CHILDMINDERS & PARENTS - step this way.......opinions needed on OFSTED and their paperwork and inconsistancies!!

[bloodsuckingLOONEY]

A lot of us on here have moaned away about OFSTED and how they are getting worse and worse. Good childminders all over the country are quitting because they've had enough of the endless paperwork, training etc etc.

I want to get as many opinions as possible and send this thread to OFSTED as I feel very strongly about all this (yeah, yeah, probably hormones but still, felt like this before!)

So.....if you're a childminder....tell me what you think - I know a lot have said but please put on this thread.

Parents - what's more important to you....that we care for your little ones in a home environment, show them love and attention, play with them, take them out in the community etc etc or that we make sure you sign the attendance register, put posters all round the house, have 'wash your hands' signs in the toilet and 'no smoking' signs on all walls of the house, spend time writing endless observations as we go through the day etc etc.

I could have put it a lot better than that but I'm really tired, my eyes are getting blurred! I was going to wait until I was fresh tomorrow but I thought I'd strike whilst I feel so strongly!

ALSO....CHILDMINDERS.....what do you think of the INSPECTORS/INSPECTIONS? Fed up with them all saying different things and making you not know where on earth you stand? Fed up with some inspectors saying they'll never give out an 'Outstanding' grade just because that's them? Fed up with phoning up and being told one thing just to get into trouble for that info not being correct?

Give me all your thoughts as I really do want to send this to OFSTED but we need LOTS of you to come forward!!

Thanks, I'm off for my dinner now

[Marney]

OOPS LOOKSlike ive put people off talking about ofsted or maybe everyone is just having a good holiday. Sorry if ive been boring or too bitter ive had a good christmas.
A BIT ANNOYED they have still left my report on and given up expecting ANY ANSWER REGARDING whether im a suitable person .I dont get how they just do things when or if they want but we have to do things so right I SUPPOSE ITS JUST THEY EARN MORE and thats it.Not worried if they say im unsuitable i will be able to do unregistred
feeling quite positive honestly

[Marney]

It looks like the only way to get my ofsted report of the internet is to send a copy to a newspaper along with ofsteds reply to my complaint when they admited i hadnt broken any regulationireally hate ofsted so much now the idea of going unregistered is very attractive

[Marney]

Has everyone gone No deciscion yet as to my being a suitable person or not how dangerous is this .I MEAN ALL THE REALLY UNSUITABLES WHO MUST STILL be WORKING WHILE OFSTED MAKE DECISIONS If they can take so long do they expect me to accept its ok for me to still be working now but once i get the letter thats it from then id b e unsuitable.
REPORT STILL ON .ive been told the letter from the ncma solicitors should reach ofsted this week. butIf the report still stays after they have had the letter depending on the lettr arriving of course .my only option will be a newspaper i think

[franyfroo]

have decieded after horrendus xmas in bed to cut back on paper work. i am going to give my all to the children in my care. if ofsted dont like.............tough

[Marney]

Have found alternative insurance m,AND MICHEL THOUGHT YOU COULD ONLY INSURE with nc ma its not so expensive .Its also poss to get insurance as an unregistered childminder . REPORT STILL ON OF COURSE

[shoshe]

OFFS Marney we are not interested.

[SugarSpiceandAllThingsNice]

lol Shosh

[shoshe]

Well, I for one find it really difficult to even read her posts.

[Ineedaholiday]

what, is anyone actually reading them anymore, No offence Marney but if your goinng to get so worked up by ofsted then get a new job.

ok so you feel youve been done wrong by , but its not the end of the world. And before you say I dont know how it feels, last year one of my exmindees apparently said I had hit him, It was investigated by social services and the police and then he turned round and said he was only joking. The first I knew of anything was when 2 policemen came to the door to tell me a couple of weeks afterwards as they had to tell me even though I hadnt actually done anything. I felt like a bloody criminal.
yes, you feel crap but you get over it.
its not the end of the world.

[looneytune]

I must admit, I thought my thread was pretty good but it all got out of hand and no-one else takes it seriously anymore!

[hennipenni]

Looney, we all took it seriously (even if we didn't post ). I think that when Marney hi-jacked it we just couldn't be bothered (or able to ) trawl through her messages.

