Nursery World - Unpicking Ofsted Reports, Part 4: A New Evaluation Framework

Following her article last month on monitoring and evaluation systems, Pennie Akehurst looks at how to develop a new system of self-evaluation

In April, Ofsted published this statement, ‘Childcare providers do not need to produce any self-evaluation documentation, but managers and staff should be able to discuss the setting with the inspector. Inspectors will ask staff about the quality of care and activities they provide, and how well the setting is meeting the learning needs of all children.’

I would urge all leaders and managers to assess the risks before gleefully ditching your self-evaluation documents, and here’s why. Even with the Ofsted self-evaluation form (SEF) in place, my analysis of actions and recommendations of more than 2,000 inspection reports across the past three terms shows there are a significant number of settings that find self-evaluation challenging. It therefore doesn’t seem sensible to get rid of something that helps us to understand the effectiveness of what we do across areas of policy, procedure and practice.

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