Ofsted brings 'requires improvement' inspections in-house
Friday, September 26, 2014
Ofsted’s own in-house inspectors will take on responsibility for re-inspecting 'requires improvement 'nurseries in place of outside contractors Prospects and Tribal, Nursery World can exclusively reveal.
Early years director Nick Hudson said that the move was intended to support these settings to move to ‘good or better swifter’ and ensure that inspectors can focus on inspecting providers.
Mr Hudson said, ‘Ofsted inspectors, rather than our contractors, will re-inspect nurseries judged to require improvement. Coupled with our improvement seminars for these providers, we hope this will make the journey to good or better swifter.’
The move will likely be welcomed by the sector, which has been calling for Ofsted to bring early years inspections in-house.
From October, Ofsted inspectors will also complete all re-inspections of providers judged as inadequate where Ofsted is taking enforcement action.
Ofsted will also focus on early years register inspections, rather than childcare inspections, during the next few months.
‘These changes are being introduced so that our inspectors can concentrate on inspecting providers who need to be inspected rather than other activity that we have traditionally undertaken,’ Mr Hudson said.
Ofsted is also making changes to the timescales for the post-registration process for new settings.
Inspections will now take place within 30 months of the setting opening, rather than the current period of within seven months.
Mr Hudson said this would free up a lot more time – he estimated up to 10,000 days - to prioritise nurseries, childminders and other early years providers that are not yet good or outstanding.
‘It will also give new providers longer to embed their practice so that at their first inspection they will have every chance to show that they are good or better.’
- Read Nick Hudson’s blog in full here.
