Day from the bowels of the earth

[Rea]

Two advisors one welfare one education came to playgroup today. We thought I'd be there for half an hour or so while they looked at the business plan I'd finished this morning.

Oh, how wrong can you be?

The welfare lady started by bombarding the manager with questions relating to safeguarding. The whole afternoon was worse than any Ofsted inspection I've ever known or heard about.

Mrs Welfare was quite stroppy and I dont mind telling you I have no deep and positive feelings about the woman. Mrs Education was calmer, drawing out the answers in an encouraging way.

Mrs W wasnt too happy that I have to get the committee together in order to look over the policies and procedures 'couldnt you do it yourself?' No, its a committee thing, its part of being a charity!

Mrs W. asked when we would be able to get something to her. We said before christmas, to which she asked, when, so I asked her, when would you like it, she said 'whenever you can get it to me. Well, that would be before christmas then!

She went through every bit of paperwork with a nit comb, berated staff who didnt always know the answer immediately and made things up.

We'd told them we'd just drawn up a social networking policy and not a minute later she was asking about our E safety. What???

E safety is a different word for social networking policy apparently, hag! That was really the tone of the afternoon, her being a hag and me feeling my hackles rising.

We left playgroup about 20 minutes late after I'd told Mrs W. I hadnt been expecting an interrogation, if I'd known 'd have changed my plans officially and not just turned my phone off on hubby.

The poor manager and deputy have been through the ringer this afternoon and at the end of it, we're still RAGged as amber, not the deep blood red we were expecting thanks to Mrs W.s attitude.

Now thats off my chest I feel better able to laugh at the whole silly afternoon.

 

I also have 2 questions:

1. Has anyone every been told children shouldnt be allowed to play in puddles unless said puddles have had Milton put in them?

2. How do I find out the pros and cons of using towels and paper towels?

Edited November 22, 2012 by Rea

[eyfs1966]

Rea- today sounds like a nightmare!! At least ofsted will be a breeze after all that.

 

 

oh please please please tell me you are joking about question1.

Question 2- paper towels are recommended by our EYA so that's what we use...not a very green policy, but hey ho at least no cross contamination.

[finleysmaid]

oh my word! sounds awful and i've had bad ofsted inspectors!! im a bit confused though...why are you having welfare (?) and education inspections? they don't exist in my area (rather pleased after this post!!) what authority do they have and how much can they influence you? Getting the committee to check your policy is also part of your working with parents practise and having parents to influence policies...which is part of the eyfs . So she will have to just put up with it won't she!!

LArge glass of wine needed i think. :rolleyes:

[Rea]

Question 1 is what one of our childminders has been told by Ofsted. The childminder did chuckle and couldnt wait to let us know.

 

Paper towels used to be used but then they changed to a towel and I have a feeling it was 'advice'!

 

Birmingham city Council have come up with this new way of doing things. Obviously its because their own safeguarding procedures were rated inadequate by Ofsted so now they're hitting everyone with a 'could do better' stick.

 

Boy, do I wish I drank wine!!!

[Beau]

 

1. Has anyone every been told children shouldnt be allowed to play in puddles unless said puddles have had Milton put in them?

 

 

Of course! Everyone knows that you do that after you've wrapped the children in two layers of cotton wool, bound them tightly in bubblewrap and put on face masks.............

[Fredbear]

Oh my this sounds like an experience from hell. I too am not really sure what it was for and if it is a requirement in your neck of the woods.

If not i thnk i might have been inclined to say no thank you very much.

Large glass of something and a big box of chocs comes to mind. :1b

[Stargrower]

Oh Rea it sounds terrible - poor you and your team.

Regarding the puddles, we syphon the water off, boil it, add a strerilising tablet and some bleach, then pour it back on the ground to play with. We also do the same with mud and sand obviously.

Just off to polish the grass.

Beehive

[Rea]

Oh Rea it sounds terrible - poor you and your team.

Regarding the puddles, we syphon the water off, boil it, add a strerilising tablet and some bleach, then pour it back on the ground to play with. We also do the same with mud and sand obviously.

Just off to polish the grass.

Beehive

 

Oh that made me laugh, the first one that didnt have a touch of hysteria in it. :lol:

[hali]

oh bless you hun - thats just awful - dont know what else to say :blink:

[Rea]

Its all part of the RAG system, but really not at all friendly. If we fail we lose funding.

My one wish if I won the lottery (which i dont do, so who am I kidding?) is to be able to tell BCC to 'hop it'. I'd obviously think of a better way than that to tell them where to go and where they could put their money to avoid fading!

[Froglet]

Oh Rea, so sorry you had such a rough day. As for the questions...can't help on the second and words have failed me on the first! :blink:

[apple]

oooh er... I forgot the Milton this afternoon but I swear that I usually do add it to the mud-pie kitchen most days

and to your Mrs Jobsworth Woman a double one of these :P

[Froglet]

I just realised - one of the favourite activities this afternoon was picking up huge handfuls of leaves and throwing them up in the air to see what the wind did with them. I should have washed, sterilised, dried and ironed them first shouldn't I!

 

Do you think I should call parents to warn them of a lapse in good practice?!

[Sue R]

Oh MY!

