Ofsted grades should not be only way of measuring quality

Research published today cautions against decisions about quality based on using Ofsted grades alone, and said this was particularly important for local authorities making decisions about funding and commissioning providers.

Parents should also be given extra guidance to help them understand early years practice so that they know what to look for when visiting settings, and understand the role and remit of Ofsted.

The study by the Daycare Trust, the University of Oxford and A+ Education found that there can be a large difference between Ofsted grades and how other measures rate settings.

It said that Ofsted grades are too broad to give parents a detailed measure of the quality of childcare and recommends that other quality assurance schemes should be taken into account by parents to help them choose nurseries and childminders.

It said that Ofsted ratings should be used alongside other quality assessments, such as ECERS (Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale) and ITERS (Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale).

Focus groups were carried out with parents, providers and local authorities to find out how these different measures were understood.

Some settings judged outstanding or good by Ofsted were given a lower rating on the ECERS and ITERS scales.

The study’s authors say that this could lead to implications for funding, as Ofsted ratings are used by many local authorities to decide which early years settings receive free entitlement funding.

Local authorities should consequently use a range of measures when allocating funding, particularly when making decisions about choosing which settings should offer free childcare places for disadvantaged two-year-olds.

Sandra Mathers, lead researcher from the Department of Education at the University of Oxford and Director of A+ Education Ltd said, ‘We should not forget that Ofsted is a regulatory tool rather than a detailed quality measure. Our research suggests that ‘Ofsted grades cannot necessarily be relied upon as complete measure of quality, and may need to be complemented by other measures.'

‘This has important implications for the way in which funding decisions around early education are made, and particularly the free entitlement for disadvantaged two-year- olds.’

Anand Shukla, chief executive of Daycare Trust, (pictured), added, ‘There is overwhelming evidence that investing in high quality childcare in the formative years of a child’s life can make the biggest difference to their life chances, but as this research proves parents are not currently equipped to make informed choices on quality.

‘That is why Daycare Trust is calling on Ofsted to ensure its reports are accessible and useful to parents, and on local authorities to make more of the information they hold on childcare providers available to parents, to help them make choices based on quality.

‘Given the high cost of childcare, parents deserve access to comprehensive information on quality so they can exercise informed choice.’