Guest Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 We got the call today and they are in Tuesday and Wednesday next week. We have been expecting it for a while so it wasn't a great surprise. The inspector has sent through a rough timetable for the 2 days. At the end of the first day he is meeting with all core subject co-ordinators (we are a very small school so that is all of us) but then there is 'meeting with eyfs leader'. Is this normal? Has anyone else had this meeting and if so what sort of questions did they ask? It has sent me into a bit of a panic as no-one else has to have an individual meeting. Any help would be greatly recieved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 I had an individual meeting with the inspector who had responsibility for Early Years and I found it good. She was extremely supportive and made suggestions on how to improve my tracking documents and even gave me a quick tutorial on the quick way to get an average on a spreadsheet! She talked about her findings and asked me any questions about aspects of practice / provision that she hadn't seen. She gave lots of praise and told me that she expected to see in 2 to 3 years that the department had moved from good to outstanding as we had the potential for this! It was the first time I actually enjoyed an OfSted inspection!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 (edited) Because on a school OFSTED report foundation stage has its own section (where as judgements for say science for the rest of school will be covered by a statement for Y1-Y6) it is normal for the foundation stage co-ordinator/team leader to have their own interview.Try not to worry about it you are not been singled out. Edited March 19, 2010 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 Thanks for that. Those replies (and the 2 galsses of wine) have made me feel a lot calmer. I just have to keep thinking - it will all be over this time next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3401 Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 I found it a great opportunity to ensure she knew as much about us as possible; we are a large school but as we had previously been graded good we only had 1 day inspection so therefore there was no way they were going to see everything. I had a comprehensive file and talked her through everything! S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 We had the visit last week and our EYFS manager had a meeting, granted she was in for about half a day due to all the other hats she wears but you know... Good luck our inspection team were lovely (can't believe i've just said that!) and as a school 'we are very pleased with our results' roll on 3 weeks for official report yippee!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 We were ofsted before christmas and we had the same, a meeting after school on the first day. I was so nervous about it but it turned out to be a really postitive experience, I just took examples of all the good things we were doing and told her everything I could think off that we were doing! She was really nice the only thing she did want to see that we didn't have (as it was my first year in nursery) was the on entry data for the past three years so they could make a comparisom between that and the profile results. I did have it for this current year and she was pleased with that but they seemed quite keen to see it. I suppose they have an agenda for each school though and that could've been what they wanted to see from us. I'm sure you'll be fine, just think of it as an opportunity to show off all the excellent things you do as this is your only chance, they can't see everything in an observation so really sell yourself. Im sure you'll be fine x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3307 Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 (edited) Preparation for this meeting is very important and I would always advise having access to and/or knowledge about the following ready: On entry data and cohort summaries (against national expectations) How you track and progress summaries(from entry to current positions) and your analysis for gender/EMA/FSM etc etc - know who your vulnerable groups are and what you are doing to narrow the gap of under attainment by any groups in your school community. If you have any Looked after children (LAC) know exactly what they are doing. They are a high profile vulnerable group currently EYFSP data 2009 and your analysis for gender/EMA/FSM etc etc - and narrowing the gap data as above. Don't forget it's not just about attainment but achievement too. High EYFSP scores may not mean good progress. Your own evaluation of strengths/weaknesses of the setting and what you have planned/are currently doing to address them and any impact evaluation so far to evidence how outcomes for children are being improved Work with parents/carers and the impact on children's outcomes (case studies?) Profile of teaching and learning - how do you as a leader judge the quality of the teaching. What CPD are you delivering to move your setting from satisfactory to good or good to outstanding? What monitoring do you undertake and what were the outcomes of the monitoring. How good is your provision? EYFS statutory processes - your safeguarding, risk assessing procedures etc etc It might sound a bit scary but these are the things they will possibly want to know from you and in my experience of helping schools prepare for their Ofsteds under the new framework it is very much a focus on how well do you know yourselves and how well do ALL children attain and achieve under your care. Have you looked at the Ofsted inspection schedule?? You will find the range of evidence sources that the inspectors are looking for all clearly listed for you and also the grade descriptors they will use. Do you have access to what is written in the SEF as this will be used as their starting point. Find out from the HT if there are any lines of enquiry for EYFS in the Pre Inspection Briefing (PIB) before they start the inspection and be prepared to be finding information they might suddenly require on the first evening of the inspection!! You are demonstrating to them why you are the grade you say you are so don't be afraid to defend your position with your evidence base. Don't say you do something if you don't as they will be able to find out!!! Also it's not a memory test so take your notes and files to the meeting but have them labelled up so you can find your references quickly. Good luck - I'm sure you'll be fine!! Cx Edited March 20, 2010 by catma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 Thank you all so much! I am feeling much better about it now. The pointers about what to prepare and take with me are really useful. Thanks! Will let you know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_4544 Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 Thank you all so much! I am feeling much better about it now. The pointers about what to prepare and take with me are really useful. Thanks! Will let you know how it goes. good luck we have ours Tuesday and Wednesday too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_79 Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Good luck to both of you. Will be interested to hear how your new spin in yr2 is received Marion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_3307 Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Good luck to Marion too!! CX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 We had Ofsted at the beginning of the month and they had an inspector with EY expertise who met with the FS manager and me. I wasn't meant to be there as I jobshare and was supposedly finished but I had hung around and she invited me in too! She was lovely and said she was there to listen and to tell her what we did that we though made us good - so we did. We didn't let her get a word in edgeways and kept thrusting stuff under her nose to look at! She particularly wanted to know about how we track pregression from entry - wanted to know how we baseline, asked about risk assessments/safeguarding (this was a problem further up school so they were keen on checking FS had things in place!). We kept her talking for AGES and actually really enjoyed shwing off all our hard work and everything we do that we think makes us good. Good luck Rachel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Nothing more to add really - similar experiences from my own one to one with the Inspector (very supportive, constructive feedback, gave me time to explain things she hadn't seen, talked about where I see our FS going and how I plan to get there), and good luck wishes for you all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions. The meeting was fine - similar points as you all said. Evidence for attainment on entry, progress through foundation stage and how parents are engaged. We came out as good as a school. So relieved! Onto the second glass of wine now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Good news!! Enjoy the wine!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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