OFSTED report is so stupid, I am FUMING

[Kathyis6incheshigh]

Apologies for shouting. But really.

The lovely nursery our dcs go to has just got a 'satisfactory' from Ofsted, and when you look at the report, they are being criticised for things like 'staff [in the baby room] only discuss activities and resources that they are going to make available on the day, taking into account which children are going to attend'.
In other words, for things that any sane person would see as positive.

Thing is, our dcs had to go to a different nursery in the autumn term because dh was on sabbatical in a different city, and the nursery there was horrible, so I know full well what the difference is between a good nursery and a bad one. But Ofsted don't seem to be able to work it out because they are so obsessed with targets and learning outcomes. For BABIES.

Is there an Of-Ofsted I can complain to, do you know?

By all means you can contact Ofsted if you feel the report is inaccurate. The relevant contact details will be on the report.

The nursery will have been inspected in line with Every Child Matters, The National Standards, and Birth to Three Frameworks. The inspector will have observed practice throughout all parts of the nursery routine, examined documentation and spoken to the nursery team.

As such the findings within the report are largely factual. It's worth considering that as a parent, you do see a very small part of the day.

Oops forgot the curriculum guidance for the Foundation Stage.
Rather embarrassing considering I helped write it

I'm with you, Kathy... They're babies! I hate the idea of learning outcomes for babies...

DS' nursery only got a satisfactory due to poor record keeping etc. but then it turned out that the way they dealt with DS's minor SN was rather slack to say the least. so sometimes things that seem very petty for ofsted to have picked up might have implications on a child's care.

Oh no no no they are not 'learning outcomes'

Birth to Three Matters is a child development framework It's not a curriculum at all- just a tool to give you ideas to stimulate babies and children under 3, and encourage their development through play

FWIW some nurseries leave babies to play all day and do not offer them good quality interactions.

Good nurseries plan opportunities for children to ensure they are offered a varied 'menu' of activities. Planning ahead demonstrates that staff are thinking about and considering what they want to offer children- and not just chucking some toys on the floor randomly.

Shiny I have not yet been able to work out why Ofsted, which surely holds it focus as the education of children, is also set the (completely different task) of regulating Nurseries, whose focus is somply to care for small children and babies.

Quite honestly I could not give a flying faff what 'early years education' hoops are being held up as good for my child, when I am at home with my child (20mo)I do not feel the need to refer to guidlines and text books on what he needs to be happy and interested in the world. When he goes to nursery I want too know he is

a. happy
b. safe
c. well fed

And whats wrong with babies playing all day- they are babies !!

Sorry I know I probably sound a bit peed off but the lovely nursery my Ds goes to always seems to get 'satisfactories' but to my eyes it is a lovely, well run, warm enthusiastic place.When I arrive he is often 'just playing' under close supervsion and looks thoroughly stuck into things.

So the nursery DC's used to attend got satisfactory because of learning outcomes problems

I was parent helper the day of the inspection, they had these bouncy spiders out in the reading area they have velcro legs and were picking up things from the rug.

the ofsted lady asked what the children could learn from the game. the member of staff said, it isn't a learning opportunity it is a game.
HOWEVER the spider was catching things that were different colours and some had numbers on.
It was designed to help children learn about colours and numbers in a fun way.

I wondered how many other easy fun learning opportunities my children were missing out on.
I actually thought that ofsted got it spot on.

Shinypinkshoes - the report specifically referred to learning outcomes. Does that mean I can complain to Ofsted that the report is using the term when they should not be?

I am not stupid, I know I only see a small part of the day. Except, given that they are happy for parents to pop in unnannounced, I've seen small parts of many different days, and also whole sessions when my dcs were settling in and on nursery open days. The Ofsted inspector, OTOH, will have only been there once.

In fact there is nothing wrong with the factual accuracy of the report IMO (though the grammar and punctuation are pretty appalling given this is supposed to be a body concerned with education). The problem is with the assumptions about what is desirable.

"FWIW some nurseries leave babies to play all day and do not offer them good quality interactions."

Two different things are being confused there - the quality of the interaction and the planning of activities. The nursery my dcs went to in the autumn would chuck the kids on the floor with their pre-planned activities and fail to interact with them at all. They would, no doubt, have planned in advance which activities they would use to help them ignore the babies, so they would score highly on this. Their usual nursery, OTOH, chooses the activity according to which babies are there on the day and the state they are in. Which is what I prefer for my child, but hey....

"And whats wrong with babies playing all day- they are babies !!"

Flamin - exactly. They play, and that's how they learn. They set their own learning outcomes, which they will pursue without us having any idea of what they are.

I rather like the idea of babies and toddlers setting their own outcomes.

ShinyPinkShoes, are you familiar with the books 'The Social Baby' and 'The Social Toddler'? It gives valuable insight into the idea of babies setting their own outcomes. I am also in education, though secondary so I can see both sides of the coin.

I know this is turning into a discussion about learning vs play, but just wanted to add my experience of nurseries and reports.

I removed ds (10 mo at the time) from nursery a few months ago due to the baby room staff telling me that he was becoming a "problem" due to "disliking" the other babies. They said other stuff that I won't go into - but is on a previous thread somwhere! - but they showed a huge lack of understanding of child development. FWIW my ds is a very sociable baby, apart from the odd tantrum now . I just took him out of the nursery straight away. I'd also noticed when i popped in unnanounced that the babies were just playing alone, no adult interaction.

I'll get to the point now . I chose this nursery as it had good reports by the care commission, and just last week it received an "outstanding", particulary due to "their great work in the baby room" Could not believe it. Suppose serves me right for not complaining, though I've seen others here get no joy when they have.

Anyway ds is with a fab cm now. I think at the end of the day its your gut feeling that matters, not necessarily what the reports say.

Sorry so long!