Ofsted Are Coming!

[Guest eck1975]

Any Ofsted advice would be gratefully accepted!

 

We got the call today - they are coming Tues & Weds next week. Gulp!

 

Never been through an Ofsted before. Have just finished my NQT year. We had a new Head on Monday ... 4 days into the job and she gets a call from Ofsted ....

 

I have mixed Reception & Year One, but I think there will be a focus on early years, with the new EYFS and I am now totally panicking, as I am probably guilty of more focus on Y1s, which could be why I am still up at this time of night - staring at blank lesson plans ... my brain has fried/melted/frazzled or a combination of all!

 

My PPA time was this afternoon - but I ended up in the class, getting a display sorted, as we had a blank display board (which I panicked about when heard Ofsted were coming) ... but am now really wishing I had spent my PPA actually planning!

 

Our topic this term is Clothes & Shoes, am going to do Traditional/Fairy Tales for literacy - Elves & Shoemaker, and Cinderella, Science is materials, so hopefully all should link together nicely!?!? .... when my brain is functioning again.

 

If anyone has any super duper activity ideas for Reception, Year One, child initiated or adult led, on clothes, shoes, elves, cinderella, 'materials' or any general Ofsted advice - please get in touch. (I think you can probably tell - I'm in sheer panic!).

 

Many thanks, Em x

[Shiny]

Could the children design and make their own shoes out of card. Then decorate them using different collage materials?

 

Or you could discuss the materials used to make clothes, what is good and why. Investigate different materials properties, water proof, woolen, differences when they get wet.

 

Using natural dyes to dye materials (ie beetroot).

 

Just a few ideas and try not to panic!!

[Guest]

You have got 3 days till the big day.... you need to be as calm as possible ( I know it is difficult, I have been there) the more you panic the worse it will be. Your ideas sound lovely. When I was observed by OFSTED, I tried to make all the activities as practical as possible with good visual aids. I think I was doing something about food at the time, my group were making food for our cafe, one group were putting food into groups and one group were to glue their favourite food pictures on a plate. By the time she came in many were finished, but they all knew the classroom and became involved in their own learning. I had good feedback, even though I knew some of the childrne were not doing what I wanted them to do!!

 

This was reception, I haven't had the experience of reception and year one, although I did do a split year1/2 last year, so understand your concerns about meeting all children's needs.

 

Could you have a shoe shop? This could have incidental learning of size and measurment... Perhaps the children could be the eles and could receive a letter from Cinderella asking them to make her new shoes. They could then design them around what she needs. She may need them for wet weather in which case they would need to weatherproof the material etc... It covers EYFS as it encourporates all areas of learning, but year one would benefit from these skills as well I think. I'm sorry I just feel like I'm babbling!!!

 

Good Luck, and keep smiling, especaially when they arrive in your room x x

[Guest eck1975]

Thanks for the support and advice guys.

 

We are going to investigate/sort different materials, and have some kind of investigation into keeping teddy warm and/or dry.

 

Think our role play may become a cobblers, but not by Tues/Weds, so an impromptu shoe shop may be a good idea. I like the sound of measuring feet etc, but I don't have a lot of space ...

 

Had thought of designing shoes as well, so maybe my brain does still function.

 

But I am beginning to panic now though ....

 

I may well be back here.

 

Em x

[HappyMaz]

I may well be back here.

Well if you are then we'll be here to help if we can.

 

If not, good luck and let us know how things go!

 

Maz

[hali]

good luck im sure you will be fine

[queline]

Good Luck!! I'm sure you will be fantastic. We had OFSTED second week in September so know what you are going through.

Qx