Childminder "too caring"

[Fan of Big Tone]

This will interest @hissingdwarf, a childminder friend of my wife's has just had her Ofsted inspection and has been downgraded for being too caring, apparently her crime was holding a child's hand while they were climbing a garden slide and helping another child to tie it's shoelaces!

I know children have to learn to be independent but she was probably trying to impress the inspector by caring. The worlds gone mad!

[Chris]

It's stupid but if you stand out for good reasons, which makes others look bad or just lazy then it does happen.

This story is very pathetic, the care can make such a huge difference IMO.

Been there, done that - Almost had the t-shirt.

My story below....

Believe it or not when I worked in the care home I was told by my direct line manager and the actual 'homes manager' that I was too caring. I was asked to reduce the hours I spent with residents (I took them out, stayed after work, played games with them, took them to the shops etc). My co-worker (not my boss) never liked it and would tell lies to the homes manager, who one day sat me down in her office and told me I had to stay a way from making contact with any of the residents. I was just to go about my job and only reply to them because I made the carers and other staff look bad.

The residents actually protested! A blind lady I had took to Notts refused to leave her room, another lady complained and became problematic and always insisted for me. It was quite surreal really, I had support from all the residents even the one's who barely moved. For example a resident called Andy could only move his hands and if someone said something about me he would clap.

It made me realize what I was doing was worthwhile, so I made a complaint to my area manager and asked them to speak with the residents. All changed after that, at least until they let me go.

[super_ram]

What bl'*dy nonsense!.I suppose if the lady hadn't helped the child on the slide she would have been classed as negligent.As for helping the child with shoelaces,well how do kids learn how to do something without help?I must be too caring too because I always try to anticipate danger and problems to try and prevent accidents/mishaps before they happen.

[Feral Fox]

OFSTED are a bloody joke at the minute. The current idea for childminders to only be seen as educators makes me laugh. A recent OFSTED inspector visiting a minder in the local area spoke to the wife as she knew her previously from working elsewhere. She said to her that it has all changed yet again since last year. Now they purely focus on the learning activity taking place and what the children are 'taught' in the session. A mum who overheard the conversation said that if she wanted her child taught 24/7 she would have chosen a rigid day nursery not a friendly home childminder. The inspector said even if I agree totally we have to judge the minder the same as we do a teacher now! 

Fortunately I had a handle on this and started to change a few things around over the past six months, but they were questioned by the parents, and to be fair I agree with them. 

Example being the daily diary sheets we fill in. I've changed it to a familiar to me school type example where the 'what things we have enjoyed today' has been replaced with 'Learning and EYFS criteria met during session.' In other words what was taught and learnt, remembering two of the children are 1yr old! Parent questioned me as it was obvious it came from me. I pointed them in the direction of Sir Michael Wiltshires last quote

 

"The evidence is clear – starting to learn from a young age with high quality teacher-led provision can have a real and lasting impact on children's development and life chances, particularly for those from the most disadvantaged families.

"High quality school nurseries will enable children who are behind to catch up with their peers before starting school. Childminders do not offer that. They are often mums wanting to help out."

 

In others words I want rid of childminders and want schools taking children from the earliest possible age to learn the things they don't seem to be learning now in school. Maybe an extra few years might help the school catch up with its stupid targets!!!!! How insulting is that?

 

Sorry. Rant over.

 

Back to the original post...Bloody ridiculous. Of course you are going to be there to help if you suspect an accident might occur. As @super_ram said if you weren't there and you for-sore the accident happening and didn't act you are negligent. And why the bloody hell wouldn't you help a child learn to tie their laces.

Ooopppsss. Maybe the inspector has shares in velcro!

[liampie]

more should be like this rather than the heartless people they tend to employee.

[Fan of Big Tone]

It's stupid but if you stand out for good reasons, which makes others look bad or just lazy then it does happen.

This story is very pathetic, the care can make such a huge difference IMO.

Been there, done that - Almost had the t-shirt.

My story below....

