk to use when wiped noses..she was hot on that!! If she notices you 'havent done this' then it is ok to challenge her and say 'well we did this last month etc' UP TO DATE PHOTO ALBUMS ARE A REALLY USEFUL TOOL...she loved them..big brownie points!! Good luck to you all out there who are due their inspection soon....it wasnt as bad as we thought!! QUESTION...help can anyone tell me about their PRE-SCHOOL Keyworker systems..how many children have you got each? We feel we have far too many children each...how do you all do it and how many...please help!! Many thanks.xxx Quote
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