One of the first things we had to do, when setting up our 15-place nursery the Owl in the Tree, was get to grips with the Ofsted registration process.
For anyone who thinks this is easy, try spending some early mornings and late nights wrestling with DBS certificates and EY2 forms and come back to me.
First of all you go online. You need your own government gateway password, and from there you start to fill the forms which identify what sort of establishment are. This will help Ofsted decide what other forms you need to complete. There is then a separate EY2 declaration and consent form. You have to self-assess your personal criteria, health check, current DBS certificate, necessary qualifications. It is a long process and you have to be patient.
The information is easy to find. In hindsight I would advise myself to take my time doing it and not panic. It can be a daunting process especially if you’re doing it for the first time.
With, or should I say despite, all the news about the 30 hours funding, which starts in September 2017, I was keen to see if we could involve ourselves in this. We didn't need any information in regard to our application, however being in one of the pilot areas (near Swindon), meant we wanted be part of it. We have been working closely with the local authorities and they are very supportive of our vision – which is for a 15 place forest school-led setting based in Wiltshire woodland.
Once we submitted it, we were told there was a 27-week waiting list for the paperwork to be completed and checked by Ofsted. And then we did panic a bit. ‘How are on earth are we going to keep up the interest and enthusiasm from prospective parents?’ we asked ourselves.
We decided on having a Christmas activity day at the village hall which forms part of our site. Parents booked their children into hourly arts and crafts sessions to and of course to see Santa. Building on the success of this, we recently advertised seven outdoor stay and play sessions, which were booked up within one week, with interest from 62 families. This was great for us: it kept parents interested, plus they will get to understand a bit more about what we are offering and experience our outdoor space.
It has been six months since we started to advertise ourselves publicly, and 18 months since we launched this project. Not a day has gone by without having to do something, (advertising, audit checks, buying equipment etc…) It's hard going, but we are confident it is something that children need. Now we just cross our fingers and hope.
Colin Eustice is a Level 3 trained Forest School leader and has helped set up several outdoor childcare providers.