Believe it or not when I worked in the care home I was told by my direct line manager and the actual 'homes manager' that I was too caring. I was asked to reduce the hours I spent with residents (I took them out, stayed after work, played games with them, took them to the shops etc). My co-worker (not my boss) never liked it and would tell lies to the homes manager, who one day sat me down in her office and told me I had to stay a way from making contact with any of the residents. I was just to go about my job and only reply to them because I made the carers and other staff look bad.

The residents actually protested! A blind lady I had took to Notts refused to leave her room, another lady complained and became problematic and always insisted for me. It was quite surreal really, I had support from all the residents even the one's who barely moved. For example a resident called Andy could only move his hands and if someone said something about me he would clap.

It made me realize what I was doing was worthwhile, so I made a complaint to my area manager and asked them to speak with the residents. All changed after that, at least until they let me go.

 

 

That's incredible @notts-joe, they should have been setting you as an example to the other staff not telling you to fall in line with them!

[Fan of Big Tone]

I think I've told this story before but when we were childminders the inspector came and we went out to play in the garden followed by the inspector making notes, a clothes prop fell and missed one of the children by inches, we were mortified, nothing like that had ever happened before, we always kept to strict safety procedures, it was my fault because I didn't move it out of the way. Thankfully the inspector used a bit of common sense and realised it was a total "one off" and was so impressed with the rest of the visit that after phoning her office for guidance she gave us an outstanding, I can't see that happening these days, we'd probably have been struck off and barred from ever going near a child again.

[Chris]

That's incredible @notts-joe, they should have been setting you as an example to the other staff not telling you to fall in line with them!

When I first started I was shy, I didn't speak to many because I felt it wasn't my place but I got speaking to many over a period of time and it really bugged me seeing residents asking (sometimes pleading) for things. The home had people who cared, though a lot of internal politics and certain staff members clearly shouldn't have been working there.

Smokers! They preferred to use the time for that, when they should be doing their job. Whenever it went quiet they would sneak out and this include my co-worker, line manager and the homes boss.

I worked quite a bit at Hucknall's home and I was encouraged to be myself there.

I even had to ask my dad to attend one meeting with me, as my actual line-manager tried to discipline me for it. I started logging and keeping records of my co-worker and bosses breaks which is what I used when I spoke to the area manager. I always felt I made a difference there and it helped me more than I think it gave the residents comfort, I literally felt like some was almost like family to me.

Which might sound weird but when you build a friendship up with them, you want the best and I certainly tried.

[Feral Fox]

True! @tonyhateley. All your fault! Unfortunatley getting Outsatnding unless you know the inspector prior and their likes and dislikes (not impossible to find out, but you really need to know the right people. I did, not sure now!) Outstanding is really ever given now. Even the best of the best struggle with the taught lesson concept. Everyone wants the best label so to speak, but knowing what I do about the OFSTED regime and their internal politics I'll settle for good.

Doesn't help when they moved all the goals one way last year either. Special Measures is what it is! Old Satisfactory is now requires immediate improvement, Old good and outstanding have moved the other way too so it is ridiculously difficult to obtain even as a school!

 

After doing every job in a school from class teacher to acting Head Teacher you learn to ask the right questions of people. When I learnt this skill I was amazed to find how much prior knowledge some schools had of their inspection teams. Even going to lengths such as contacting the inspectors old colleges so they could name drop it in and create a friendship idea with the inspector. I know of two schools personally that in their last inspection were graded outstanding, but that was purely based on behind the scenes conversations before the inspection took place. They were good schools, nothing more, nothing less, but not outstanding.

 

In this day an age it is surprising, but I also know of one school where they were graded outstanding and then six months later the head retired. Guess who applied for and got the job? The lead inspector from the inspection. Cushty number walking into a school you have already graded Outstanding so nobody will inspect for 5-10 years and only then if results dive.

 

Most inspectors are either retired teachers, LEA staff put out of work due to academies or serving heads looking for a CV builder. It's who you know, not what you know!