Nursery World - Unpicking Ofsted Reports, Part 1: Safeguarding

In the first of a new series looking at common issues highlighted in Ofsted reports, Pennie Akehurst, former head of the Early Years and Childcare Service at Derbyshire County Council, discusses the areas where settings often fall down on safeguarding

Every term I wade through Ofsted inspections to find out why settings get ‘inadequate’ and ‘requires improvement’ grades. And while I scrutinise scores of reports each month, there are often a handful of key issues that crop up time and time again.

KEY WEAKNESSES

In the summer term 2017, the effectiveness of early years safeguarding arrangements was one of the top three trending issues nationally. One in nine reports graded ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ contained serious concerns over safeguarding.

My analysis found there were just a handful of common weaknesses around safeguarding:

In the autumn term, the focus had shifted slightly to reflect the fact that staff need not only to understanding safeguarding policies and procedures, but also to understand the Prevent Duty.

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