You and the children
It is important to prepare children for inspection and to follow daily routines in which they are secure so they are not upset when an Ofsted inspector arrives…
· Teach the children about surprises - a lot of childminders use a visual timetable and have a ‘surprise’ card. It can be a little surprise such as a new toy to find on the shelves or a big surprise such as a visitor - and it helps prepare children for the arrival of the inspector.
· Set out your play area so it is ready to welcome children in the morning. Make sure that each child has immediate access to something they enjoy playing with when they first arrive. This will show Ofsted that you know each of your children well and that you are organised.
· Keep children in a good routine - welcome, find their photo for self-registration, play for a little while, have breakfast, change the date on the calendar, talk about the weather, chat together about what you are doing for the day etc. Even little ones can join in or potter close by so they get used to routine and contribute to the group as soon as they are able. If children are in a good routine they will respond better to an inspector in the house because they will know, despite your visitor, what is happening and what is coming next.
· Play with the children, on the floor and joining in their games, every day. It is really important that you do not make changes to the way you play and interact with them when the inspector is watching you - because children pick up on this and will react differently. So, spend part of every day engaged in adult led and child initiated activities with them - singing or reading sessions, playing their games, pretending to be the customer in their shop etc. Use these interactions as an opportunity to extend their language and thinking... do this purposefully now and it will come naturally during your inspection.
· Unless the weather is absolutely dreadful, make sure you take the children out at least once during the inspection. If possible, keep the door open and have coats, hats, shoes or wellies etc by the door so your inspector can see that you encourage daily outside play.
· Involve children in fire practices, risk assessments, making decisions and choices etc so they are confident and self-assured when the inspector is watching them. Inspectors will very often ask children about your routines and it will help you if they can talk about washing the germs away, standing in the garden when the fire bell rings etc.
· Your next steps / individual planning is much more important than group planning for the little ones so make sure that is your focus. Know your children and what they enjoy doing so you can plan for what they might learn best from next. Older children need more structure, but for the little ones it is individual planning that Ofsted will want to observe.
Evidence of working with parents
It can be tricky – we all have hard to reach parents who are too busy to engage. However, we need to make sure parents are aware of the teaching element to our jobs and work closely with them comply with the EYFS. The following tips might help you to engage parents…
· Talk to them about their child's learning and development progress regularly;
· Note their comments about their child's home and family life and reflect them in planning;
· Share planning and other information so it is easily accessible;
· Remind parents where your documents are displayed;
· Have a parents page on your website - before your inspector comes to visit s/he will look to see if you have a website or blog for parents.
Preparing evidence of working with other settings
The EYFS is very focussed on partnerships with other settings / professionals. I know it can be very hard to engage some other settings but you must be able to confidently talk or show evidence of how you share information to support children’s learning. Here are some ideas for showing you work with other settings…
· Write to the child’s key person, introducing yourself when children first start;
· Give them a copy of the child’s next steps / individual planning;
· Share observations with the child’s key person;
· Use wall displays to find out what they are doing - and link to it in your planning;
· Give them a photo of the child at your house for the child’s file and ask for one of the child playing at their setting;
· Share your newsletter with them and ask for a copy of theirs so you can put it in the child’s file and use any activity ideas they share with parents to support the child’s learning.
Community involvement
A lot of childminders have a file showing children in the community - at the park, visiting the library, soft play etc. Children should be involved in regular outings and it can be useful to document them so that you have evidence of this.
I have a ‘what are we doing today?’ and ‘what have we seen today?’ notice board and I have taken photos of the local area - a horse going past the house, a cat on the wall, the ducks at the pond, a rainbow etc. I also cut photos out of the local paper. I change the photos regularly and talk about them with the children as we are getting ready to go out. Our Ofsted inspector liked this!
Preparing your files for inspection
If you are anything like me, you have quite a few files to show your inspector. The most important ones are...
· Evidence folder / portfolio - you should have a file in which you keep all your main evidence. Some childminders call it a ‘portfolio’. It will contain the most important information about your business such as copies of your ICO registration certificate, PLI and car insurance documents, menus etc. Spend a little time sorting your evidence file so it is in a sensible order as that will help you to find things when they are requested.
Some childminders have a print out of the EYFS and Childcare Register and note where all their evidence is stored for each requirement. This sort of advance planning can make your inspection much easier and less stressful.
· Safeguarding folder - where possible, try to engage with a Local Authority approved safeguarding course.
Safeguarding is a huge part of your inspection and it is very important that you can show how you keep children safe and share information about safeguarding with their families. You also need to know the different types of abuse off the top of your head - and so does your assistant / co childminder.
· Personal development - it is really important to share information about your professional development with your inspector. You do not need to record this information if you can confidently talk about it during inspection. Think about the IMPACT of training on outcomes for children.
· Policies and procedures - there are 2 statutory policies and procedures which must be in writing and given to parents = safeguarding and complaints.
· Risk assessments - you do not need risk assessments in writing but you will need to ensure your setting is safe.
If you want to be confident during your inspection NOW is the time to put your evidence together - and possibly to change and update your systems so they work well for you!
