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Starting a file ready for OFSTED?


dreamgirl
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Greetings everyone. Now that the EYFS is going to have a separate judgement in a school inspection, I am thinking about starting a file of stuff ready for OFSTED....perhaps under the 4 headings of the inspection. Any suggestions as to what I should put in it? Under Leadership and Management for example. What could I put in that? Behaviour???? Driving myself nuts. Catma.....are you there?

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Thank you for that sunnyday - food for thought! I wonder if/how maintained nursery and reception classes would differ from registered provision. I am in nursery and our reception teacher is deputy head and head of foundation stage - I need to be clear about what I, as nursery teacher, need to provide as Ofsted are due in January :o !

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'Inspectors carry identification that they must show you before entering your premises. The cards have photographs of the inspectors. You should always check cards before allowing inspectors access to your premises.' .....that's all I can find in the 'are you ready for inspection' ....but couldn't anyone knock an id badge up and would we really know if it was genuine ?

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Hello!!

Thank you for that sunnyday - food for thought! I wonder if/how maintained nursery and reception classes would differ from registered provision. I am in nursery and our reception teacher is deputy head and head of foundation stage - I need to be clear about what I, as nursery teacher, need to provide as Ofsted are due in January :o !

Not that much to be honest as it will probably the the DHT who would be expected to talk to Ofsted about standards etc as EYFS lead. However, they will be triangulating more by looking at books and so the children's work, folders etc really do need to demonstrate the progress children are making. Having examples of the standards children reached this year could be helpful.

You also need to be clear about what your data is saying about your children and the groups so you can demonstarte how precise your teaching is linked to assessments.

 

Greetings everyone. Now that the EYFS is going to have a separate judgement in a school inspection, I am thinking about starting a file of stuff ready for OFSTED....perhaps under the 4 headings of the inspection. Any suggestions as to what I should put in it? Under Leadership and Management for example. What could I put in that? Behaviour???? Driving myself nuts. Catma.....are you there?

I would have the following (off the top of my head) in my file/available:

  • The EYFSP outcomes and analysis for the past 3 years.
  • Baseline data for the same cohorts (from nursery through to end of YrR if you have nursery classes) for the same cohorts
  • The analysis of both sets of data!! Have you closed any gaps?? Trends over time - are they improving?
  • My development plan/s based on my analysis of EYFS effectiveness and the impact evaluation of it - can you talk confidently about what you have been doing AND what difference it has made to learning over time
  • My tracking - analysis of the current cohort from on entry. What different groups are achieving on entry, what interventions are in place - what difference are they making? What is your analysis of their progress?
  • Can you clearly and succinctly demonstrate the tracking system and how it supports precision teaching.
  • My monitoring log - observations, scrutinies etc. What does this say re quality of teaching and learning? How would you judge the quality of teaching and learning over time??
  • SMSC: what things have you done in EYFS that would demonstrate children's social, moral, spiritual and cultural experience in the school - trips, awe and wonder stuff...
  • Effectiveness of transition work: how do you support children to ensure that learning time is not lost when they move to school/change classes. Links with feeder settings etc. Have a good read of "Are they ready" the Ofsted recent study on transition to get an idea of what is seen as best practice.
  • How do you ensure assessments are accurate and reliable and you have robust data - evidence of internal moderation, external moderation with others, LA moderation etc etc.
  • Any specific EYFS policy docs but not if they are whole school ones. Most policy docs in school will cover the EYFS anyway and you don't need separate ones.
  • Any specific impact where Pupil Premium money has been used for EYFS (currently Reception) aged children and it is making a difference

There may be other things I think of!!

PM me if you need to ask anything

Cxx

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Catma, you are (as always!) a star. Such a clear list and really useful to help me pin down what I know in my head but suspect I'd get all flummoxed about when I needed to know it. I really hope those who you 'officially' work with appreciate you as much as we do!

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'Inspectors carry identification that they must show you before entering your premises. The cards have photographs of the inspectors. You should always check cards before allowing inspectors access to your premises.' .....that's all I can find in the 'are you ready for inspection' ....but couldn't anyone knock an id badge up and would we really know if it was genuine ?

There is an embossed number on the second page after the photo. This is the inspectors unique number. If you phone the Ofsted helpline they would be able to tell you if that person is who they say they are and through them or the Inspection service provider, should they be at your setting that day, as it would be recorded in the Inspectors portal.Inspectors will have a pass book and an ID card usually. They don't need to carry a DBS as to be inspecting you they have to have provided Ofsted with a current DBS/CRB check.

FYI The Inspectors pass book gives them more right of entry than the police, who have to have a warrant!

