Ofsted registration visit - help!

[Leanna_Barrett]

Hi All,

 

I've been working for what feels like forever to try and get my dream nursery open. It's taking over a year of planning and a lot of money to get to where I am now. I just had a call that my Ofsted registration visit is going to be Monday!!! I am slightly terrified. Surely I've covered everything I need to cover and know everything I need to know but am really nervous as this is the moment my future gets decided.

Has anyone had a registration visit recently and can give me any hints and tips about things Ofsted focused on?

Any advice would be gratefully received. I HAVE to pass this registration visit.

[Beau]

Sorry, I haven't but good luck! Hope all goes well for you.

[Helen]

Hello Leanna,

How exciting!

I'm assuming you've got hold of all the relevant Ofsted documents to help you prepare for this?

Is your setting ready to open- no major work needed and everything ready to go on Tuesday if need be? :1b

Make sure you can talk about some activities and experiences you'll be offering your children, across the different age groups, and how you will assess their on-entry abilities and monitor their development.

Have plans in place for working closely with parents- sharing information regularly about their child's learning and development.

How will you recruit, induct and support your staff? What will you do if a member of staff is underperforming?

How will you seek help for children with additional needs and how will you ensure your children are safeguarded?

That's a start- I'm sure others will be along to add their ideas. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Leanna_Barrett]

Thanks Helen, I appreciate the feedback.

 

I have got all Ofsted docs ready to prepare me for what I am likely to need, but this is so utterly crucial for me that I guess I'm just nervous that I've overlooked something as this is my first time dealing with Ofsted!

I have got most things ready and could theoretically open on Tuesday, but have got a few items on order that haven't been delivered yet as they are being delivered late next week. Do you think this will be ok? I've printed out the purchase orders so I can prove I am on the case! I've been waiting for weeks and weeks for this registration visit and was always advised it would generally be 3 weeks from the call to the actually registration visit so am a bit thrown by the fact I've only got 5 days notice! It's great news really as it means we can open sooner but is just making me panic a little!

Our setting is a bit complicated as I am actually trying to open an outdoor nursery. To facilitate pickup and drop offs for parents I am having 2 hours every morning and afternoon in a scout hut we are leasing near a train station, then in the middle of the day we will be out in a forest site we have leased from the council. Can you envisage any issues with this type of setting that may mean we are asked for extra documents!? We have been asked to register the scout hut as our registered premises by Ofsted and mostly everything there is ready to go but our toilet tent for the outside space is still on order and our canvas tent is arriving end of next week.

I have written a policy for pretty much anything - poor Ofsted inspector will be faced with a huge lever arch file of paperwork!

Have I done enough? How difficult are these registration visits? You hear horror stories about the inspections - are the registration visits as bad?

[Helen]

Inspectors are human :1b

They want you to open a lovely, safe, exciting setting where children will thrive. Keep that in mind!

I have no experience of the type of setting you're describing so really couldn't suggest anything about the set-up; it does seem quite unusual! Exciting, and unusual

[Guest sn0wdr0p]

During my visit (some years ago I must admit) the inspector took a good look at my risk assessments. I found the inspector very helpful and informative. Every bit of my equipment hadn't arrived by the time of my visit and the same as you I had purchase orders and a list of everything for each area of provision and she was happy with that.

 

Good luck with the visit and your future as a nursery owner.

[Guest]

Good luck, Im sure it will be fine! Your new venture sounds really exciting.

At our recent inspection , one of the biggest items on the 'checklist' was safeguarding. Make sure all your staff sing off the same hymn sheet with regards to how you report/track any concerns. Mrs O asked all staff individually at ours the same questions ,

' who do you go to if you have concerns about a child?'

'who would you go to if safeguarding officer wasnt there?'

'what signs would alert you to abuse?'

she wanted to hear us give same information.

Obviously she wont probably be asking anyone else as its your registration visit but I think you should be prepared and at least you can say you 'make sure all staff are aware' etc

She loved our forest area so lets hope you get an Inspector who sees all the benefits of your venture and if there is any tweeking to be done its only minor!

[LKeyteach]

Good luck from me too. This sounds so exciting.

My registration visit was some time ago but I do remember questions surrounding safeguarding and how to deal with staffing issues, what I would do in the event of evacuation did I have a crisis management plan. Which is fairly standard risk assessment with the addition of having a place of safety to go to.

Keep posting, it will be great to hear from you how your setting develops.