We are feeling relief that we have recently completed the new Self-Evaluation Form (SEF). Our last SEF was done quite a while ago and since then we have undergone many changes that we felt needed to be recorded. However, actually sitting down and starting the process was the hardest part. We had many conversations about what to put in, but actually reading the guidance and making the first draft was quite time-consuming.
We were hoping that we could simply add to our initial SEF because our ethos hadn't changed and many parts of that document were still very relevant. Unfortunately, the guidance states that 'when you update your SEF it will replace any earlier versions'. Therefore, we needed to plan this task a bit differently. First, we went through our last SEF and highlighted all the information that we wanted to carry forward to the new form.
There are six sections in the new form. For each section we read all the guidance listed to support the form. This was very helpful in deciding where to put certain things. The sections are: (1) Your setting; (2) Views of those who use your setting and who work with you; (3) How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend; (4) The contribution of the early years provision to children's well-being; (5) The leadership and management of the early years provision; and (6) The overall quality and standards of the early years provision.
GROUP EXERCISE
After the first draft we passed it round to all our practitioners and they added any information that they felt we had missed and one practitioner took on the role of completing a section. It needed to be a group exercise, with everyone being part of the process.
The benefit of completing a SEF is the chance to reflect thoroughly on our practice and document all the good practice that we have achieved since our last Ofsted visit while making notes of areas that we wanted to improve. It is time-consuming to complete because obviously we felt that we wanted to write down everything. To remember on the day of your inspection all the great things that have happened over a couple of years is hard to do and we didn't want to kicking ourselves because of all the things we forgot to say!
For more information, see our series on OFSTED: New Inspection Framework, at: www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/1170259/
