News

Severe delays in the registration process are preventing thousands of new childminders from starting work, according to an Ofsted report.

Early Years, Early Days, Ofsted’s review of its first year of handling child care inspections, shows that the education watchdog still has to process 13,000 out of a total of 28,000 new childminder applications by the deadline of April next year, raising doubts that it can complete the task. 
It is currently taking Ofsted six months to carry out police checks and pre-registration inspections on new childminders. By April 2003 it will have to run around 70 per cent of applications within three months.
• www.ofsted.gov.uk