Gezabel

OH and one more thing!! I was asked how my mental health was supported by my employer both generally and especially in relation to COVID.

Thankyou ! Here i am back again with a few more bits of info. Apologies in advance if i repeat myself. Going back to COVID she wanted to know how we adapted provision (initially when we reopened after lockdown and how /if we have adapted provision as the Government recommendations have changed. We have an 'annexe' to our Safegaurding Policy solely related to COVID, This details how we implement the 'systems of control'. At the top of the first page in bold /red font it states 'This document is subject to change and was last updated on (date). I had updated it after the latest changes on restrictions in July. The Learning Walk is something fairly new to me and this was only my second one! My first was with our Early Years Advisor and i am so glad i had that opportunity as i was able to 'improve' on my first one!. The whole purpose of this walk was not to explain/show what we do but more WHY we do it. I did one joint observation with the inspector which was a delightful and very messy activity a colleague did with a small group of children, I was asked to make notes and not talk to the inspector during this observation. She decided when she had seen enough and we moved to a quiet area to compare notes. I was pretty pleased that we had made notes on exactly the same things e.g lots of open ended questions, good support of children at different ages/stage of development, standing back a little when appropriate, clearly showed they knew what the intent was and it was well implemented. She also observed snack time - not a 'set snack' and not a rolling snack either ! we have a snack bar which is open for about half an hour and it is within that window of opportunity for the children to decided if they would like snack. I was asked why we had chosen to do it like this - the answer i gave was to give the children ownership of their needs, for them to decide if they felt hungry /thirsty and provision of snack this way did not interrupt their learning/play. Whilst mentioning food it is ESSENTIAL that any members of staff handling food have received training in food hygiene/handling. It is stated clearly in the EYFS but i have only done this recently - to my shame i thought cutting up fruit and making toast didn't kind of qualify for training. However, when chatting to the inspector after feedback i was a little shocked to learn that had we not had the relevant certificate the outcome would have been VERY different! So a little word of warning - if you dont have food training certificates i recommend doing it pretty pronto! I was asked about key children and if we ever change a child's key person ( yes we do sometimes if the child clearly develops a bond with someone else) She spoke to a few children and the little treasure didn't disappoint!!!. I really liked the fact that all staff were able to attend the feedback if we wanted that. It was great for them to hear if from the horse's mouth so to speak. I think the main advice i can give is to not 'Stress' - easier said than done I know. I would not try to start remembering specific things - believe in yourself, know that you 'know your stuff' and go with the flow. Oh! just remembered she did ask how we provide children with challenges to extend their learning. She witnessed some spontaneous examples of this during the day and was happy. Finally i sincerely wish that you all have the kind of inspection i was so lucky to experience

My brain is a bit frazzled so this response is in no particular order! More just things she was especially keen to see/discuss. The new inspection handbook is a must. All staff need to be aware of OFSTED's privacy notice. Privacy notice 4. During an inspection, inspectors will collect information about staff and children at the setting by looking at records and observing the everyday life of the setting. We use this information to prepare our report and for the purposes set out in our privacy policy. The inspector spoke about this in quite a bit of detail - in the handbook there is a link to there privacy policy and it's worth a click! I was able to tell her I knew who OFSTED might share personal information with and why.(only because i had read their policy) There was very little interest in paperwork/laearning journeys/written planning. The documentation she did ask to see was: staff qualifications, first aid certs (checked they said 12 hours), Safeguarding Policy. List of children including names, date of birth, level of funding, SEND, EAL, EYPP - luckily we have that in one document with a coding system which was great. She wanted to see evidence of how we conduct staff interviews, what we do when staff leave (we have an exit interview) the induction process for new staff, staff supervisions/appraisals (we do termly supervision and annual appraisal and she was happy with that), written references for staff, DBS (just the numbers recorded) She spent quite a bit of time asking about how we 'monitor' DBS - took me a bit by surprise but all i could say was that on every supervision/appraisal staff sign a statement at the top of their form saying that no circumstances have changed in regard to their suitability to work with children. She accepted that. The hot topics that came up several times during the day were: COVID, the three I's, Cultural Capital, British Values, Partnerships with parents. More specifically in relation to COVID she wanted to know and see evidence of how we supported our children during lockdown. When we re-opened how did we assess any gaps in children's learning, did any children show any sort of regression in their learning, how did we support children coming back after lockdown. time and time again she talked about the 'intent' behind whatever she was seeing at the time. then of course that led on to the implementation and impact. She discussed this with all staff. She spoke to all staff and asked them all the same quesions (Obvisouly we found that out after she had gone!) thankfully they all said the same (right!) answers - phew :-) the biggest thing for me was the Learning Walk but i was sooo lucky with the inspector she really was lovely. Oops so sorry just realised the time I have an appointment at 10 this morning and still in my jim jams!!. I have a big family do tonight but i will pop back i promise - lots more to tell you!

