Staging a mock inspection is one of the best ways to prepare for your Ofsted Inspection. A fresh set of eyes can alert you to problems you might face and help you fix them before the Inspector comes calling! You can undertake several self-assessment tasks before any inspection to discover whether or not your home is on the right track to meeting the Regulations and Standards.
At the time of writing, we must factor in COVID-19. We haven’t added it to the 15 questions, but you will need to ensure that your COVID-19 internal checks, policies and infection control procedures are up to date.
Here are 15 questions to get you started.
Are the staff team knowledgeable about the dreams and aspirations of the children and young people in their care?
Are risk assessments regularly updated, and do they include contextual safeguarding risks?
Do the staff work to ensure children and young people develop meaningful, healthy friendships inside and outside the home?
Do the staff actively help children and young people reduce episodes of missing from care? Have you introduced the Philomena Protocol?
Does each eligible young person have a thorough “transition plan” (pathway plan) to guide his or her journey into adulthood and independence?
Are relevant services involved in helping protect young people from child sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation?
Are the staff team trauma-informed and learning how adverse childhood experiences impact development and behaviour?
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Are the staff team, on the whole, emotionally engaged with the children and young people in the home? Do they have training in mental health awareness?
Do the staff team have regular client informed training and progressive, development-focused supervision?
Are all staff thoroughly aware of how well the children and young people are doing in school, including an in-depth knowledge of which subjects they have issues with and which they excel in?
Are plans in place to bring children and young people up to speed in any areas of academic weakness that are present? Are children with learning disabilities enabled to excel?
Is your workforce development plan up to date?
Do the staff work to ensure that children and young people eat high quality, nutritious foods? Do staff try to help children and young people learn about the importance of nutrition and how to eat well?
Are children and young people encouraged to partake in physical activity they enjoy? Are children and young people with disabilities sufficiently enabled to engage in physical activity in an accessible, enjoyable way?
Are the children and young people provided with adequate, inspired leadership? Do you have a well-thought-out vision for the home, one which staff and children alike are happy to work towards achieving?
Take a fearless moral inventory using the above questions. If you honestly answer yes to all of the above and are truly confident you can ‘evidence’ this, then you are heading in the right direction.
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