Social media is being used as the primary way to promote a weekend of debate around Ofsted’s change of stance regarding the Early Years Sector. Anyone involved in childcare is being urged to get involved during the weekend of the 13th and 14th of September, which has been designated the#OfstedBigConversation weekend.
Meetings will be hosted across England. Some will cater for larger groups and some may be three people sharing a pot of tea in their kitchen. The plan is to get everyone thinking, conversing and considering the key issues, with a view to producing an Early Years proposal for Ofsted.
This will identify the key issues and barriers to progress, what would help and how we can build an exemplary regulatory system together which is mutually respected and highly effective.
June O’Sullivan, (CEO of LEYF) has published a blog, detailing her 10 key issues, and is closely involved in forming the agenda with the others mentioned on the map below. You can read the blog here, or follow them on Twitter for the latest updates. (you’ll find them all followed by @TheParentaGroup)
Map showing the larger #ofstedbigconversation meetings
If you are a fan of Twitter, #EYTalking will be featuring Ofsted as the main agenda item on Tuesday 3rd September at 8pm. Simply search for #EYTalking to get involved.
In order to make this a success, it is crucial to engage as many industry voices as possible. The best way is to get online, tweet, post and blog about your Ofsted issues, or share them below and we will promote them for you. Don’t forget to tag everything with #OfstedBigConversation
Question: Has anyone thought of recording or filming their inspections? That way there is no grey area of debate, and as many are forced into making appeals, what do we have to lose by doing so?
Our setting was one of the first to be inspected under the new regime in September last year; we were given an Inadequate grading. This was due to the inspector not being happy with continuous provision, and a fail due to parents not being aware of who their key workers were. The Inspector spoke to two parents, having not arrived until after drop off at 8am!
Whilst we have to accept outcomes, however unfair, our huge complaint is that eleven months later we still have not had a re-inspection, we have had a badge pinned on us that makes it almost impossible to draw new children in; or to put it another way, they have dropped a bomb on us – and flown away leaving a huge mess behind.
The local authority and NDNA have both written to Ofsted with their concerns about how damaging this is to the setting, but to no avail. Unofficially, feedback from various sources indicates that although “Inadequate”, as it was a technical fail – and children were safe, parents happy etc – that “it isn’t a serious inadequate”, so is not a priority for re-inspection. The stress it has caused over the past eleven months has been intolerable.
I very much agree with Jackie. As a founder mmber of the local EYDCP I have known from the start that where there is funding available the local authority wants it to go to the maintained sector. They tolerate the voluntary sector bcause they do not as a rule compete by offering daycare. We had a two year-old whose parent had chosen us as their preferred provider. We put the paperwork in then received a call from the local authority to say that she wqs going elsewhere. All of the local primary schools now have a pre-school on site and one school nursery is closing. You can guess where the 2 year-olds are going to go. The government is now urging schools to make provision for 2 year-olds to meet the potential shortfall in places and also to offer extended care for older children. When the 3 year-olds start going to school the 1 & 2year-olds are all we will have left.
I am the EY Manager for a small group of private day nurseries. We have had 4 of our setting inspected since September 12, of which 3 were prompted out of malicious complaints, all of which were unfounded. Of the inspections I have had growing concerns relating the inspectors views of what constitutes the SG & W reqs in practice. Also I have had a lot of experience of inspectors saying one thing at inspection and another being recorded in the report. It feels as though the inspectors themselves are under so much pressure they would rather down grade nurseries to protect themselves. This is having a huge impact on staff moral, parent’s views and the commercial side of the industry.
Ofsted need to offer a consistent and fair regulation process, I know I talk for many of my peers, when I say people are increasingly not trusting Ofsted, and they is most definitely not the way forward for our industry.
OFSTED big conversation!
after a recent inspection/investigation in which we did appeal, the feedback from the inspector leading the investiagtion into the original findings, contradicted OFSTEDs own guidelines (April 2013) and included comments from the inspector who came to our nursery that were not included in the report. Discussions at the time of inspection were denined by the inspector, and after reading through other reports of local nurseries that had been inspected by the same inspector, a lot of the reports were obviously “cut and paste”.
i can understand that the quality of childcare needs to be raised, however i don’t think that OFSTEDs approach benefits anyone. A more supportive approach would be good and also investagating how a complaint has come about prior to an inspection should be essential. Our complaint was raised after we dismissed a member of staff for her behaviour. OFSTED never once asked what had happened, they just took her word as true and then down graded us.
the cost of childcare is always being slated by Government, but at the end of the day, if you want quality, then you need to pay for it. i’m sure those who have taken out loans to further their development within the sector, feel that their time and effort is worth more than NMW.
Discuss – schools being lined up to take our 2 year olds.
OUR ISSUES.. SCHOOLS BENEFIT FROM SOME VAT CLAWBACK,PRIVATE NURSERIES CANNOT. BUSINESS RATES ARE HIGH-BUT NOT FOR SCHOOL NURSERIES. ALL TAX CREDITS SHOULD BE PAID DIRECTLY TO THE PROVIDER-NOT THE PARENTS.