I think i must have had your inspector today. Oh my goodness me what a fantastic inspector i had the pleasure of meeting. I was with her from 8:45 -5:15 and it was an awesome day. We have been waiting for the phone call for a while and it finally came yesterday. I didn't know the inspection cycle had changed - apparently our next inspection will be in 6 years time!

Not so much a 'funny things children say' but more of a 'how do i answer this one!" My little granddaughter told me: "Alexa is very clever she listens but hasn't got any ears and she talks but she hasn't even got a mouth. How does she do that?" Answers on a postcard......

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Oh I agree a million, zillion per cent. We recently had our first family meal (outdoor restaurant) since Christmas 2019 it was just awesome to have us all together. ! I am thrilled i can see my sons/other halves and grandchildren. I have no desire to go on holiday anywhere !

MM! Good question. I think my tips would be to stay calm, be 'hot' on COELs, the three Is, Cutural capital and above all else know your children inside out! I did a fairly quick 'layout' walk but we are in a community building and it didn't take long. I then chatted about the structure of our day , what happens at arrival, snack, lunch, hometime. The real 'meaty stuff' was explaining what we do and why we do it. We have a small exploration station and she loved the way i described why we have it, what the children learn from it. It was pretty much the same in other areas construction, home corner, book area etc. Interestingly she was VERY keen for me to describe/explain why we have the displays we have on the walls. I recently changed the way we display the children's individual and group art things. I had read an article about how an outsider only sees the end product and that product on display tells them nothing about how the product was arrived at. We have a paramedic on display the children made. It is accompanied by their verbatim quotes and also by photographs of them in action creating it. The paramedic has long, pink curly hair - totally the children's collaborative choices. The photographs show how they made it curly etc We also have a big display called workers in progress - this has no text at all just photographs of busy children in action - mostly small/larger groups although a few individual ones too - that was received very well. It's a real talking point for the children, between themselves and with an adult. They are literally reflecting on their learning:-) I was asked about the learning intention for a couple of activities and though there were a few children doing the same activity the learning intention was not the same for all of them - that was a plus point. I included how we ensure British values are embedded in every day practice. Explained about our new (and still in progress!) outdoor learning area. Think that's about it and hope it helps. If i think of anything else i will pop back!

Thank you so much for this Jules. I did my learning walk yesterday. I was pretty chuffed when i was told that it was 'fantastic' !

I wonder if anyone has done a 'Learning Walk'? I have read several articles on this subject and they vary considerably. We have an Area EY advisor who is due to visit us for the purpose offing taken on one of these walks. Any input would be gratefully received but especially if you have done one and received feedback (good, bad or indifferent!)

Congratulations - enjoy your well earned retirement x I'm thinking about it !!!!

That explanation of time passing is spot on!! My son had his dream wedding planned for July 2020 and was able to re-schedule everything for July 2021. Never in a million years did we think there would be any doubt about a big wedding in July this year. Irrespective of the 'route out of lockdown' we just can't see 150-200 people being allowed to gather at a wedding. Sadly they have now cancelled the big day and the wedding will go ahead with 30 guests :-( They can't afford to wait another year as there are a few very elderly (and very special) people who they desperately want to attend. All a bit sad but hey ho I really shouldn't moan, i have much to be grateful for.

Thank you so much. ON the frequently asked questions i found this: What record keeping does the school or nursery need to do? Schools/nurseries should keep a test kit log, where they record which individual has taken which kits home. This is required in the unlikely event of an incident requiring investigation or batch recall. This log will also help record that staff have received the new instructions for use. This should be separate from the results register for data protection reasons. A template is provided on the document sharing platform here. Schools/nurseries should also keep a record of staff tests results. This will help with contact tracing, since schools/nurseries cannot view staff results otherwise. A template record is provided on the document sharing platform here. When i click on the 'here' i get the test kit log OK but when i click on the second 'here' for staff test results I also get the test kit log!!

Nope nothing from DFE but will have a google. The Early years alliance one was quite helpful and yes i agree that staff themselves log the result direct on NHS site, If they just tell us the results for our own records i just think it might need 'evidence' or am I overthinking this. Of course staff should be trusted to do the tests and be honest but without evidence of a negative result (or otherwise!) no one knows the tests are actually being done?

Ours arrived on Thursday too but i have not had an email except from the Early Years Alliance. I have used the two templates they provided - one a log to record details about the tests issued and a letter for staff on how information will be stored etc. Do you mind me asking who sent you the email with info on procedures. I know that we have to record our results on line but i think we are going to come up with a log for test results to have in the setting. This might sound a very silly question but... one of the headings in the log of test kits is ' Name of issuer' - wondering quite who to put here!!!! NHS seems a bit too obvious (even though it is on the test kit box) the manufacturer is named on the box but it was sent from someone else. I always thought the 'issuer' is the person who sends it and this is just an address with no name!

Sorry for the delay!! It was a follow up after our notification of a positive COVID case and resulting closure - phew!! The concern over the phone numbers was also sorted. The number we were asked to call (google has it as a number in India) is a genuine number and is the personal mobile of a chap who works for OFSTED. They are looking in to the fact that it comes up as being a million miles away!