becsltd Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I am currently being trained up to take over a private day nursery school as the manager. We received a phone call today from Ofsted asking to come in and interview me to ensure that I am a suitable person to become a manager!! He did not leave any information with our secretary as to what he would be asking. I was wondering if any of you have recently had this interview and what kind of things will they be asking. I really feel that I need to be prepared for every eventuality. Looking forward to hearing from as many of you as possible!! Many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiles Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Had my suitable persons interview a while back. But remember being asked about the National Standards which related to my setting. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becsltd Posted March 8, 2006 Author Share Posted March 8, 2006 Thanks for replying so quickly smiles! - Can you remember how the interviewer asked the questions about the standards?? Any examples of questions?? Do you remember how long the interview lasted??? Sorry to bombard you with questions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I've not had experience of recent Ofsted involvement regarding suitable person. However, I believe it is due to the new procedures re: CRB checks, so you will need a current one. Previously it was Ofsteds' responsibility to check ALL staffs' suitability through the DC2 & CRB forms which the employer would send to Ofsted. Ofsted now only check suitability of the Registered person and the manager ( person if other than the registered person who has day to day responsibility in the setting). They will also want to see that you are suitably qualified and experienced. It is now the registered persons/managers responsibility to check all other staff. They may ask you what procedures you have in place to check current staff , and procedures for checking new staff, such as; CRB Checks ( or re-checks, how often) References Health check Legal right to work in this country ( sorry but I can't remember the actual legislation, something to do with checking staff are not illegal immigrants or working without a work permit if from overseas) They may ask about recruitment and Induction procedures but I'm not sure whether this would be left for a normal Inspection. "Suitable person" is is described in the guidance for Standard 2 of the National Standards. I would say brush up your knowledge on the Standards and the 5 outcomes from Every Child Matters. Good luck with your new job. Let us know how the interview goes with Ofsted. Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Most definitely 'Every Child Matters'!!!! If nothing else - although, obviously, all that has been mentioned , as well. Sorry, not really wishing to scare you!!!!! Go with the flow - if you are up and running, you'll be fine Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I had a fit persons interview in January, It lasted two and a half hours, and was fairly informal but then it was with our inspector who has inspected us for years! I was lucky that I spoke to my EYCDP manager and she sent a member of her team to go through the interview with me, it is a set booklet that you work through, and basically you answer questions and the inspector puts your answers onto the computer, the questions are all on the standards and the new outcomes, most of it is based on your everyday work and lot is just common sense. I would advise that you ring your early years team and tell them that you are having the interview and hopefully they will visit you to advise you. I still haven't had any feedback from the interview or about all the medical forms I had to fill in. I hope it goes well for you Milly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Whoops meant EYDCP! Forgot to say the inspector will want to see Birth certificate, marriage certificate, all of your certificates for any qualifications, passport. She will record all of the serial numbers from them. Milly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Whoops meant EYDCP! Forgot to say the inspector will want to see Birth certificate, marriage certificate, all of your certificates for any qualifications, passport. She will record all of the serial numbers from them. Milly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiles Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I think Milly has covered all the areas, I had my interview three years ago when I took over as Supervisor of my setting - my chair has now been told that she will have to have one as well. I have to say the inspector was very helpful with the question - came to my house so was nice and relaxed and when I did not answer straight away she gave me prompt to help me answer. Good Luck Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debs1 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Hi there I recently had my suitable persons interview/registration where i had to produce my folder on the national standards, which showed how we would ensure we met each one (These were compared with the policies to see if coincided with one another). In particular, they were extremely keen on the staffing and recruitment! Just make sure that you have a policy that is updated on staffing and recruitment, which states that you advertise in various locations, that it mentions about CRB clearances/references and medical reports. Also that applications will be decided on through a marking system as well as the interviewing for equal opps. Pre-school learning alliance is great for sample forms: i.e. medical report requests, invitation to interview, application forms etc. The application form is good as you get all of the necessary information needed such as work history etc. One of the questions i was asked was if there was a child protection issue which involved a member of staff/manager, what would you do. I had to produce a short policy stating that the person involved, or who an allegation was against, would have to be removed. So if was against yourself, whether true or not, your deputy would have to escort you off the premises. Can send if you like. Make sure you also know about the complaints procedure and how you would follow it through. Ofsted website has a procedure you can download. I was also asked about my health - what i did to keep healthy, whether i drank, how much i drank and did i know the recommended units of alcohol! (14 units for women and 21 for men). Bet the'll be a few white lies about the units with a lot of people!!! Hope all goes well, you'll be fine, just be confident in yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 sorry for sounding really thick, but i have never come across a "suitable person" interview from ofsted. it interests me as im leaving my setting and the person taking over (unexperienced) i feel is not suitable. im the leader with overall day to day running of the group. how do you go about having these interviews? is it when you contact ofsted about the new leader, do they take it from there? what else should the new staff have to go through to, i remember years ago having to have a health check. what other requirements are their for this staff to undergo im committee run, so im sure they dont know either. any more info from anyone would be a great help thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 (edited) Wow. Looking at that little lot, I'm kind of glad the pre-school is closing before I have to endure that! Good luck though! I'm sure it'll be fine Edited May 17, 2006 by Clare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 27, 2006 Share Posted May 27, 2006 I've got mine this Thursday. The paperwork/policies of the group are non-existent, but have an action plan for what I'm going to do about it all, so they can't ask much more than that - I hope!! Shelley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 Had my interview today. The OfSTED lady was really nice. She asked me to walk her round the nursery so she could have a quick look, and so that I could talk her through the rooms. This worried me a bit as we were 2 staff down and 2 rooms were in together. She was happy with this as a contingency plan. She then went through every standard and asked how we met them, or how I intended us to meet them. I answered honestly and also told her that some of the things needed developing, and my ideas with regards to these. She liked the fact that I had thought about ways forward. It took an hour and 20 minutes, and she even let me pick her brains on a few things!! Shelley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 2, 2006 Share Posted June 2, 2006 Glad it all went well Shelley, It does seem, through recent posts and many favourable Inspection results, that Ofted Inspectors are actually valuing the hard work we do and have become much more friendly in their approach. Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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