Monday 16 September 2013

The Ofsted Big Conversation

The Ofsted Big Conversation

On the evening of Friday 13th September, despite the awful weather, we were fortunate enough to be able attend one of the National Ofsted Big Conversations that had been encouraged to take place by June O’Sullivan from London’s Early Years Foundation.

In May 2013, June O’Sullivan started the conversation on Nursery World’s Linkedin page, due to her concerns about the new Ofsted approach to regulation and their aggressive tone. In response to this nearly 400 comments were received with practitioners contributing a whole host of stories and concerns about Ofsted. So it was decided to take action and try to engage Ofsted, get them on board, share the sector’s concerns and consider solutions.

The ‘conversations’ have been supported by Early Years practitioners, organisations, trainers and consultants. They were hoped to be a collaboration of those passionate about EY and an invitation to share experiences, support one another and vitally – engage Ofsted! A gathering place for all those interested in the fairness and quality of Ofsted inspections.

Over the weekend of the 13th and 14th September Ofsted Big Conversations took place across the country, an agenda was set for us all to follow with a number of questions to focus our discussions and hopefully find some ways forward and suggestion sector led solutions for the issues that seem to be of concern for the sector.

The evening in Weston Super Mare was very passionate, and it was highly apparent that childcare was not just a job for any of those present, with comments regularly coming back to the impact on the children and families, as well as other staff and management in settings. The Ofsted Big Conversation gave a welcome platform for expression of concern, but also some very positive ideas and suggested guidelines for improvement

We were part of a group of 20 practitioners from across 3 counties, the meeting took place in ‘The Campus’ (http://www.the-campus.org.uk) a community facility and children’s centre in Weston Super Mare. Childminding was well represented; there were a number of group providers as well as us from a development and support agency and even an Ofsted trainer, so we were lucky to have a breadth of knowledge and experience.

Although we knew we needed to try and answer the questions and suggest how we would like to see the inspection process change and improved, inevitably is was hard to stay focussed when listening to the vast experiences (unfortunately mainly negative) that practitioners had had with Ofsted over the last few years. It was great that people had a space to vent their frustrations as this led to discussion about how to affect change in the sector.

Prior to the meeting we looked at 10 questions, then collated these into 7 responses suggesting actions that could be taken;

1          Ofsted dual roles of regulation and improvement – Can we all agree what this should look like?

Two words during this discussion kept reoccurring - consistency and transparency. There were definite concerns about how Ofsted can regulate their own advice? And at present, providers feel they are well supported through their LAs and support agencies, who understand local and individual issues and can advise accordingly – will this more personal support that recognises our individuality in the sector be lost? Will this then have an impact on parental choice and diversity in Early Years? There was already a feeling that inspections outcomes can be influenced by inspector’s individual opinions, if the advice from one area of Ofsted is not agreed with by the inspector how will this affect the outcome?

We want to see: clearly defined roles; separate teams; differentiated training; external and independent QA of each role (with sector representation); each role to be a positive one supporting morale within the profession;, the knowledge and skills of existing LA staff is not lost; clarity of information around the level of support re quality improvement settings can expect.

2          Ofsted rationale for complaint initiated inspections which go back over 10 years – Can we agree what this should look like in the future?

We did discover that the inspectors that visit settings on the back of complaints are from a different department from those who carry out ‘normal’ inspections. Again, information and transparency about this would be useful to providers, as there were concerns that one department’s knowledge of the sector might be wider than the other. A guarantee that all inspectors come from an EY background and have an understanding of all areas of the sector including childminding and specialist nurseries such as Steiner and Montessori.  

Also, we want assurances that any inspection that is triggered for whatever the reason can result in any outcome. There is fear that an inspection triggered by a complaint can only result in a ‘satisfactory’ outcome – we want to know this is not the case and that settings can retain their grades if their practice at the inspection reflects this.

We want to see: greater transparency regarding how the decision to re inspect has been made when it is due to a previous complaint that has already been investigated and a full inspection taken place, reasons for inspections clearly presented to the provider; exact reasons for a reduction in grade; separate investigations of complaints to better support quality improvement; complaint driven inspections not being grade determined by no children present.

