Inspection body Ofsted should make more unannounced visits to child care providers, the president of an association for early years workers has recommended.
Marion Dowling, president of voluntary organisation Early Education – previously the British Association for Early Childhood Education – said that knowing about an inspection in advance gave staff the opportunity to change their practice in order to satisfy inspectors.
“The wool can be pulled over the inspectors’ eyes. There’s got to be more stringent regulation from Ofsted and many more spot checks with no notice given,” she said.
There are currently 107,100 registered child care providers and last year Ofsted made 3,500 unannounced inspection visits. Unannounced inspections are carried out if Ofsted receives information suggesting that standards are not being met, otherwise providers are told the month when their inspection will take place.
Dowling was speaking in response to a BBC programme revealing poor practice by staff in three nurseries. Undercover footage showed young children being shouted at and roughly handled, as well as unhygienic practices by the workers.
Dowling said that such events were unusual, but added that parents needed to be more aware of what constituted a good nursery. She advised parents to look at the relationships between the adults as well as between the adults and children, and to look closely at what the children were doing. She also recommended that parents carried out their own spot checks.
Ofsted said that it was investigating the three nurseries involved in the BBC programme and that four of the nursery workers had been dismissed. It plans to reduce the six weeks inspection notice it currently gives providers from April 2005
