How to get outstanding under the New Inspection Framework

Last updated 22/03/2023

Getting outstanding is always a mixture of luck on the day, plus hours and hours of preparation beforehand to improve your chances that luck goes your way. Before you can get outstanding you must first make sure everything is ‘good’. So read the Inspection Handbook to make sure you are meeting the requirements for getting good. Here are some new things mentioned specifically in the 2019 Inspection Framework that you should consider if you want to get outstanding.

Story Time

Ofsted wants to see you reading to the children you look after. Reading is specifically stressed in several places. Hold a story time while the inspector is there and think of other ways to show how you encourage literacy including encouraging the parents to share books with their children at home. This article discusses how to get the most out of reading traditional stories with children.

 

Teach the children some new words

Improving vocabulary is also mentioned in several places in the Education Inspection Framework (EIF) and Inspection Handbook. Try to find an activity to demonstrate to the inspector that involves teaching the children some new vocabulary words. If you are stuck for ideas why not try this ‘wild words’ scavenger hunt?

Share information with parents

You must share information with parents about their child’s progress in relation to the EYFS. You should support parents to extend their child’s learning at home, including encouraging a love of reading. There are lots of ways to do this such as What’ App’ messages, talking to parents, lending them books or sharing information you have found on-line. You can also make displays for parents to look at or stick with traditional Learning Journals.

Cultural capital

Make sure to use this term in front of the inspector! Make sure you are doing starting points observations on the children so you can establish any gaps in their learning and plan for them. This article has more on cultural capital. Do not make light of this! Make sure you are familiar with the term and are planning accordingly for the children you care for.

Sing songs

Songs, rhymes and musical games are specifically mentioned as ways to improve children’s speech and language. Make sure to demonstrate a song or rhyme or two! (You might find this article about nursery rhymes interesting.)

The language of feelings

Ofsted has stressed the importance of teaching children the ‘language of feelings’. Find ways to show that you do this at your setting or pick an activity to do with the children that gets them talking about feelings. ‘Emotional literacy’ is a biggie.

Teach diversity

Make sure you can demonstrate that you are teaching children about different cultures and religions and try and make these activities relevant to the children you look after in Britain. The Kids To Go MEGA Diversity Awareness Pack can help you to choose relevant activities.

Promote British values

Show that you are ACTIVELY promoting British values. Make sure you know what these are and can state examples of what you do to promote them. You won’t even get ‘good’ if you are not doing this.

(In each monthly ‘Childminding Best Practice Club‘ Toolkit there is a different tip for either British values or diversity, along with a monthly activity for you to do with your children.)

 Promote independence in matters of self care

Make a big deal out of asking the children to put their own shoes on and coats, help tidy up, set the table and pour their own drinks etc. Show how you encourage children to learn to be independent ready for starting school.

Know what your potty training procedure is

Potty training is specifically mentioned in the new Inspection Framework, probably in response to the increasing number of children who start school not potty trained. Even if you don’t have any children being potty trained at the time of your inspection, make sure you can describe your procedure (including how you communicate with parents about this subject).

Promote resilience

Resilience is one of the most important aspects of the Characteristics of Effective Learning (COEL). Children do better in school if they can pick themselves up after a set back and try again. This is a skill that can be nurtured, practiced and taught to children and one that can make a huge difference to their life chances. The Kids To Go COEL pack gives you lots of great ways you can promote this important life skill.

Promote physical activity and risk taking

Be clear about not only how you give children opportunities to run around and get exercise, but also how this activity promotes children’s risk taking skills. How do you encourage children to take appropriate risks so they can build character by ‘failing and falling’ sometimes.

 

The internet, digital technology and social media

If the children have access to the internet, how do you check they are using it safely? Furthermore, how to you encourage parents to promote internet safety at home? Read this article about internet safety to help get you started.

 

Be able to explain what you need to do to improve

This is not new but it is more important than ever to have an accurate self evaluation of your setting’s strengths and weaknesses and to demonstrate that you have a plan in place to address areas you would like to improve. You don’t need to write this down, but you should have a clear idea of what you do well and what you might need to improve. I think it is easier to put at least some of the points in writing so that you can refer to them during your inspection and make sure you actually do them.

 What plans for Continual Professional Development (CPD) do you have for yourself and any assistants you employ?

You should have a plan for your own CPD. I think it is a good idea to keep a written record of this so that you can produce this for your inspector and show you are trying to continuously learn. Remember that CPD does not just have to be formal courses put on by your local authority. The Childminding Best Practice Club toolkits have CPD activities you can try each month – it’s just about trying new things or looking at something you have been doing for years in a new way, and asking yourself what you learned from the skill, what the children learned and how you would do things differently next time.

Safeguarding, safeguarding, safeguarding

You will not get good if you are not meeting the safeguarding requirements, so make sure you read the Inspecting Safeguarding handbook, recognise the signs of abuse, could identify a child at risk and could explain to your inspector without looking it up what you would do if you thought a child you were looking after was being abused.

Lots of this is not necessarily new, but it stressed more than before in the new Inspection Handbook. Aim high! Outstanding is an achievable goal that any childminder can get with hard work and the determination to be the best at what you do.

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About Kids To Go

Kids To Go was established in 2008. Products include the Ultimate Childminding Checklist, best practice resources promoting diversity, safety and childminding in the great outdoors (Forest Childcare). It is the home of the Childminding Best Practice Club and the free weekly Childminding Best Practice newsletters.