Ofsted in early years

Find out what Ofsted means to your early years setting

The Ofsted Inspection Framework update – September 2019

  • Members can access key changes and comparison tables here
  • Read NDNA’s response to the changes here.

What is Ofsted?

 Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills.

  
Ofsted’s role is to inspect and regulate England-based services that care for children and young people as well as services providing education and skills for learners of all ages.

As a nursery or childcare provider based in England you must be registered with Ofsted as they must carry out inspections and regulatory visits.

The results are then published online so you can use them to improve the overall quality of education and training in your setting.

Nursery Ofsted Inspections

Ofsted schedules early years inspections based on the most current risk assessment of the provision, including each provider’s previous judgement.

All early years providers are inspected in a 6-year window from the date of their last inspection.

Ofsted aims to inspect all new childcare providers within 30 months of registration where possible, childcare providers judged to require improvement are inspected within a year and inadequate childcare provision are inspected within six months. If there are concerns about any childcare provider, Ofsted can use its regulatory powers between inspections, and bring forward an inspection following a risk assessment.

Due to coronavirus / COVID-19 graded inspections of some registered early years providers will begin again from 4 May. Ofsted will continue to carry out urgent inspections where there are significant concerns about a provider.

Read more here
Download: A-safe-and-phased-return-to-inspection-march-2021

What is The Common Inspection Framework?

The Common Inspection Framework is the framework Ofsted inspects your early years settings against. 

This framework comes with guidance for inspecting safeguarding in early years, education and skills too.

What register do you need to be on?

There are 2 Ofsted registers: the Early Years Register and the Childcare Register. Find out which to join and how to change registers here.

EYFS disapplications (coronavirus)

All of the learning and development and assessment disapplications ceased to apply as of 25 September – providers are now required to reinstate the EYFS for these areas in full from 26 September. Read more here.

If you were due an inspection before lockdown, when is your next inspection?

Ofsted is looking to resume inspections from January 2021, but will keep this date under review. As it prepares to resume routine inspections it will provide more information about how it will organise who it is likely to inspect early on. For example, this will include those settings that are judged less than good at their last inspection and the date of their re-inspection has passed. 

Why do the survey on the phone, and not online so nurseries have time to reflect?

Ofsted hopes that doing the survey by telephone will give the opportunity for providers to discuss and expand on their answers. This will help Ofsted understand the impact the pandemic for the children and the sector.  

Latest Ofsted guidance

Ofsted support from NDNA

NDNA offers a range of support for nurseries regarding Ofsted: