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Preschool has been rated 3 from ofsted -should I be worried?

15 replies

Wishful80smontage · 06/09/2015 08:06

Dd started at preschool last week its our local village one and had family go there in the past so thought it would be fine.
I was slightly concerned that while I was there they seemed very focused on the children that were upset but obviously understood they needed more attention- dd is very independant so she was left to play alone.
They've got an outdoor play area I thought might not be completely secure so I checked ofsted to see what that said- it didn't raise concerns over that but overall its a 3- requires improvement. Its focused on staff management and planning issues and also staff not developing children's chosen play to encourage language development.
Would you be looking elsewhere?
Dd seemed to enjoy it and the keyworkers are very loving with the childre I will speak to them again re: the outdoor area but would the ofsted alone mean you'd find something else?
Thanks

OP posts:
IndomitabIe · 06/09/2015 08:19

OFSTED reports are only a snapshot. If you're happy with it and DD is happy then I'd stick with it. They won't be happy with that score though and will be working hard to improve things.

I've seen OFSTED give 1s/2s to places that don't have the right caring atmosphere. I've seen them be effectively hoodwinked by management and miss glaring problems. The overall feeling and atmosphere is important. OFSTED ratings can and do change, in both directions.

Celerysoup3 · 06/09/2015 08:23

As long as she's safe and happy, it should be fine.

Has your DD just attended one day? What do you mean when you say they were looking after upset kids? I would really want any upset child given appropriate attention. That's a positive thing

Whoknewitcouldbeso · 06/09/2015 08:25

My son's pre school went from Outstanding to Needs Improvement. I talked to the staff to find out what had happened and felt satisfied that it was a combination of things that has led to a one off visit and a crappy crappy rating. Fortunately I'm very happy with the pre school so didnt want to move him.

Might be worth having a conversation with the staff and seeing what they say. I can assure you there will be someone working extremely hard to try and improve their rating and might be glad to tell you all about it.

WhatAHooHa · 06/09/2015 08:27

DH is a teacher and has seen, first hand, just how much of OFSTED is an exercise in paperwork and headteachers who know how to work the system. The management and planning issues you mention are likely that they have missed ticking a couple of boxes re paperwork as much as anything else. I think you should use OFSTED ratings as a guide alongside your own feelings and experiences.

Charis1 · 06/09/2015 08:28

are you seriously concerned that ofsted don't think the staff at your child's preschool don't do enough lesson plans? seriously? who cares!? what is a planned lesson to a preschool child anyway?

Wishful80smontage · 06/09/2015 08:43

Thank you for the advice so far.
I agree that focussing on the children that seemed quiet/upset is necessary but because dd just gets on with playing she was left to it and she doesn't really play other other children so that's a lot of time to play alone. Her keyworker has a child that seems to need a lot of attention so I don't think that will change either but dd is happy enough.
I don't know of a preschool does need a structured lesson plan but if there are preschools doing this and there's a better learning environment available then I think I should try and find this?

OP posts:
Charis1 · 06/09/2015 08:50

better learning environment

absolutly not, will having all the ofsted approved paperwork in good order make for a "better learning environment". Quite the reverse, in fact.

Andcake · 06/09/2015 08:52

Talk to her key worker and the manager. I would have reservations about a 3 but would ask lots of questions.
As for 'lesson plans' for pre school although not lesson plans I think it's important for a vaguely structured day e.g

  • circle time
-Free play
  • letter of the day
  • snack
-Garden time
  • craft time
Etc

Type thing - when recently looking at new nurseries for ds I did reject one out of hand for not being able to give me an idea of their plan for a day
It could be you are there at times when the other lo one is upset but that should not get in the way of a plan

Lurkedforever1 · 08/09/2015 08:35

Dds primary rated as satisfactory when she started, and then got slated as needs improvement when she was in ks1. Anyone reading the report or speaking to staff just had a good laugh at how stupid it was. Nothing in it was worth worrying about.

Strawberrybubblegum · 09/09/2015 21:30

Staff management: I would mainly worry whether the staff were happy to work there and they had decent staff retention.

Lesson planning: this does seem to vary quite a lot in different pre-schools I've visited:
1.Most seem to have a certain amount of structure (eg circle time and snacks at specific time) and I imagine that helps the children to understand the day.

2.Most also seem to plan daily or weekly changes to the toys/activities available, but how much will vary. At the most basic, this might be painting one day junk modelling another. A more 'planning heavy' place has themes, and they change the home corner to reflect that theme (eg camping or picnics) as well as reading and having other activities based on the theme.

3.Another thing which I found varied a lot was how actively they worked on the early years competencies for each child (That's probably the wrong word: I mean the table with lots of observable behaviours in different areas). They all seemed to have the key workers write down observations for their key children to see where they were, but some didn't really use it beyond that (and admitted they mainly filled it in at the end of term). Other places used that information at weekly planning meetings with all the staff to decide on activities which would help the children develop.

Language development: that would worry me because that's very, very important at this age. But it depends how ofsted are judging it. The 'developing children' s chosen play' bit makes me suspicious. I read one report which criticised nursery teachers for not getting involved when children were playing in the sand pit with diggers. The report said the teacher should video it and turn it into a lesson on mining Hmm. Personally, I'd rather children who are engaged and playing well were left to it, and maybe chat with them about their play afterwards.

So my take is that as well as looking at how much of that your preschool does, you do also need to decide how important you think each of those things are. Personally, I like planning. But if it comes down to it, my feeling is that kind, loving carers are probably the most important thing at this age.

I also think that logistics do count: so if it would be very difficult to get to another preschool, or her friends (as she gets closer to school age) aren't able to come to play, or your daughter would be the only one in the village /her primary school who didn't go there, then that would be something to consider.

Strawberrybubblegum · 09/09/2015 21:34

The outdoor area not being secure is a worry though, especially if you already spoke to them about it and they weren't able to reassure you.

MiaowTheCat · 12/09/2015 07:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Saltedcaramel4 · 12/09/2015 08:26

Have you talked to the staff? You could ask if she seems quite isolated. Ask if she's playing with other kids (which she will need to learn how to do)? Maybe you could ask the staff to work on her people skills?

mrz · 12/09/2015 08:38

Charis of course staff working in EYFS have to plan for each child and all curriculum areas!

OP if you're happy with the provision your child is receiving and are confident that she's learning and enjoying the experiences provided I would leave her where she is.

Wishful80smontage · 14/09/2015 19:51

Thanks all for your input I was going to keep her there despite the worries of the outdoor area being on my mind but today when I picked her up she'd managed to get outside without her shoes or a coat on into the play area obviously one of the staff outdoor took her in to get some shoes on but by this point her feet were wet through- which has concerned me as she must have been left to her own devices for a couple of mins at least to get shoes off.
Anyway think I'll take her out for now as she's too young to know to put her coat and shoes on and be careful when running in and out of doors to play area and we should be moving new year so will look for one in the other village I think. Shame as she liked it but I'd rather be over cautious.

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