3          Ofsted Quality Assurance Process - Can we agree what this should look like in the future?

There was definite confusion regarding which organisation carries out the QA process on inspection reports and outcomes. Feedback suggested that providers who have followed up a change in Judgement or even the publishing of an inspection report that has taken longer than the Ofsted targets on timescales, have been told conflicting information on where their reports have been held up and who has been responsible for the QA process that has affected their outcome given in feedback at the end of an inspection visit.

We want to see: greater transparency – who is QA’ing, what is the QA process, how may are QA’d; figures relating to outcomes of QA to feed in to inspector training (see also Q4); specific reason for grade change from informal feedback to post QA; clarity if any QA process has upgraded an outcome?

4          Ofsted inspector training and support - Can we agree what this should look like in the future?

The question here really focussed on how 2 organisations (Tribal and Prospects) that act on behalf of a third (Ofsted) can retain the consistency needed across the board to ensure everyone feels they are treated in the same way at inspections, and have equality of opportunity to reach the higher outcomes.

We want to see: inspectors with specific breadth of knowledge inspecting settings e.g. Childminders, specialist nurseries and pre-schools; QA on the consistency of training; all inspectors trained by the same organisation.

5          Inspector decision making and feedback - Can we agree what this should look like in the future?

Whilst we all acknowledged, informal feedback and outcomes are not official, it is difficult to understand how an outcome can drop so significantly when the report goes through QA.(sometimes 2 grades).  Is it better that inspectors give no outcome judgement at the end of a visit, but agree the outcome will be shared formally, within agreed timescales and Ofsted stick to these timescales rigorously?

We want to see: greater transparency about the decisions re grading – why not higher, why not lower; inspectors not having to ask permission to give outstanding (this infers there are quotas and create unease within the sector); feedback to be a 2 way process.

6          Significant indicators – What constitutes a managerial judgement?

This was the point that we all realised the importance of reading the Ofsted guidance and keeping up to date with any changes – the clarification in the guidance from Ofsted re significant events is comprehensive in places, but it was felt that this could be even more explicit.

We want to see: Greater clarity around the term significant; terms such as other, significant, is likely, regular etc all to be quantified (see ‘Records, policies and notification requirements of the Early Years Register’ Ref 120412).

7          New inspection regime in November – What will this entail and how much information will we expect in the light of heavier emphasis on keeping children safe and teaching and learning?

There were concerns about the amount of publicity and information that would be given to the public about another change to the regulations, and parents not understanding that this could lead to a ‘blip’ in outcomes as we have to change our practice again. Also, a clear explanation of the change from ‘satisfactory’ to ‘need for improvement’ as a judgement. Where will the emphasis on play come from?

We want to see: Clear information to parents that inspections are taking place under a different criteria of grading – possibility of stating this at the top of the published reports; there is greater differentiation within ‘requires improvement’ for minor and major improvements; consideration given to the suggestion that outcomes should all be ‘meets requirements’ or ‘does not meet requirements’ a simple pass or fail.

Reflection and feedback on the evening from those present included "more opportunities like this with current structured questions please", and a plea of "additional opportunities to meet and discuss freely current childcare related issues across county and across sector in future". Others commented on how good it was to know that others shared their feelings and thoughts, and also how productive and positive it was to work together to suggest solutions and improvements to current systems. Overall everyone agreed that more transparency and clarity was required from Ofsted to enable improvements and trust.

Changes are coming to the sector again and Ofsted are currently consulting on what these will finally look like  -



From 4 November 2013;

For all early years providers:

  • the satisfactory judgement will be replaced by ‘requires improvement’
  • ‘inadequate’ settings are likely to be re-inspected after 6 months
  • if an ‘inadequate’ setting fails to improve sufficiently and is found ‘inadequate’ again after re-inspection; Ofsted may take steps to cancel that setting’s registration.

For pre-schools and nurseries:

  • there will be re-inspection within a year for those which ‘require improvement’ with the expectation that the setting will get to ‘good’ within two years
  • those that fail to improve after two years are likely to be judged ‘inadequate’.

Over the coming weeks the information from all the conversations will be collated and shared via the Ofsted Big Conversation website – www.ofstedbigconversation.co.uk so check this out to see what other areas were discussing and the solutions they suggested.

