Preparing yourself for an Ofsted inspection
Many people start to panic when they hear Ofsted are on their way. As Ofsted now make the call to settings, this can either panic people more or can help managers get prepared. They are many opinions as to whether settings should be notified as Ofsted should be able to turn up at any time and see the same quality of care. There are many ways you can help prepare the team, here are a few suggestions.
- Carrying out a learning walk with the team. During a practitioner workshop take the team on a walk around the setting with a list of questions to answer. Ask the team to look at the environment, the displays and resources available. By carrying out this learning walk it will create a discussion amongst one another as to whether they feel that the environment is stimulating and inviting or whether they feel the resources are lacking in a particular area. This walk can also highlight the positives that can be used to discuss during the inspection with the inspector. A learning walk is an effective self-evaluation tool. Some setting make their own learning walk prompt questions; this consists of pointers such as does the book area look inviting, are the displays at children’s height, are there sufficient amount of mark making tools, etc. Managers can tailor these questions.
- Sharing the grade descriptors with the team. An effective way for the team to be fully aware of what the setting needs to be demonstrating is by sharing the Ofsted grade descriptors with them. Why not during a practitioner workshop cut up the points in each grade descriptor. Then group the practitioners into small groups and ask them to go through the points making the decision whether they feel they are demonstrating this or whether they feel this is an area they need to work on. This exercise will help familiarise the team with what is expected of the setting to achieve the top grade ‘ Outstanding’.It may be worth just discussing the good and outstanding grade descriptors instead of all of them this decision can be made by the manager. At the end of the meeting group back together and take the points raised to create an action plan of what next to look at.
- Manager or deputy to carry out a mock inspection. There is no harm in carrying out regular mock inspections. These can help both managers and the team develop confidence in their abilities and hopefully make the actual inspection day a little less stressful.
- Ensure all documentation is up to date. As Ofsted will expect to see certain documents, make sure these are all up to date. The documents can range from policies to staff training records, recruitment process documents to children’s learning and development documents.
With the introduction of the new inspection framework, it has made it harder for settings to achieve the outstanding grade. Ofsted has to ensure settings are meeting all grade descriptors in all grade bands to be awarded the outstanding grade. Here are a few points that Ofsted have recently been looking closely at during inspections
- More emphasising on school readiness
- Smooth transitions from either room to room or into school.
- How settings record children’s voices
- Impact of activities planned both indoors and outdoors
- Fluidity of indoors and outdoors
- Tracking of children’s development showing children’s levels of progression and their starting points
- How the outdoors incorporates the seven areas of learning
- If staff are fully aware of what is set up and how the activities have an impact on the children’s learning.
- Being able to discuss how the EYPP funding has been used and how this has had an impact on the child. At present, there is no requirement to have this documented. However, many settings are documenting evidence to show where the money has been spent and how the resource have had an impact on the child’s learning and development.
- Staff supervisions
- Observations to show how management are monitoring and assessing the quality of care.
- How the British values are embedded into practice
- If staff are fully aware of their role and responsibilities in identifying children being drawn into radicalisation
When preparing for an Ofsted inspection spend the time to collating all the achievements you have achieved and don’t forget to share these with the inspection. Be confident during an inspection, lead the inspector round the setting showing them why the setting should be graded outstanding.