is threading cheerios onto strawberry laces ok with ofsted??

[keelybooboo]

hi all

ofsted are coming during the week for my inspection and i'm racking my brains for a nice activity to do with the mindees....

i will have 3 kids aged 2, 2.5 and 4

they all love making necklaces with strawberry laces and cheerios but i'm not sure if ofsted would frown on this??

any thoughts would be gladly received

Be brave ... do what you normally do with the children but be sure to discuss and justify your views with the inspector. Most inspectors are really nice and will be happy to find out how this fits in with the rest of the child's week - its up to you to show that the Inspector the big picture.

If you have any written parental agreements/permissions about sweets/treats, show them to your inspector and mention that you've considered that future parents may have different views and children may have specific dietary requirement. If you have a written healthy eating policy or sample menus, show them, if not just tell the inspector about what you do. Its a great opportunity to talk about the challenges of working to official guidelines (food hygiene, nutrition - chance to talk about any training , reading or research you might have done) in conjunction with the varied needs and wishes of several parents - and being prepared in case any new family has a different attitude/dietary requirements etc.

During the activity you can demonstrate through chatting with the children how you use the activity to promote their understanding about healthy eating ... hopefully when you chat to the children they - especially the 4 year old - might make links on their own and move the conversation onto something helpful ... like looking after your teeth, or importance of exercise etc. Whatever they talk about might give you ideas for future linked activities.

Ofsted like to see that we know about the children's interests and development ... you can do this by ensuring the inspector understands you have specifically chosen to allow the children to access this activity they clearly enjoy. If you haven't already, have a look at EYFS under Physical Development (PD) - health & bodily awareness & (PSE) Self Care to link to any observations/notes you have already made.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck with your inspection.

DD is in reception and they did this at school this very week....

Not sure about Ofsted but I love your idea and am going to steal it for the school holidays.

Leaving me lots of time to MN clean up the house.

I think if you were to also show the inspector a menu full of hotdogs, burgers, chips, beans, chocolate ice-cream with sugar sprinklies and marshmallow and biscuit snacks with cola and cherryade to wash it all down with, you might have a problem!

However, if your food is usually healthy and the parents are happy with the odd treat, I think you'd be fine - especially if you do the "encouraging reluctant threaders" line.