In May, we published a blog about the upcoming changes for childminders this autumn. The Department for Education is now bringing in these changes on 1 November 2024 to give the early years sector (in particular childminders) more flexibility. These …
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 …
This blog was updated in August 2024 to reflect changes to the EYFS paragraph numbers. The Chancellor recently announced an optional change to childcare ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 for two-year-old children. This change applies from September 2023. All other …
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 …
This blog post explains a bit more about how and why nannies might think about registering with Ofsted and what that can mean for parents who employ a nanny.
In this blog post, Chris explains what we'll be doing as part of our strategy for the early years.
This blog explains what committee-run childcare is and what Ofsted's role is in checking the suitability of committee members, trustees and directors.