Ofsted to run consultation on paid-for inspection details

The right for nurseries and childminders to request an inspection visit from Ofsted came into force earlier this year with the Children and Families Act, but no details about what the process will involve have been confirmed.

Ofsted has now said that it has been considering what procedures should be put in place and will consult before the end of the year.

Providers had long campaigned for the right for reinspection if they are not satisfied with their grade, and this became even more of an issue following the change in Ofsted grades from 'satisfactory' to 'requires improvement'.

Early years settings could be left waiting for a year for a reinspection following a 'requires improvement' grade, potentially locking them out of access to funding for two-year-old places, as some local authorities only fund good and outstanding settings for twos places.

An Ofsted spokesperson said, 'Legal provision for paid-for early years inspection has been in place since March. Since then we have been considering the best procedures and price that would allow nurseries and other early years providers to pay for their own inspection.

'This will take into account our need to undertake emergency inspections and our obligation to inspect every early years provider at least once within a cycle.

'We will consult on our proposals before the end of the year.'

Independent trainer for the early years sector and former regulatory inspector with the Ofsted compliance, investigation and enforcement team Debbie Alcock said, 'The Government has created the way for providers to bring forward their inspections, but it is now up to Ofsted to create the processes and procedures to make it happen. So many people are waiting for this to happen, so it is a shame it has been delayed.'

She said there were many unanswered questions, such as the actual cost, whether smaller pre-schools and childminders would pay less, and whether childminder agencies would pay for each childminder in their agency. 'The sector has been eagerly waiting for how this will work and many providers are desperate to be re-inspected,' she said.

'Unfortunately, the legislation does not put a cap on how much Ofsted will charge. Another question is: how will Ofsted manage to maintain unannounced visits to ensure both paid-for and scheduled inspections are able to test the same things?'

She added, 'The other concern is that those working in the early years sector are still reporting significant delays to inspections and inspections are not being carried out in a timely manner.

'While inspections within a cycle are being carried out, the delays are with the very providers who are desperate for reinspection to show the improvements they have made or where providers believe the outcome was unjustified.

'These are mainly the 'requires improvement' judgements, where the suggested time is an inspection within one year. A huge concern I have is that those persons who have not had an inspection within the required time will be willing to pay when it should have been done anyway, because they want the chance to showcase their provision. Will they be made to pay? If so, who gains this revenue? If the money goes to the service providers, Prospects and Tribal, it would be in their interest to prioritise paid-for inspections and not those that are overdue but where providers can't afford the fee.

'There is also no news on how many inspections a provider can pay for. This is worrying as it could be open to persons continually paying until they receive the grade they want.'

Ms Alcock pointed out that some settings could wait nine years between inspections if they were inspected at the beginning of an inspection cycle and graded outstanding or good, because an inspection cycle runs for five years.

She said she was concerned that 'requires improvement' settings could be left with 'nothing to show' for any improvements they have made, because they would remain on the same judgement, 'losing them clientele', with low staff morale and managers 'living with stress'.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said, 'Having long lobbied for the introduction of paid-for inspections, we welcomed the Government's decision to include this in the Children and Families Act earlier this year. It's highly disappointing, therefore, that although this particular change legally came into force, providers have as yet been given no information on how to request an early reinspection, what this process will entail or how much it will cost.

'Given that access to free entitlement funding is now dependent on a provider's Ofsted rating, it's vital that those who feel that they have been unfairly graded, or want to demonstrate that their practice has improved significantly since their last inspection, are given this option.

'As such, we would urge Ofsted to clarify the current situation as a matter of urgency.'

Chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) Purnima Tanuku said, 'NDNA fought a long campaign to make paid-for early years inspections a reality for providers and since becoming a legal possibility in March we would like to see them put into practice as a matter of urgency.

'We firmly believe providers being able to pay for an inspection rather than having to wait, sometimes for months, before routine reinspection, will encourage settings to make swift improvements and reduce the long-term negative impact a downgrade can have on the business.

'There are still a significant number of nurseries that have satisfactory gradings which may not be in line for an inspection for some time.

'It is, however, important that practical and workable guidelines and procedures for these inspections are in place to ensure paid-for inspections are robust and consistent.

'We are very keen to work with Ofsted in developing a system which will be fair and provide the best outcomes for the sector, but it is important for Ofsted to realise that implementing these inspections must be seen as a priority.'