I hope the daycarers have now seen the light of the new Ofsted standards for nurseries and playgroups. As a former nursery worker I understand their fears but I suspect these are probably unfounded.
First, if they saw the draft Ofsted standards a few months ago they will have a good idea of what the new standards are, as very little has changed since. Since the standards are based on the Children Act, as were the local authority standards, there will not be a great deal of difference in what is considered good-quality childcare. And what is new about the Ofsted emphasis is that it is less prescriptive. An inspector is less likely to say, 'You MUST do this or that', but rather, 'How do you plan to meet this or that standard?'
If at the 'transitional' Ofsted inspection a playgroup fails to meet some of the standards, the inspector is more likely to discuss how standards can be met, rather than take enforcement action. Of course, if the quality of care in a playgroup or nursery really is poor, for example not meeting staff ratios or having a high staff turnover, that would have been seriously dealt with by the local authority inspector.
I hope Trevor Tasker in 'In my view' is mistaken in believing he would have to hire extra staff for a month. In my previous local authority we also told providers the month we were coming. The manager was free to ask us to avoid particular dates in that month, and we agreed. If I turned up and the manager was not there I would get on with inspecting the quality of education and care and the safety of the premises. If the deputy was unable to discuss the records and other matters with me, I would make an appointment with the manager to do this. The inspection itself would be semi-unannounced. This would suggest that what the inspector saw was provided every day and not just for the expected inspector.
While some of us have moved from one area to another, you will generally be seeing the same group of inspectors as before. It might be Ofsted, but the spirit of Chris Woodhead is not present!
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