Early years
Childminders and childcare workers, such as nannies, are responsible for the safety and well-being of children in their care. Ofsted is legally required to check an applicant’s suitability at the point of registration. For daycare providers, it is the provider’s responsibility …
Once you have submitted your application to register with Ofsted, we will give you a call to discuss your application. At this stage we want to make sure everything you have included in your form is correct, to avoid any …
A child’s early education lasts a lifetime. That’s why giving all children ‘the best start in life’ is crucial and one of Ofsted’s strategic priorities. In this blog, I want to update you on some of the work we’ve been …
We know it’s a difficult time for the early years (EY) sector. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to find all the information you need from us so that you can focus on the children …
In November, we published a blog about our plans to streamline the early years registration process. Pilot programme Over the past few months, we have carried out a pilot, testing whether we could speed up the process by changing when …
We’re on the final stretch of our journey around the country delivering our early years curriculum roadshows on the education inspection framework (EIF). Now seems a good time to look at how far we’ve come and where we’re going to …
The Chancellor recently announced an optional change to childcare ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 for two-year-old children. This change will apply from September 2023. All other staff-to-child ratios remain the same. While the Department for Education sets the ratios, we …
Before looking ahead to what 2023 will hold for the early years sector, it's worth reflecting on the year that has just passed. Ofsted ended the year with the publication of our Annual Report, which provides an overview of what …
We want practitioners to have the confidence and freedom to do what they do every day. Our inspectors are tasked with finding out what it is like for children to attend their setting not just on the day of the inspection but every day. Therefore, we ask providers not to do anything differently just for the inspection.
Being a right-touch regulator is one of our new strategic priorities. This means ensuring that our regulation promotes high-quality care, education, and safeguarding for children, while being proportionate in our approach and reducing any unnecessary bureaucracy or burden. We’re also …
