One of our Nannies top Nannies was recently inspected by OFSTED – the inspection lasted two hours in the family home where she was working.
She was called the day before the inspection by OFSTED to say they were in the area and had randomly picked her – they tend to pick 10 Nannies in any one area at a time.
She brought her nanny file and documentation with her to work the next day, always working to best industry practice her documentation was up to date:
An enhanced DBS on the update service
A current paediatric first aid certificate
Liability insurance
The Inspector was very hot on asking our Nanny questions around child protection, safe guarding and a little deeper delving into emotional and physical neglect and radicalisation. They wanted to know how she stayed up to date on new policies, how she updated her training – did she make use of free courses online?
They wanted to know the house she worked in was safe, how she tackled issues with the parents for risk assessment and health and safety and asked for examples of this – she demonstrated the cupboards in the kitchen and bathrooms were child proofed and that stair gates were used etc.
They wanted to know how she put in place emotional and physical development so she demonstrated her use of nursery rhymes, colours, stepping stones, numbers, vocabulary, reading and talking to reach EYFS and getting her charges reaching their milestones and ready for pre school.
Finally she was asked about where she took her charges out and about, which classes did she use? And did she practice inclusion in her choice of venues to support diversity?
So the answer is yes Nannies do get inspected by OFSTED and the inspection is very thorough indeed.
By Helen McLean
www.teddingtonnanniesandsitters.com