Guest Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 Just booked my "Suitable persons interview" with Ofsted for next week and had a sudden panic about what they are going to ask? Any ideas or experiences of what questions they ask you?x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 My interview went fine. They just asked what you might imagine they will. The only really in depth stuff for me was when we didn't have a policy for something (it was 6 months before we were due to open) and she asked what I would do about various things....... can't recall specifics right now!!! Sorry It wasn't a scary experience. Not at all. Good luck. Am sure it will be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 Just booked my "Suitable persons interview" with Ofsted for next week and had a sudden panic about what they are going to ask? Any ideas or experiences of what questions they ask you?x Hi, I had mine a few months ago. The lady went through the policies and procedures. She asked me about welfare, organisation, learning areas and other bits and pieces about the EYFS. She also asked when i would need to notify ofsted about anything, general management questions / staffing / child protection etc. The whole thing lasted about 2 hours. Wasn't as bad as i thought it would be though. Good Luck Claire xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 Mine was a good few years ago now but one thing that always sticks out is the fact that she said she didn't expect me to know everything, but would expect that I would now where to go to find out. It REALLY wasn't half as bad as i was expecting - and I HATE anything like that! Hope all goes well - good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 I had mine just a few weeks ago, so I will try and list some of what I was asked. She had a form on her laptop and was basically going through the EYFS welfare and learning requirements. Bear in mind that I'm committee, but I don't imagine it would be different for you, she asked things like: - How do we ensure resources are safe and clean? - How do we check suitability of new staff? - How do we ensure that we cover all 6 areas of learning? - What do we do about any children with SEN? - How do we involve parents with our setting and communicate with them? - How do we assess children's progress while they're with us? - What's our policy on children who take medication? - How do we manage behaviour? That kind of thing, then at the end a few very personal questions that I found a bit beyond reasonable given that I am a volunteer, things to do with my health and lifestyle, I thought that was a bit of a cheek. Good luck, it's not so bad, in fact I think I freaked the lady out by knowing more about some stuff than she had expected. I also took the chance to quiz her on some stuff we were unsure about, given that she's an inspector you might as well get it from the horse's mouth!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suebear Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 Had mine a few months back, all standard stuff. She asked about safeguarding, crbs, risk assessments, policies, as well the personal stuff like units of alcohol you drink etc. She was very supportive and found I could speak openly and honestly with her about where the setting was at. Needed to see proof of id and my crb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Thanks guys, feel a bit better about it now!xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollypiper Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Just booked my "Suitable persons interview" with Ofsted for next week and had a sudden panic about what they are going to ask? Any ideas or experiences of what questions they ask you?x I also have my suitable persons interview next week on Thursday & was searching for information which has been answered for your question and has been helpful to me. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 I passed...yipee!!!! Thanks for all your info!!x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyMaz Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Well done you! Good to know you're 'suitable'! Maz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 Bubbles00, glad to hear it all went well! Could you let us know what questions you were asked.... was it as everyone had suggested in the above posts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Bubbles00, glad to hear it all went well! Could you let us know what questions you were asked.... was it as everyone had suggested in the above posts? She asked about our policies and procedures, our safeguarding procedures, staffs continuous development and what would i want to do next with regards to training. She made a big thing about Equal opps and said that with the changes that are happening to Ofsted, they will be looking more into how we support every child and their families and who goes that extra mile to do so! She also asked how i make sure staff are suitable for the job and how i ensure staff do not come into work drunk ( thank god she didnt see the bottle of vodka left over from the nursery easter party in the storage cupboard ha ha). She did also ask how much i drink and if i smoke and if we had a no smoking policy! Thats all i can remember at the mo!! hope that helps xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Hi everyone, I have my suitability interview finally booked for friday! Eeeeeeeeeeek..thanks for all the replies etc it has been very helpful to read everyone's examples of questions etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fimbo Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 i know someone was asked how much they drank, and if they had any alcohol in their handbag !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest terrydoo73 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I had an awful fit person interview in November last year and I never want to go through it again. I felt at the end of it all humiliated, totally unable to be called a Playgroup Leader, that I was thick with a capital t - I cried for about 2 days after it. I was then asked to go for a follow up at which I was told I would be informed how I should have replied. I turned up for this and the first thing I was told was "oh sorry your file has been left behind and I cannot give you an assessment of the interview but I can tell you you did awful and you really do need to learn how to approach such an interview in the future as well as going on 6 training courses to help you in your new position" Mortified!! I was told afterwards that this was the first time my local Health Trust had taken up the option to perform such an interview in my area and the feeling was that as I was coming from a childminding setting to a playgroup setting the Trust felt I was not suitable to fill the position. Thankfully my local management committee had the belief in me! Since then (and I passed by the way, don't know how though!) I started employment on 13 December, have written 80 pages of policies myself, got the playgroup registered with the trust with sufficient resources and remedial work carried out and we have 9 children out of 12 that we are registered for - we opened today. The only downside is the fact that we are working with pre-preschool but 8 out of the 9 that we have will remain with us until they have completed their preschool year - 18 months in total. I would love to have another 3 full timers but am hopefully that with the press coverage of our recent morning and first morning this might pull some more in! I would say to anyone who is about to go to such an interview do your research. Find out as much as you can from others who have been through it before, check up all your policies very very carefully. I know you can develop a thick skin when you get into a job and have been advised by others to say to such people "how would you advise us to do it?" That way they can put their input and you can honestly say to them that you will think carefully about it and try to implement something that suits your children and your playgroup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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