What are OFSTED looking for with regards to your house during inspection?

[moomin35]

Hi, exactly as the title says really. I think I have a lovely clean home but what would an OFSTED inspector be looking for? Or parents looking to use you as a childminder? Any advice appreciated :-)

Safety (knives, plastic bags, wires, etc).

How you plan to use each room (sleeping, dining, craft, free play).

Heat and light (open fires, dark sleeping rooms, light reading rooms).

These are just ideas and not rules. I have one dark sleep room and one light one. One is noisier than the other, because it's next to the play room. The children used to eat at my big dining table on boosters, but now they have their own small table and chairs.

Just go round your house and think how you'd use each room. If you want a room to be excluded from registration (because it has your iron, etc in), then maybe put a bolt on the door.

I have just had my inspection. To be honest the actual house made up a very small part of the visit. We walked around together and she asked me to point out area I had highlighted as a risk, things like the wires behind the tv being accessible, the need for safety glass in some internal doors, ornaments within reach of children etc.

You will also need to show any sharp object are in one kitchen drawer that can be child proofed, knives out of reach, cleaning products safely stored etc.

She also looked upstairs even though I do not intend to have minded children up there - glad I cleaned there too!

She advised me she didnt expect everything to be perfect but i had to show i was able to asess the risk and make neccessary amendments.

The longest part was the discussion around EYFS and making sure I could deliver the required learning and planning.

Thanks Modan, what did she ask in relation to EYFS? Where is the best place for me to read up on EYFS, I'm new to all this and no nothing!

know not no! :-)

I don't know if it's different in different areas but the inspection is the final bit of registration so it was really going over the stuff I had learnt on the course. I'm presuming you haven't done the local authority course yet?

The discussion was around the learning and development part, giving examples of how I would expect children to learn at certain ages, learning through play etc. and reviewing my safeguarding and welfare policy, however if you haven't done the course not sure how you could be expected to know that so maybe it will be just about the risk assessment of the house.

I'm not on my laptop right now but can post the links to the eyfs stuff later if that helps

Here you go. Hope they help

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/237249/Early_Years_Outcomes.pdf

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/271631/eyfs_statutory_framework_march_2012.pdf

Good luck with it