The social media approach has meant that the opportunity to connect with people has been really valuable.  We have had a great connection with one another and the vibe is lively and positive. People in the sector are genuinely supportive of each other and believe that good pre-school care and education is beneficial for all children but especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.  We want to get it right and recognise the need for a regulator which can be trusted to support this desire in a way that is fair, accountable and effective.


And if you are a tweeter you can follow the conversations through the ‘hashtag’ #ofstedbigconversation

BAND will continue to tweet, retweet, blog and post on facebook as new info and updates become available so you can keep up to date through any of our social media platforms as well. To find these go to our website www.bandltd.org.uk and click on any of the social media buttons.

Let’s hope that through the consultation and the big conversations we have a collective voice that is listened to and acted on to ensure that Ofsted and the sector can work more cohesively and continue to improve outcomes for children.
 
Collated and written by Jenny Winfield and Ellie Frake and includes excerpts from the Ofsted Big Conversation website.

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Members Questionnaire 2012/13

                                      

 

 
“I think the support offered from BAND is a great service, it gives peace of mind knowing you can speak to someone who knows your setting and has knowledge of Ofsted etc"

 
 
1.   If you received support from BAND to start up or expand your childcare setting how would you rate the service?
 
Excellent: 24 (63%) Very Good: 14 (37%) Good: 0 (0%) Okay: 0 (0%) Poor: 0 (0%)  
 
Comments:
·   A very helpful to have to use to guide you through all the requirements and to stop you getting bog down with it all
·  Not used this year but had support last year
·       We feel 100% supported by BAND
·       We had help from BAND with applying for Children In Need Grants. Very helpful!
·       Excellent support throughout our expansion process, advising, measuring the available space as well as providing follow up support when Ofsted made mistakes following the expansion
·       ***** is very helpful
·       We had support to start up breakfast club before my time but I hear that all went very well
·       ****** has been really helpful with our latest expansion and has supported staff and trustees with all areas of the process
·       Excellent help with on-going expansion etc.
·       Help from ****** to apply and win sustainability grant
·       ****** helped us out with answers to our questions and took time to come in and have a meeting with the setting.
 
2.   If you received advice / assistance from BAND's development and support team, how would you rate this service?
 
Excellent: 41 (63%) Very Good: 23 (35%) Good: 1 (2%) Okay: 0 (0%) Poor: 0 (0%)  
 Comments:
·       Everyone is always very helpful and accommodating
·       Always receive a prompt service and very good helpful advice from the team on all aspects
·       Not used this year but had support last year
·       She always spots our needs as an organization. We wouldn't be able to feel as comfortable as we do in our performance without her support. It helps a lot
·       ****** is great and very knowledgeable
·       On several occasions we have called the BAND team and they were very helpful and quick to respond
·       I really value having a support worker that I can turn to with any sort of query. They are always very encouraging and helpful
·       Always at the end of a phone or email. Support given in and out of the setting and to the Management Committee too
·       Always at hand for advice
·       Excellent, advice and support over the last 4 years, received from *****
·       I get emails keeping me up to date with regulation changes and items of interest
·       ***** is always very helpful when we call for advice regarding a range of issues relevant to our centre. Thank you *****
·       I am constantly amazed at the support which is available and how reassuring to know we have all our legal requirements for paperwork totally covered now we have the BAND examples amended for our setting. I definitely would not have taken on this job without knowing our development worker would be with me all the way
·       First class response. supports us in lots of practical ways as well as theoretically
·       Help with policies
·       Always responsive and quick and have a wealth of knowledge
·       A visit to our new preschool and lots of follow up emails offering support. It’s reassuring to know there is always helps and support available when we need it
·       Would be lost without *****!
·       ***** and ***** are fatabuloso! Couldn’t survive without ***** calm generous and knowledgeable time. Thank you so much!
·       Always a prompt and helpful response to any queries or requests for help / support
·       Always happy to help and support / visit
·       Have only used DBS service which was excellent
·       Brilliant communication and help with reviewing policies.
 
