Welcome to edition number four in our new series on Ofsted. We’ve talked to five outstanding nursery managers and leaders, as well as leading early years expert Dr Sue Allingham, to bring you all the tips, advice, and guidance that you need to improve your Ofsted rating.
Despite the recent withdrawl of Ofsted’s SEF (self-evaluation form), self-evaluation should still be playing a crucial role in your setting, helping you to continually improve and develop your practice.
With that being said, it can often be tricky to know where to start, or how much to do. Below, our experts reveal the key tips that have helped them achieve outstanding results in the past.
1. Always changing
It can be easy to feel content sticking with what you know, and what has worked in the past for your setting. But…
Catherine Walker, Childcare Manager, Priesthills Nursery
2. Organic self-evaluation
Ensuring that your self-evaluation remains fluid and adaptable to change lets you take on feedback from the children, parents, and staff in your setting.
Becky Pike, Partner, Hollies Day Nurseries
3. Constant self-evaluation
Reconsider the need for monthly, quarterly or even yearly evaluation – by instead adopting an ongoing reflective environment, your setting can better prepare for Ofsted.
Catherine Walker, Childcare Manager, Priesthills Nursery
4. Involving the parents
A parent knows their child best, and when seen with a fresh pair of eyes, parents can provide invaluable feedback on potential ways the nursery setting can transform from good, to outstanding.
Becky Pike, Partner, Hollies Day Nurseries
5. Keeping it fresh
Continuing to build on and develop from previous self-evaluations prevents stale or ineffective processes. That’s why a working document might be the best route…
Ailsa Monk, Principal, Cotswold Montessori School
6. Who to include?
As the name suggests, self-evaluation is mainly about looking inwards. But taking a step back makes it possible to get more input both from those inside your setting and beyond.
Becky Pike, Partner, Hollies Day Nurseries
7. Looking inwards
Often taking the time to simply observe one another in the work environment allows for constructive team feedback.
Michelle Tuddenham, Manager, Little Acorns Montessori
8. SEF no more?
SEF or no-SEF, self-evaluation and a complete overview of your setting are going to keep playing a vital role in Ofsted’s evaluation.
Dr Sue Allingham, Early Years Expert, EY Out Of The Box Consultancy
9. The self-evaluation scrapbook board
Paperwork doesn’t have to be boring! With Ofsted’s discontinuation of SEF why not get creative?
Catherine Walker, Childcare Manager, Priesthills Nursery
Found some helpful tips? Well, we’ve got some good news. You can now download the full guide for free, with 12 different sections covering every area of your Ofsted inspection. Time to get the outstanding result that you deserve.
Free outstanding Ofsted guide
Download the full guide to read 12 sections of outstanding advice, completely free.