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Original poster

Am I obsessed by ofsted

34 replies

thebody · 19/02/2009 20:56

My dh thinks I am. I do daily diaries for all my mindees and put the little stickers by each papagraph to illustrate each area of learning, one copy for ofsted and one for the parents,
I have policies for every eventuality bar nuclear attack, and am expecting that to be the next edict.
i take more photos than a paparazzi chasing posh spice, i do fire drills with bemused 2 year olds in toe and carry out risk assessments in my own home....
I recently sent out self evaluation forms to my parents who one and all thought that was hilarious..
I earn 3 pounds an hour,wow,I have a training course booked in my precious spare time on food hygine... i am a qualified nurse and mum of 3 but still need telling how to bloody seperate cooked and unncooked meat....
my dh tells me to stuff ofsted and remember who actually pays me, he just says to aim for a satisfactory grade but I want outstanding... is it just me or are there any other cms out there who are similaly stressed.

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Numberfour · 20/02/2009 07:31

mrspnut, it is great to hear a parent's point of view. thanks for that! i must add that none of my parents have read my report either.

mrspnut · 20/02/2009 07:27

I'm a parent who has used 5 different childminders over the years (4 for my oldest child and 1 for my youngest) and I can honestly say that I have never even looked at the Ofsted grade that they have.

My current childminder is not so hot on paperwork but is fantastic with the children and my daughter adores going to her.

If she only got a satisfactory then so be it, it's the standard of her care that matters not whether she can jump through Ofsted's hoops.

Numberfour · 20/02/2009 07:21

i am the same about ofsted. plus i am doing EYPS and applying to become accredited.

my house looks like an explosion in a papermill / toy shop.

i agree: satisfactory is all that we need. after all it shows that we are meeting the standards.

but i would love to get outstanding how is that!!!

oh, and another thing, when i used to be in the legal property field, i NEVER did as much training as i do now.

Shoshe · 20/02/2009 07:18

The body, i live on a Army Camp, i am a Soldiers wife, and all my parents are Soldiers.

I had to do a policy on.................. National Emergency!

Just in case all the parents were called out to it and I had to keep all the children with me!

So the nuclear attack one is not far off

Enthusia · 20/02/2009 07:13

I am a new childminder and this week has been a blur of paperwork and running around like a blue arse fly. I have just written a routine for toilet use and handwashing so that it doesn't seem 'chaotic' to an inspector, and i seem to think about everything as if an inspector were watching, it has made this week really stressful, like they have actually been here with me. Am going to have to calm down or I will fall down.

vInTaGeVioLeT · 19/02/2009 22:55

i am a crappy c/m and don't bother with any of that crap i got satisfactory and that's fine by me.
i look after the mindees well, they have fun and go home happy and tired - job done.

having said all that i have started trying to do EYFS stuff but really haven't the foggiest what i'm s'possed to do so far i have a display folder per child and have printed two photo's of mindee on and filled the rest of a4 sheet with what they were doing and why - looked at EYFS folder got flustered and gave up!

MaureenMLove · 19/02/2009 22:29

I've stopped CMing now, partly because of the hoops Ofsted wanted me to jump through, but I was a terrible CM on paper! I refused to do daily diaries, I refused to do a risk assessment on my house and refused to do lots of other things. I was, however, full for 10 years and each one of those mindees came from word of mouth! I was only ever a satisfactory cm, but I was a very happy one, with very happy mindees and parents. They thought I was outstanding and frankly, that's all that mattered to me!

Original poster
thebody · 19/02/2009 22:23

thank you thank you, i was beginning to think it was just me.
why is this happening to normal
well adjusted women... like you I seem to spend so much time on paper work for, again.,.. 3 pound an hour!!!!
. I did less as a district nurse and my sister is a deputy head of a huge school in kent, sure she does lots of paperwork but earns squids more than me...
I do feel so resentful that i spend so much time and effot on other peoples children and less on my own!!!
My dh says that during an inspection i should be ballsy and demand at least a good grade if not outstanding,his veiw is that they are groping in the dark with EYFS as much as we are and if they are met by a ballsy cm who seems confident in herself then they wouldnt dare give any grade other than outstanding.... also offer rocky road cake....

OP posts:
nomoreamover · 19/02/2009 21:04

ME TOO!!!!

DH tells me to forget outstanding and aim for satisfactory - I tell him that'll affect business - but the mums laugh their heads off at my latest paperwok piles. Not to mention some parents visibly nodding off half way through our "paper signing meeting" - I can't remember the last time I spent an entire evening or weekend with my own children without some ofsted spectre looming over me that I just have to complete.....tonight it was I had realised I hadn't done a written risk assessment for the downstairs toilet......oh the drama....

I am shattered and stressed to the max - but what other choice do we have? Announce to the world actually we are quite crap at our job? Or keep jumping through higher and higher hoops?................

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