Cx

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As someone said in another thread their inspector wasn't too happy when they did contact to check because of the time it took.

 

We did have a new community police officer turn up one lunchtime to introduce herself, I asked for her id and was indignantly told that she'd been visiting schools and nurseries in the area all morning and no one else had asked ....I told her she could have got that outfit down the fancy dress shop, was she impressed ? Ummm NO!

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As someone said in another thread their inspector wasn't too happy when they did contact to check because of the time it took.

We did have a new community police officer turn up one lunchtime to introduce herself, I asked for her id and was indignantly told that she'd been visiting schools and nurseries in the area all morning and no one else had asked ....I told her she could have got that outfit down the fancy dress shop, was she impressed ? Ummm NO!

Y

 

Well she jolly well should have been!!!

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Hello!!

 

Not that much to be honest as it will probably the the DHT who would be expected to talk to Ofsted about standards etc as EYFS lead. However, they will be triangulating more by looking at books and so the children's work, folders etc really do need to demonstrate the progress children are making. Having examples of the standards children reached this year could be helpful.

You also need to be clear about what your data is saying about your children and the groups so you can demonstarte how precise your teaching is linked to assessments.

 

 

I would have the following (off the top of my head) in my file/available:

 

  • The EYFSP outcomes and analysis for the past 3 years.
  • Baseline data for the same cohorts (from nursery through to end of YrR if you have nursery classes) for the same cohorts
  • The analysis of both sets of data!! Have you closed any gaps?? Trends over time - are they improving?
  • My development plan/s based on my analysis of EYFS effectiveness and the impact evaluation of it - can you talk confidently about what you have been doing AND what difference it has made to learning over time
  • My tracking - analysis of the current cohort from on entry. What different groups are achieving on entry, what interventions are in place - what difference are they making? What is your analysis of their progress?
  • Can you clearly and succinctly demonstrate the tracking system and how it supports precision teaching.
  • My monitoring log - observations, scrutinies etc. What does this say re quality of teaching and learning? How would you judge the quality of teaching and learning over time??
  • SMSC: what things have you done in EYFS that would demonstrate children's social, moral, spiritual and cultural experience in the school - trips, awe and wonder stuff...
  • Effectiveness of transition work: how do you support children to ensure that learning time is not lost when they move to school/change classes. Links with feeder settings etc. Have a good read of "Are they ready" the Ofsted recent study on transition to get an idea of what is seen as best practice.
  • How do you ensure assessments are accurate and reliable and you have robust data - evidence of internal moderation, external moderation with others, LA moderation etc etc.
  • Any specific EYFS policy docs but not if they are whole school ones. Most policy docs in school will cover the EYFS anyway and you don't need separate ones.
  • Any specific impact where Pupil Premium money has been used for EYFS (currently Reception) aged children and it is making a difference
There may be other things I think of!!

PM me if you need to ask anything

Cxx

Good golly, miss polly. I just don't think I can manage all that. I know I'm a good teacher and I lead a good team, but all those things put like that really unsettles me. Boo hoo. So I guess I just have to try to .
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When mine turned up I checked her ID, asked her to sign in and told her about our evacuation procedure and that we weren't expecting a drill that day so if she heard the whistle she was to assume it was the real thing...... I am in a single room village hall and it would have been me blowing the whislte!!!

I also have a folder with most of those bits in (need to update it) and she was quite impressed with it.

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I checked the Inspectors ID, she didn't have her Ofsted passport number so I phoned to check, she was fuming and reminded me throughout the day that I had really held her up (also showed her up as she was being quality assured on the inspection) .. we got inadequate...

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  • 1 month later...

Been 'done' this week!

 

They watched phonics in Nursery but not reception and focused on the areas identified in the previous report, especially outdoor provision, as well as looking at baselines and assessments etc.

..........and breathe........ :1b

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MadMum we were "Done" last week too! A bit stressful with a class of new nursery children in their second week of school but I am so glad it is out the way!

Because we were so early on and still baselining there were some things I wanted them to see that were less apparent than if they had come later so I grabbed the inspector before school started on day 2 and asked for 5 minutes to talk her through how we approach Next Steps planning once the initial assessments have been done. Also got in a bit about improving home learning environments and working with parents.

When she gave me my feedback (on day 2 for an obs on day 1) she referred to some of the things I had shown her and I was mightly glad I took a deep breath and went to find her that morning!

Will be interested to see the final report. Our EYFS lead is new tot he job AND new to early years so I did feel a little sorry for her with Ofsted two weeks in. As per all the lists above she was expected to talk about data and progress in depth.

Mel

x

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