3.   If staff / managers attended BAND training courses, how did they rate this training?
 
Excellent: 28 (44%) Very Good: 29 (45%) Good: 6 (9%) Okay: 1 (2%) Poor: 0 (0%)    
Comments:
·       Staff who have attended have found courses easy to understand and follow also know they have a reliable back up with the team
·       Every staff member of the club has undertaken mainly all the courses that BAND have released. All these knowledge make us to have a better performance every day
·       Our staff have enjoyed the training they have received at BAND and feel that it has really helped them during their work
·       BAND training is always relevant and staff are very professional. Training sessions are very welcoming and this facilitates good participation from attendees
·       Always up-to-date, valid and valuable information as well as opportunities to network
·       Great, but could do with more of the essential training e.g. First aid training
·       Smaller organisations like ours wouldn't exist if we had to access training from other providers who are much more expensive. Our management committee are made up of volunteers and many have children. BAND subsidise the cost of this as without this financial support many of our volunteers wouldn't be able to access the training programme
·       Some courses are oversubscribed e.g. Paediatric 1st Aid
·       Training is always relevant and practical making it very useful
·       Safeguarding CP training was excellent
·       Always enjoy training is the comment made by my staff team
·       Sometimes courses are not at the most convenient times – I know this must be difficult for you though
·       I would love to see BAND putting on an Administration of Medicines course
·       Last attended marketing and publicity, regularly attend CPD, very useful.
 
4.   In your opinion is BAND News
 
Excellent: 22 (29%) Very Good: 46 (60%) Good: 8 (10%) Okay: 1 (1%) Poor: 0 (0%)  
 
Comments:
·       The information is useful and relevant at the time of printing
·       Glad you are going to email - was a waste of paper and stamps
·       It's nice to read the tips and articles in and use the ideas in it
·       We take a lot of ideas
·       I probably find this my most useful resource for keeping up to date with changes and management issues
·       Informative and fun. A celebration of PVI settings
·       Lots of info - if we didn’t have this we would feel extremely isolated
·       Interesting to hear about the news of others
·       Sensible decision to distribute BAND News electronically in the future as printing / postage costs must be substantial
·       It is invaluable as it flags up new developments which may otherwise be missed
·       Very helpful
·       Really useful for keeping up to date and funding info
·       Very pleased to see you are moving to e-news!
·       Sad to see it move to online. I am old fashioned and prefer magazine format!
·       Keep up to date
·       Excellent to keep up to date with legislation especially.
 
5.   If your setting received funding and / or fundraising support from BAND, do you feel this was
 
Excellent: 12 (63%) Very Good: 6 (32%) Good: 1 (5%) Okay: 0 (0%) Poor: 0 (0%)   
      Comments:
·       Kept us informed and guided us through all the process
·       Not used this year but had used last year
·       Funding which we have received over the years has been well received for the group; staff, children and parents all benefiting!
·       ***** always helps us find sources of funding
·       It has been offered, but we didn’t use them
·       ***** did a very good job.
 
6.   Do you feel the book or equipment loan service is
 
Excellent: 4 (21%) Very Good: 8 (42%) Good: 5 (26%) Okay: 2 (11%) Poor: 0 (0%)
Comments:
 
·       I have borrowed books to help with my recent studies - I now have EYPS and am completing my forest school leader qualification. Your books were very appropriate
·       We should use the books offer more often
·       Not so far used this service but something we will look into
·       The service is great, but in reality a lot of the equipment is broken or missing or mixed up. Considering it's free it's still pretty good
·       Used it once
·       Mainly because we are so busy and it’s hard to collect and drop off
·       I would like to use this in the future
·       Some items are missing or need repair
·       Never used but sounds great
·       It’s hard for us to provide a deposit f £50 as we are a small charity we have to have funds signed by three trustees which is time consuming. A small amount would be easier.
7.   (Full members with BAND insurance only) Do you feel the insurance service is
 
