I felt that the no-notice rule was good, as you got to see a nursery in its true form. But I have since learned that a pre-school that is part of a nearby children's centre got a week's notice, and was told which day that Ofsted was due in.
Then I received a call from a training company that I use, as I have two staff training at NVQ level 2 and 3. They asked for time with the staff to talk them through their files and prep them, as Ofsted would be visiting them the following week.
When I asked the staff why they needed the time out with the assessor, they explained that she lets them do the work, but then goes through it telling them what they need to add by writing it out on Post-its for them throughout the file. The trainees add the assessor's points in their file in their own words. This means they can hand in any old work and have it practically rewritten for them. The assessor spent nearly two hours with them prepping their files, which is outrageous.
As a manager I always preferred the NNEB to the NVQ. Now that I understand how little an NVQ teaches students, my vote will always be for the people who took time to attain their qualifications through college.
If Ofsted and those in the childcare industry were doing their jobs properly, Ofsted should be able to drop in unannounced to get a true picture of what we are teaching and what we are learning.
Name and address supplied
Letters your chance to have your say.
Letter of the week wins £30 worth of children's books.
Send letters to Nursery World, Haymarket Professional, 174 Hammersmith Road, London W6 7JP or e-mail to letter.nw@haymarket.com. We regret we cannot publish letters sent without a name, address and daytime telephone number. We reserve the right to edit letters for publication.