 

Some of our favourite photos from outside last year (parents too!) were of children rolling and burrowing in the piled, drifted leaves....... . I will be defrocked (or whatever)!!!

[Panders]

Oh crikey Rea, certainly a day from hell. I do so hope this jolly isn't coming my way soon!

[Rea]

Thanks for making me chuckle. I feel better now, especially after telling the staff what I thought about the afternoon. Manager just said she feels awful and inadequate. I can't wait for the next visit, I shall go in much better armed so she better be ready. Upset my manager will she??

[Rea]

Love the picture apple. We took the children outside today and one little girl panicked when the wind blew. Such a shame children don't get to experience outside in all weathers.

[Rea]

I can't remember where you are panders, but I presume this is just our wonderful council. If you are in Birmingham or know anyone who is you might like to pass on the news that the city are sending out forms to do the 2 yr check. The one's we developed at playgroup are not suitable purely because the council want everyone to use the same format. Such a shame they didn't tell us sooner, like at the start of talks about the checks!!

[Pimms o'clock?]

I'm starting to get worried now as I have SIP visiting to the setting I have just taken over the management of, I've never met her so don't know what to expect. I hope I don't get a Kentish dragon.

[Guest]

We had a similar RAG system put in place a few years ago. Like you we felt as if we had been put through the ringer when we had the first meeting. It was very full on and negative. When it came to the second meeting I made sure I was very prepared and basically took the lead to tell them what we were doing and why. In our authority we had been meant to be sent the questionnaire in advance of the visit but, you guessed it, they forgot before the first visit. I refused to let them come again until we had the paperwork and then basically worked through it so I looked as if I knew what I was doing by the second visit! That approach worked much better. Our RAG was never finalised because the department kept losing staff and funding and eventually they stopped talking about it, though I don't think it has been dropped.

 

On a more positive note it did help me to complete the SEF once we had the questions they were planning to ask us, focused my mind and kicked me into action!

[Inge]

puddle fun

 

wonder if they sterilised this lot every day

[Mouseketeer]

our last QIA inspection was more stressful than any ofsted we've had.......they pull everything apart, contradict what they told you at the previous one and ask you things you know nothing about because as our advisers they haven't told us it in the first place !

[Rea]

Same here. I know we havent been sent stuff but they just carry on regardless. I'm ready for the next visit, they wont catch me so wrong footed again.

And really what is the point in upsetting people? I've reminded my manager that without us Mrs Hag wouldnt have a job.

 

I have secretly wondered if my recent emails to the council regarding the renewing of CRBs might not be behind this interrogation.

Edited November 22, 2012 by Rea

[Rafa]

 

 

I have secretly wondered if my recent emails to the council regarding the renewing of CRBs might not be behind this interrogation.

 

ahh yeah, like the Spanish Inquisition......

[Rea]

Yep, the more I think about it the more I think there is some truth in my suspicions,

 

We knew the meeting was taking place, but we were convinced it was about the business plan. No-one even looked at it. Mrs W. asked if it was finished and I said its an ongoing document, its finished up to now but it will need amending and adding to. She said 'so its not finished?' Again I said yes, to a point, it wont ever really be finished I'll be adding to it soon and changing things in line with whatever happens. So is it finished or not? Yes!

[alis2son]

Oh dear! I really did laugh at that.. would it be because its touched the floor? :rolleyes:

At our last inspection we were politely told,...and then nicely given a few minutes to change... that shared hand towels are a huge no-no for cross contamination and so we switched back to paper towels and the hand dryer (which 1 of our children is scared of due to the noise).

We have just had our new inspection this month, and the inspector loved our outdoor play and said nothing of the puddles.. of which we have the hugest one right in the middle of the play area! thats what the welly boots and waterproofs are for afterall!

[sunnyday]

Oh Rea - what a nightmare

 

So sorry to hear that your manager is feeling so upset by this.........

 

Puddles :blink: I often wonder how many sons grew up to be a pair of strong, healthy, fit young men with all of the 'stuff' they were exposed to by their mother well actually I do believe I've just answered my own question there

 

Towels - yeah I knew that and we use paper towels........I know that Cait uses flannels - one use and then into a bucket for washing.......

 

Reminded me of the wrist slapping I got many years back from the big O for having a bowl of soapy water next to the hand print painting that was going on at the time........she told me off big time and kept going on about sharing germs - wouldn't listen for a second - they weren't washing to eat - that would be done much later in the morning in the bathroom following all the sensible procedures...........they were washing just to get the paint off before going off to play......bathroom visits would mean a staff member leaving the room every two minutes as bathroom not near the room........anyway I digress

 

Chin up and as Panders says (we're both Kenters) hope this is not coming our way anytime soon

Edited November 23, 2012 by sunnyday

[sunnyday]

 

 

I have secretly wondered if my recent emails to the council regarding the renewing of CRBs might not be behind this interrogation.

 

I really hope not we should feel free to question policy without having to think this will come back and bite me on the backside........

 

I wonder :blink:

 

No Rea - that would imply that that the right hand knows what the left hands doing

[eyfs1966]

No Rea - that would imply that that the right hand knows what the left hands doing

 

Well lets just hope the left and right hands were washed thorughly and dried with paper towels before doing anything else!!

[Cait]

Hmm, I have my RAG this afternoon............