Speaking at the Nursery World business Summit in London today (Tuesday), Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman said the inspectorate had been discussing how effectively they [Ofsted] inspect and regulate the early years sector and how they can give more prominence to their work.
She said that their next five-year strategy, which will be published in a ‘month or so’, will focus more on the early years.
Spielman suggested that the reason for focusing on the early years is the impact of the pandemic on young children.
She told delegates at the conference how there are still concerns surrounding the impact of the pandemic on young children’s communication skills and language development and their social skills. Providers have told the inspectorate that many first-time parents with children born during the pandemic, are anxious about leaving their child, while children are taking longer to settle, she said.
However, the chief inspector said that many social difficulties in children appear to be short lived, so there is hope there will be ‘little long-term impact’.
She went on to say that she was ‘determined that momentum around education recovery shouldn’t just start at age four’, and that 'Ofsted’s aspiration for early years must be more than just 'a surviving sector, it should be a thriving sector’.
Spielman also said that during this year, Ofsted would be evaluating how the introduction of the Early Years Inspection (EIF) framework is going, adding that ‘feedback from early years inspections has been very positive.’
Read Amanda Spielman's full speech here
- The 8th Nursery World Business Summit took place at the America Square Conference Centre in London on 8 March
