Ofsted chief flags up concern about risks to vulnerable children in the pandemic

Speaking at the virtual launch of the inspectorate’s annual report today, Ms Spielman said, ‘When nurseries and schools closed in March, they were told to remain open to the most vulnerable  children with SEND, those in care, children with existing mental health problems – which of course meant those whose need was already identified. And even of these, we know that relatively few actually attended. The rest stayed at home – some, inevitably, in harm’s way.

‘Teachers are often the eyes that spot signs of abuse and the ears that hear stories of neglect. Closing schools didn’t just leave the children who - unbeknown to others - suffer at home without respite, it also took them out of sight of those who could help.’

She went on to say that attendance at nursery still remains ‘stubbornly low’, while a recent survey by local authorities suggests there are now more than 75,000 children being home-schooled, a 38 per cent increase on last year. Many have chosen to do so because of their fears about Covid-19, rather than a genuine desire to home-school, says the inspectorate.

According to the report for 2019-2020, a significant proportion of children who have disappeared from school are those known to wider children’s services – for instance, because they have complex needs or previous attendance issues.

Ofsted found that the low numbers of children who attended school during the first national lockdown, combined with disruption to community health services, affected the ability of local safeguarding partners to identify and families in need of early help and protection.

Within the report, the inspectorate also expresses concern about children with SEND, as it says their access to additional support and healthcare was ‘sharply’ reduced. It states that early identification and assessment have suffered because children were not in school and had less access to universal health services. For some children, Ofsted says, this will cause ‘lasting harm’.

Inspections

A total of 8,540 inspections of early years and childcare providers were carried out between September 2019 and August 2020. However, inspections were paused in mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The chief inspector said this morning that Ofsted was expecting an announcement from the education secretary about re-starting inspections. However, she doesn’t believe graded inspections will resume in January.

She added that when they return, inspectors won’t expect people to have ‘performed miracles’. 

Ms Spielman also acknowledged the hard work of schools. She said staying open during the pandemic has been a big ask for schools, who along with their normal role and work in the community, they are having to manage an ‘invisible virus’ and seamlessly switch to remote learning. She said that ‘schools do far more than they are given credit for.’

Providers and places

Despite a continual decline in the number of childminders, the number of early years places have remained stable at 1.3 million, which Ofsted says suggests an increase in the number of places offered by each provider. The inspectorate says there has been minimal change in the number of nurseries and pre-schools.

However, there are concerns surrounding sufficiency of provision due to Covid-19.

According to Ofsted, many nurseries have voiced significant concerns around delayed payments, particularly those associated with the Job Retention Scheme salary payments. Some nurseries that continued to provide childcare for key workers and vulnerable children have been able to secure additional bank support, but many that were already struggling fear they will not be able to reopen. The report refers to the Early Years Alliance’s survey that found a quarter of childcare providers believe they are likely to close within the next year.

• According to the report, there are currently 36,600 childminders, 390 nursery schools and 27,600 nurseries and pre-schools.
• Of those on the early years register, 96 per cent were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection – this is unchanged from the previous year.
• Those in nursery groups were more likely to be judged outstanding, and this increased with the size of the group. 19 per cent of standalone nurseries were outstanding at their last inspection, compared to 33 per cent of those in groups of 21 or more nurseries.
• A total of 63 per cent of nursery schools were judged outstanding at their most recent inspection.

Ofsted began inspecting settings under the Education Inspection Framework EIF from September of last year.

Once full inspections resume, early years providers will be inspected within six years of their last inspection.  

A Department for Education spokesperson said, ‘Thanks to the professionalism of staff in schools, nurseries, colleges and children’s homes, this report shows that the standard of education and support that children and young people receive has remained high. 

‘The safety and well-being of the most vulnerable children has always been our focus, which is why we kept nurseries, schools and colleges open for those children throughout the pandemic. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the teachers and support workers who have gone above and beyond to support vulnerable children since national restrictions were first introduced.  

‘It remains a national priority to keep full-time education open for all. We have allocated £1 billion to schools to support all children to catch up on lost learning and are offering at least two years’ targeted tuition through the National Tutoring Programme to those who need it most.’

Sector reaction

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said, ‘The sector was concerned about vulnerable children and those with SEND even before the pandemic hit and the extra support it needs is highlighted in this report. Now they need tangible resources to help them support these children with both their physical and emotional development. 

‘Nurseries have been coping with low, inadequate funding rates for years and need real, meaningful rises in their hourly rate to deal with the full impact of Covid-19. The small rise in investment announced last week will not even cover the increase in wages from April, let alone enable them to support the most vulnerable children.’

‘Many nurseries are having to close rooms due to staff absence with positive cases, resulting in lower parental income to cover soaring costs. The sector desperately needs support now more than ever to remain sustainable so they can continue to deliver the high-quality care that parents expect and children need.’

Helen Donohoe, policy advisor at the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY), said, 'The findings of Ofsted’s report reinforce how challenging this year has been for early years providers and PACEY echoes Ofsted’s acknowledgement of providers’ hard work to ensure that children receive the best quality education, care and support during extremely difficult circumstances.

'Early years care and education is vital for child development, and not a "nice to have". This is evidenced in the number of children having lost skills across communication, physical development, literacy and mathematics, and having fallen behind in their emotional development while away from settings during the pandemic.

'Now more than ever we need a Government that takes early care and education seriously. We need a long term strategy. However, right now the sector needs investment. This unfortunately was not been reflected in the allocation of Covid-19 support funds, or in last week’s Spending Review, leaving frontline early years professionals continuing to exist hand to mouth.'

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, said, ‘School leaders have done everything possible to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on children, particularly the most vulnerable. Our members have ensured that schools meals continued; run food banks; flagged concerns about individual children to the services that can help them; identified and helped newly vulnerable families; washed clothes; and taken educational materials direct to families without adequate online access.

‘Of course additional investment is essential, but that alone will not do the job. This is about rebuilding the sources of support that these vulnerable children and families rely on: social care, health, youth services, and those in education – all need to be properly funded and resourced so they can work together effectively.’

Councillor Judith Blake, chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said, ‘The pandemic has led to rising numbers of families facing exceptionally difficult circumstances and councils have worked tirelessly with schools to keep them open and children and their families safe and well, through online and virtual contact and resources, as well as high priority home visits.

‘As the impact of the pandemic becomes clear, councils expect to see a significant rise in referrals to children’s social care and demand for wider children’s support services. It is essential that the right services can be there to support them and help them cope, to avoid families reaching crisis point.

‘Significant additional funding for children’s social care will be needed if we are to provide the support children, young people and their families need, when they need it. This includes early help funding to avoid families reaching crisis point, and sufficient funding for those children and families who need more intensive child protection responses. As a starting point, the £1.7 billion removed from the Early Intervention Grant since 2010 should be reinstated.’

• Ofsted's annual report is available here