It is important to prepare children for inspection and to follow daily routines in which they are secure so they are not upset when an Ofsted inspector arrives…
· Teach the children about surprises - a lot of childminders use a visual timetable and have a ‘surprise’ card. It can be a little surprise such as a new toy to find on the shelves or a big surprise such as a visitor - and it helps prepare children for the arrival of the inspector.
· Set out your play area so it is ready to welcome children in the morning. Make sure that each child has immediate access to something they enjoy playing with when they first arrive. This will show Ofsted that you know each of your children well and that you are organised.
· Keep children in a good routine - welcome, find their photo for self-registration, play for a little while, have breakfast, change the date on the calendar, talk about the weather, chat together about what you are doing for the day etc. Even little ones can join in or potter close by so they get used to routine and contribute to the group as soon as they are able. If children are in a good routine they will respond better to an inspector in the house because they will know, despite your visitor, what is happening and what is coming next.
· Play with the children, on the floor and joining in their games, every day. It is really important that you do not make changes to the way you play and interact with them when the inspector is watching you - because children pick up on this and will react differently. So, spend part of every day engaged in adult led and child initiated activities with them - singing or reading sessions, playing their games, pretending to be the customer in their shop etc. Use these interactions as an opportunity to extend their language and thinking... do this purposefully now and it will come naturally during your inspection.
· Unless the weather is absolutely dreadful, make sure you take the children out at least once during the inspection. If possible, keep the door open and have coats, hats, shoes or wellies etc by the door so your inspector can see that you encourage daily outside play.
· Involve children in fire practices, risk assessments, making decisions and choices etc so they are confident and self-assured when the inspector is watching them. Inspectors will very often ask children about your routines and it will help you if they can talk about washing the germs away, standing in the garden when the fire bell rings etc.
· Your next steps / individual planning is much more important than group planning for the little ones so make sure that is your focus. Know your children and what they enjoy doing so you can plan for what they might learn best from next. Older children need more structure, but for the little ones it is individual planning that Ofsted will want to observe.
Evidence of working with parents
It can be tricky – we all have hard to reach parents who are too busy to engage. However, we need to make sure parents are aware of the teaching element to our jobs and work closely with them comply with the EYFS. The following tips might help you to engage parents…
· Talk to them about their child's learning and development progress regularly;
· Note their comments about their child's home and family life and reflect them in planning;
· Share planning and other information so it is easily accessible;
· Remind parents where your documents are displayed;
· Have a parents page on your website - before your inspector comes to visit s/he will look to see if you have a website or blog for parents.
Preparing evidence of working with other settings
The EYFS is very focussed on partnerships with other settings / professionals. I know it can be very hard to engage some other settings but you must be able to confidently talk or show evidence of how you share information to support children’s learning. Here are some ideas for showing you work with other settings…
· Write to the child’s key person, introducing yourself when children first start;
· Give them a copy of the child’s next steps / individual planning;
· Share observations with the child’s key person;
· Use wall displays to find out what they are doing - and link to it in your planning;
· Give them a photo of the child at your house for the child’s file and ask for one of the child playing at their setting;
· Share your newsletter with them and ask for a copy of theirs so you can put it in the child’s file and use any activity ideas they share with parents to support the child’s learning.
Community involvement
A lot of childminders have a file showing children in the community - at the park, visiting the library, soft play etc. Children should be involved in regular outings and it can be useful to document them so that you have evidence of this.
I have a ‘what are we doing today?’ and ‘what have we seen today?’ notice board and I have taken photos of the local area - a horse going past the house, a cat on the wall, the ducks at the pond, a rainbow etc. I also cut photos out of the local paper. I change the photos regularly and talk about them with the children as we are getting ready to go out. Our Ofsted inspector liked this!
Preparing your files for inspection
If you are anything like me, you have quite a few files to show your inspector. The most important ones are...
· Evidence folder / portfolio - you should have a file in which you keep all your main evidence. Some childminders call it a ‘portfolio’. It will contain the most important information about your business such as copies of your ICO registration certificate, PLI and car insurance documents, menus etc. Spend a little time sorting your evidence file so it is in a sensible order as that will help you to find things when they are requested.
Some childminders have a print out of the EYFS and Childcare Register and note where all their evidence is stored for each requirement. This sort of advance planning can make your inspection much easier and less stressful.
· Safeguarding folder - where possible, try to engage with a Local Authority approved safeguarding course.
Safeguarding is a huge part of your inspection and it is very important that you can show how you keep children safe and share information about safeguarding with their families. You also need to know the different types of abuse off the top of your head - and so does your assistant / co childminder.
· Personal development - it is really important to share information about your professional development with your inspector. You do not need to record this information if you can confidently talk about it during inspection. Think about the IMPACT of training on outcomes for children.
· Policies and procedures - there are 2 statutory policies and procedures which must be in writing and given to parents = safeguarding and complaints.
· Risk assessments - you do not need risk assessments in writing but you will need to ensure your setting is safe.
If you want to be confident during your inspection NOW is the time to put your evidence together - and possibly to change and update your systems so they work well for you!
