ARGGHHHHH OFSTED!!!!!

[glinda]

Just visiting very briefly for sympathy and calming words. OFTED are coming next week and I am all of a jitter. Nothing needs covering up. I am doing a good job so why am I working all weekend and panicking? I cried when my head told me they were coming in and my daughter turned white when I told her. (She is old enough to remember last time.) There is something very wrong with a system that creates this level of stress.

[RupertTheBear]

Huge sympathy!! We had a vist just before Christams and the buildup was hell! It will be over soon.

[KatyMac]

Me too - when do you want her to come?

I am hoping for Thursday

[glinda]

I don't want them to come!!!!! They are coming Wednesday and Thursday No women on the team - 3 men.

[KatyMac]

I have a woman coming for 4 days into my house (I'm a childminder - so it's different but the terror is the same)

I am currently writing my SEF

[glinda]

Its bloody ridiculous. I am amazed that there are any childminders left the things you are expected to do. The wonderful lady who minded my children used to be incredibly creative in her work. My children lived in a land filled with music and nature and science at her house. She was truly gifted with young children but she no longer works as a childminder because of the crappy paperwork. Yet again the kids miss out.

[KatyMac]

I wouldn't disagree .......

[Picante]

3 men? Wear a short skirt and high heels.

[WobblyPig]

As an non-teacher , what is scary about hte ofsted? What do they do?

[KatyMac]

They 'Judge'

They make value judgements about you and how you work and about the care (& education) you provide for the children

You have no defence or justification - their decision is final and almost unchallengeable

[Katiestar]

But to be fair KatyMac everybody else in other professions is given lots of feedback about their performance.
Your 'customers' ie children and parents don't have any formal way to give feedback on your performance which is pretty unique in the world of work.

[cory]

Feedback is, I suppose, reasonable. I get feedback from my students, which in a sense is a lot scarier.

But some of the Ofsted feedback for childminders is a bit odd: our most conscientious CM got her wrists slapped about not providing IT for a 3-tear-old.

[bubblerock]

I must say, I love Ofsted at the moment They visited my boys Primary School in the week before Christmas - probably the worst time they could visit, tired over excited children!! They gave the School a thoroughly deserved Outstanding review!! It's a small inner town School in a deprived area but the teachers are wonderful and the kids love it - they are even in temporary accommodation at the moment as they are getting a new School so it's been a really tough couple of years for them.

Good luck with the visit glinda - I'm sure you'll be fine, honestly when the results come out (assuming they are good) you will be so chuffed, it really boosts staff morale, and if anything needs improvement then surely it's best to know for the staff & children's sake!

[Feenie]

I was being observed by the lead inspector once, when his mobile phone rang - and he answered it! We complained, but he never really got why I was so cross about it.

[PortAndLemon]

My mother's school once got a draft OFSTED that claimed their IT provision was sexist because in the lesson they'd observed there were twice as many boys as girls (have a guess at what the boy:girl ratio was in that particular year group, go on...)

Actually, the school did manage to get that changed, but only by threatening to sue...

[KatyMac]

I don't have a problem with feedback - I appreciate criticism (preferably constructive)

However I had an OFSTED inspector in on a Tuesday afternoon at 1pm - she proceeded to tell me how badly I was doing, how my observations fell far short of what was necessary, that I was failing & that OFSTED was not an advisory body & they would not tell me how to 'fix' it

Exactly 1 week later (same day & time)a different inspector came round - she told me what I was doing was amazing and she was taking info from my setting to share with childminders in her area as they needed support & direction.

How can I respect a body with such differing and opposite views, imo they judge - if your face fits you do OK, if they take a dislike you are stuffed

& I am scared of whether my face will 'fit' or not

My inspection was postponed for 6 weeks

[roisin]

Hope it goes well Glinda.