Beware bogus inspectors
NCMA has been made aware
that some childminders
have been contacted or
visited by people saying they are from Ofsted or one of
the two new inspection
service providers. Sometimes
the caller asks if they can have more details about the
childminder and their setting and may also ask if they can visit prior to
inspecting them.
If you are contacted by someone who
says they are from Ofsted, Tribal Services Plc or Prospects Service
Ltd and you have doubts as to their legitimacy, you should not give
any personal details out. A genuine inspector should know these
already and be able to read your details to you for
confirmation.
Ask for the callers to give their
full name, the name of the organisation they work for and tell them
you are ending the call to check their authenticity.
If they are at your door you should
carry out your usual checks, such as requesting
an ID card or asking them to wait while you call their head
office number.
You should telephone
Ofsted on
0300 123
1231 and explain that you have been contacted by a person
who claims to be working for the named organisation. Ask
Ofsted to check that the person is known to Ofsted as either its
own employee or someone from one of its inspection service
providers.
Further details about Ofsted's
outsourced inspections will be available in the forthcoming
October/November issue of
Who
Minds?.
Page updated:
8/25/2010