Part-time teacher and Ofsted call on non-working day with childcare commitments

[YellowDaisies123]

So im going back to teaching in September, 3 days a week (wednesday-friday). My school is due Ofsted anytime. We will get the call on a Monday which is a non working day for me. I'm going part time because my little one is under 2 so I have childcare commitments as well as choosing to be more available for her.
I have a feeling it'll be an expectation that ALL staff will be required to attend once the call has come in both on the Monday after school and the Tuesday. My husband works and is self employed but doesn't work from home so going in at the drop of a hat is a no no for me on a Monday - I cant just leave my daughter and have nobody to just pass her to at short notice. I can however go in on the Tuesday as my husband can take it off if he's aware the day before. My question is, has anyone else been in this situation? I know I'll be made to feel guilty for not attending on the Monday but what do you do? Any experiences and thoughts would be highly appreciated! X

Do ofsted only call on Mondays ?
I didn't know that if so.

@Bananacrepewithnuts Yes, I think its a relatively new thing but its only on Mondays now!

OP is correct, they do call at 9.30 on a Monday morning.
Op, you do not have to go in, but if you are teaching on the Tuesday I would assume that for your own professional pride you'd do something at home to ensure you were absolutely on top of everything and prepared if observed.

When I worked part time as a teacher I never went in on non working days for Ofsted inspections. For all they know you could be working at another school or have commitments that are impossible to move. Just say no.

Our school has not long had 'the visit'.
The teacher in my department doesn't work Wednesday, she didn't come in.
I expect other part timers stuck to their days too.

If you're not contracted, don't go in.

Do you work Tuesday? Personally I would want to be there in order to get myself completely up to speed so I felt totally prepared. If I was walking into an Ofsted the next day I would have to make an appearance for my own peace of mind. Not sure what the actual expectation are or what you do about child care. My school wouldn’t mind if I had to bring kids along with me!

If you don’t work Tuesdays either and you won’t be present for the inspection then that is different.

You should not be expected in. I've been OFSTEDed more times than I can count, and no part time teachers (including me at one point) came in in, or were expected to come in, on days that they didn't work.

The whole point in ofsted is for schools to show they’re fully functional under normal circumstances, but ofcourse when the call comes everyone goes into a different mode expecting all hands on deck even when they not usually are.

I say this as a part time teacher myself. I think it’s disgusting how senior management literally expect everyone to go above and beyond when the call comes, to make them look good more than anything else.

Where on earth do you work that this is the expectation? My school would never - and did not when we were inspected - expect a class teacher to attend on a non working day.
I am assuming you aren’t SENDCO or senior leadership? Who teaches your class while you’re not there? Surely they’d be expected to be in teaching as per usual.
After the call on Monday your head will have a clear idea of the focus on the visit and assuming you aren’t SLT I’d imagine your time with ofsted - even if you were in school - would be limited. If you’re EYFS / KS1 this may be different depending on their timetable and the threads they choose to pull. Are you expecting this visit to be a positive one on the whole?

OFSTED would very much mind if they discovered that a member of staff's young children were there. That would be an insane move on your part and the school's.

Not on the day of inspection. But the afternoon before perhaps if no other options in order to ensure everything is prepared.

"I know I'll be made to feel guilty for not attending on the Monday but what do you do?"

You quietly and politely stand your ground.

I dont' see how they could expect you to attend - lots of part-time teachers have other jobs on those days.

When I was in teaching and on 0.8, I did go in for the inspection that fell on my off day. But I was SLT.

I would suggest that if you want to go in on the Tuesday and you can, then do as it will help you feel more in control for the Wednesday. But only do it if it benefits you.

I don’t work on a Monday. I popped in for an hour or so around lunchtime when we got the call (with my baby daughter!) to find out any info. Turned out my subject was being deep dived (when that was a thing) the next morning so I went back once I had some childcare as my school opened late, but more for my own peace of mind than anything! If you don’t work a Tuesday so won’t be teaching, I think you’d be fine to go in then?

I totally agree that it would be reasonable for you to just say no.

But what would your childcare arrangements be for your working days? If nursery or childminder, they may have space especially on a Monday for an extra child as a one off

"I know I'll be made to feel guilty for not attending on the Monday but what do you do?"
I've said this before and I'll say it again, you are in charge of your emotions. People will try to make you feel guilty, whether you do or not is up to you.
Have a clear idea if what you are going to do and stick with it.

Ive been part of a team that has been OFSTED'ed many times, although not a school. I would not come on if I was not on rota to do so. The manager expected her management team who worked regular days to be in and pull info together. Everyone else was informed what the focus was, and we had to make sure our cases were in order and ready to be scrutinised if requested by inspector.

Don't go in on the Monday. Go in for a couple of hours on the Tuesday if you feel you need to do extra preparation for Wednesday.

DH is a secondary Head of Department who works a nine day fortnight - his non-working day happened to fall on the week Ofsted visited his school. He didn't offer to go in on his non-working day, but did offer to be available by phone.

OP, this is quite a specific worry, especially at this point in the summer. Are you feeling ok about returning to work in general?

You have a job you like with am amazing pension and the ability to work flexibly to suit your family.
But in a time of major "all hands on" one off demand you're not going to even see if nursery can squeeze her in or your husband take a half day.? You're not going to inconvenience yourself one iota? Just sit there and go not my problem. Are you on UPS or looking to be because frankly you should be grateful for how lucky you are.

I think this very much depends on the size of the school. I'm a bog standard class teacher and was observed at some point in every single lesson of the day - including storytime - bar one on the first day of the inspection. I would not have liked to walk into that unprepared, even if it was an hour of printing the day before. There's also more pressure from a personal point of view as in a small school the report is basically a critique of you - if a comment is made about KS1, the parents know exactly which teacher that is. It's a horrible system and ridiculous that small schools are scrutinised in a way that is simply not possible on large schools.

You don't have to attend on your non working days, even if it's Ofsted.
Don't go in on the Monday or Tuesday, but obviously read your emails.

No. When I was HOD I didn’t expect anyone to come in on their day off.

I would probably text you to warn you if you were coming straight back to a potential observation but aside from that, no.

They can expect all they want.
If your contract says Wed to Fri then you will only be present on the second day of the inspection and you'd be backed by your union on this.
The only expectation of you will be to check your emails for anything you need to know.
Stick to your guns on this.