News

Nurseries may be subject to the unannounced inspections already made on schools, under proposals published by the education inspectorate Ofsted.

The plans, which are out to public consultation until September 30, propose to carry out inspections of group childcare and funded nursery education at little or no notice.

For childminders, Ofsted wishes to establish the minimum period of notice necessary to establish whether they will be home when an inspector calls.

Ofsted is considering introducing simple self-evaluation forms, which childcare and nursery providers would fill in prior to inspection.

The inspectorate says it plans to focus inspection reports on children’s experiences of the setting, and to tailor its inspections to individual providers.

Reports where the care is judged “inadequate” could be made longer than those where there were no concerns.

Ofsted is considering whether accreditation under the “Investors in Children” scheme might be taken into account when deciding the frequency and length of inspections.

Another proposal is to link the early years and nursery grading scales to scales used for school staff, to create a common grading scale for all children’s services.

Chief Inspector of Schools David Bell said the proposals were “vital” at a time when the Children’s Bill plans to integrate children’s services, and the Government aims to build Children’s Centres and to extend school hours.

“Inspection bodies need to reflect as much as possible the integration of childcare provision,” he said.

Details of the consultation can be found at: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.details&id=1605