Five months and four days after the launch of Berkhamsted Day Nursery the 'parcel' arrived. The 'parcel' being our MI5-like code word for informing all concerned that an 'Ofsted' inspector had just knocked on the door.
It seemed a trifle early given that Ofsted's initial inspections can take place anytime between five to seven months after the initial start-up date.
Ofsted were clearly ready to pounce given the previous report, but on a Friday? Surely all Early Years practitioners know that Friday is a quieter day when all the children (and staff) really want to do is wind down, calm down and eat cake?
We really would have liked another month. The new outdoor garden was not quite finished, the newly appointed, much-needed room leader was still working her notice elsewhere and the parent survey had only just gone out.
We had also hoped for a sunny spring day - we have a woodland, badger webcams, bug hotels and bird houses but the weather was appalling - really appalling. We managed a quick buggy ride around the grounds but even the inspector agreed that it might be cruel to keep the children outside, (she stayed inside).
An extra month wouldn't have made a difference to the general practice. We already knew it was good; we had commissioned a private inspection a month earlier. We were now working towards 'outstanding'.
"Outstanding" was probably unobtainable at this stage given that the nursery (under previous ownership) was deemed "inadequate". How likely was it for us to grow from "inadequate" to "outstanding"? Do Ofsted even award "outstanding" for an initial inspection?
Not in our case. We had great feedback but were judged to be "good". Why is "good" disappointing? "Good" is good and a remarkable achievement given our starting point. The report states:
"Staff provide a stimulating but peaceful environment where children have easy access to toys and resources. Children enjoy exploring the space around them. They show great delight in reaching for a range of objects that can be pulled, squeezed and held, developing their fine motor skills. Children receive lots of praise as they put jangling keys into a tin container, reach in and then hand them to a member of staff."
Ofsted March 2013.
Whilst general merriment and congratulation ensued (it really was a super first report), during the feedback, I dared to ask, 'What elements of "outstanding" did we fail to achieve?'
The answer wasn't clear but related to the parent survey. We hadn't used the findings to inform our self-evaluation. Given that the inspector arrived four days after the closing date for survey responses, it wasn't really surprising!
We later contested the point, in writing, to Ofsted which they treated as a complaint. Whilst a very pleasant lady in the office agreed that we couldn't have used the survey information to improve practice given the short time period, the recommendation still remains. However, Ofsted did agree to change the negative wording to lessen the impact which was helpful.
It's worth noting that the documentation was barely looked at during the inspection. Ofsted are in agreement with Lynne Truss on this one and have decided to do away with the heavy duty paperwork. Never mind all the work that went into drafting all those new policies, procedures and actions plans.
Unless a serious complaint is made to Ofsted about our day nursery we will not have the privilege of their company in the future. After their initial inspection the day nursery is free to choose to be inspected by ISI on the same cycle as the Pre-Prep. We look forward comparing the two!