[looneytune]

henni - that's how I felt - couldn't be bothered. But seriously, it's time to stop marney. Part of me wondered if this could be another trip....trap, if not, I'm sorry to say that I think you may need some help marney as yes, Ofsted really upset me and I was in tears after but goodness me, not to the point I couldn't cope with having the children with me and had to call someone. Sorry, might sound harsh but in the early stages of pregnancy I was convinced I was loosing my baby and was totally devastated, all this going on at the same time as dh loosing his job to redundancy again and lots of other family problems going on. But whilst the kids were here, I got on with it, I had to remain stable for their sake, it's part of the job!

[shoshe]

Well said LT

[maximummummy]

hands up who thinks MARNEY is for real

[hennipenni]

I'm not sure, she sounds very lonely and possibly depressed and bitter. Says she who Ofsted promised would ring back about her impending inspection, I am stiiiill waiting. (had short notice notice before xmas iyswim!)

[KaySamuels]

Wow not been on this thread for a while kinda gone downhill hasn't it!!

I feel quite disappoined as this thread started out professional and factual and it has been spoilt - the end of this thread does nothing for childminders.

I'm sorry marney but just by your threads I would say you should maybe reconsider childminding. Like looenytune said a professional childminder can keep it together during work hours no matter what - mindees first, you second. For two people to come over instantly from sure start after a phon call from you, you must have been in a real state.

I love childminding and have adopted a tick the boxes and nothing more approach to my paperwork. I keep everything up to date, do daily diaries, receipts, permission slips etc and that's it.

Also since this thread started I have been on the EYFS briefings and am feeling mush more positive about it. It brings us childminders into the same professional childcare status as nurseries and other day care. On my first briefing session I was one of two childminders amongst head teachers and nursery managers - I took this as a compliment. The sooner we are seen as professionals the better.

[looneytune]

Totally agree with KayS! I've been on the EYFS briefing and now part 1 (of 3) EYFS Training and it appears much better than first thought. When I started this thread it was more about Ofsted and how you can't trust anything you're told on the phone, how inspectors have totally different opinions on things and therefore we don't know where we stand etc!

One example of a phone enquiry which could have got me in trouble had I not INSISTED the phone person was not correct and making sure I spoke to inspection support team is here on this thread. I think that the fee increases due this year are disgusting and even more so when Ofsted don't even provide a decent enough service!! Telephone staff should NOT insist they are right about something they don't understand properly! But as for EYFS, I don't think it will be the big increase in paperwork that we first thought.

Right, now we're back onto talking like we were at the start of this thread, I'd love to continue to receive feedback like before if possible

Thanks

LT xx

[KaySamuels]

I do think the Ofsted fees will be disgracefully high if they go up and tbh it may well push me out of childminding.The rate I can charge in my area is so low that it would be a huge exoense for me.
If we were getting a vluable, supportive service from them I may feel differently I suppose.

I have instances of Ofsted inspectors giving me contradictory advice too and it is very confusing and stressful. Wish they could all be on the same pag but that is the trouble with this system I suppose. Different people have different opinions and that is just human nature but I do think Ofsted need to look at these problems and try to sort it out somehow.

[looneytune]

This is the problem, differing OPINIONS and WE can get into trouble because one person thinks differently to another - crazy!!

Have all of you NCMA members received an email from the chair trying to fight the fee increase???? Let me know if not, very interesting and I will forward to you! We all need to stick together on this!

[hennipenni]

LT have just opened a thread about it, but have asked for it to be deleted.

[Ineedaholiday]

I think the thread is a great idea Looneytune. I find it tnteresting to read cos us Scottish cms will start getting graded from April and reading about everyones experiences is helpful.
Maybe the care commission will have realised how inconsistent Ofsted seem to be nd wont be as bad

[Ineedaholiday]

with our gradings

[looneytune]

Henni - why you asked for it to be deleted? I was going to do same thing when email arrived but never got round to it.

[hennipenni]

Says at the bottom of E-mail not to take copies or to disclose information.

[looneytune]

Oops - I hadn't noticed that either so easily done!!