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Early years and childcare: For early years and childcare providers
Inspecting early years and childcare
Early years
We inspect early years settings to judge the quality and standards for the welfare, learning and development of children which are set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Inspectors give each setting one of four grades:
- outstanding
- good
- satisfactory
- inadequate.
To reach an overall judgement, inspectors will ask themselves 'What is it like for a child here?'
Childcare
We inspect childcare providers to check that they comply with all the requirements of registration, but we do not make any judgements about the quality of their setting.
The inspection result will be measured in one of three ways, indicating how well the provider is meeting the requirements of registration. They are:
- met
- not met – and notice to improve
- not met – and enforcement measures taken.
Further information
- To help providers, we have a suite of factsheets.
- Committee-run registered childcare provision
- Concerns and complaints about childcare providers
- Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks for those providers who register with Ofsted
- Exemption from the learning and development requirements
- Giving medication to children in registered childcare
- Inspecting early years provision made before or after school or during school holidays
- Requirements for risk assessments
- Requirements of the Early Years Register
- The next steps: when a provider is judged inadequate or is not complying with requirements
- Triggers for inspections of those on the Early Years and Childcare Registers
- These factsheets are only for early years and childcare providers.
- These factsheets are only for childminders.
- Information topics provide a resource for providers of childcare, but will also be of use to parents and carers. The information contained is neither statutory guidance nor exhaustive; it is supplementary information of topics common to childcare and will be updated quarterly.
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