Excellent: 7 (32%) Very Good: 13 (59%) Good: 2 (9%) Okay: 0 (0%) Poor: 0 (0%)
      Comments:
·       Keeps us up to date with it
·       Quick to apply and get covered. Reasonably priced
8.   (Full and Affiliate members and Childminders running DBS checks through BAND only) Do you consider the DBS check service to be
 Excellent: 19 (48%) Very Good: 14 (35%) Good: 5 (13%) Okay: 2 (5%) Poor: 0 (0%)   
 Comments:
·       Sometimes seem to take a while to come through
·       We don't use it but it is a good service to have there if you need it
·       Excellent advice on the end of the phone, quick service
·       Not used this service
·       Obtain DBS checks through another agency, although may look into using BAND reflecting on changes/prices
·       Always really helpful to assist with the questions we may have
·       ***** is always understanding when I get things wrong or forget to include something
·       ***** is always very helpful
·       Good service
·       We are going to apply for it soon
·       It is sometimes difficult to get hold of someone to talk to but the support and service has been good.
 9.   Do you think the BAND website is   
 Excellent: 14 (22%) Very Good: 29 (45%) Good: 17 (27%) Okay: 4 (6%) Poor: 0 (0%) 
 Comments:
·       Good for information and job vacancies
·       Easy to use. Good information
·       Lots of info - thank you BAND
·       The information and service it provides is excellent; the actual interface and appearance is okay
·       I do use it
·       Could be more streamlined, could ‘look’ better
·       Very informative
 
Any other comments you’d like to add about BAND services?
·       Always found the service a god send for support and information to stay legal
·       When our preschool was having financial and managerial difficulties last year and the previous year BAND were an invaluable source of information and support. Without their help we may not be here now - so thank you
·       We wouldn't be able to improve as we have done it in the past 4 years without BAND support
·       I really feel supported by the development workers they keep us up to date and relevant and legal. Thank you very much
·       Such a valuable resource for any setting
·       BAND provides an invaluable service which I would hate to be without. The support is second to none. Thank you for all your help!
·       Thanks for being there as a fantastic supporting organisation!
·       BAND is invaluable as a support and training mechanism for our setting
·       Invaluable support
·       We would not have survived without having the back up of BAND - always happy to recommend
·       The whole support our After School provision receives is of the highest quality. As parents there are many areas relating to the statutory requirements that we need support with and this could not be achieved within the capacity of a Voluntary organisation. The help provided has been invaluable
·       It would be good to see different training being offered in the New Year as we have completed all that's currently on offer
·       Smaller organisations like ours wouldn't be able to run so efficiently without the expertise and support of BAND
·       My support worker ***** has always been helpful and friendly
·       I honestly don't know what I'd do without them. I doubt I'd be able to do the job I enjoy
·       Glad to have the support of BAND it stops you feeling isolated as you can become aware of what other settings similar to ours are doing
·       We've only very recently signed up as Affiliate members of BAND so it's very hard to answer these questions meaningfully
·       Glad they are on the end of the phone for advice. It is very isolated running early years provision in the voluntary sector, no networks to support you, BAND is great for that
·       Keep up the good work – we would be lost without you!
·       BRAC loves BAND!
·       As a small organisation we are able to easily access very relevant info and training
·       Thanks you’re all fab!
·       I think the support offered from BAND is a great service, it gives peace of mind knowing you can speak to someone who knows your setting and has knowledge of Ofsted etc
·       Excellent work all round, keep it up
·       Lovely supportive service to have access to training
 
 Stats Report


Question

2011/12

2012/13

Number of questionaires Sent out

193

198

Number of respondents to date

84 (44%)

81 (41%)

% of respondents that rated BAND's overall service as Very Good or Excellent

78%

86%
        
Rated service Very Good or Excellent

Question

2011/12

2012/13

Support from BAND to start up or expand childcare setting

32 (87%)

38 (100%)

Received advice / assistance from BAND's development and support team

52 (85%)

64 (98%)

Staff / managers attended BAND training courses

58 (84%)

57 (89%)

BAND News

59 (75%)

68 (88%)

Received funding and / or fundraising support from BAND

10 (38%)

18 (95%)

Book or equipment loan service

11 (100%)

12 (63%)

(Full members with BAND insurance only) insurance service

7 (70%)

20 (91%)

Full and Affiliate members and Childminders running DBS checks through BAND

38 (89%)

33 (83%)

BAND website

43 (71%)

43 (67%)