Helen Penn, professor of early childhood studies at the University of East London, said there was an 'underbelly of childcare' involving 'quick-buck nurseries' which change hands regularly, run by unscrupulous businesses exploiting the tax credits system.
Her claims are backed up by one early years local authority adviser, who did not wish to be named, but who confirmed that there were a number of 'cowboy' nurseries that shut down or move if they encounter problems with Ofsted.
Professor Penn blamed the 'market incentive' which she said encouraged people to set up nurseries 'to cash in' where they can.
'They are encouraged under legislation in preference to the development of local authority provision. If you encourage private businesses in this way some people will cut corners, particularly if legislation is lax.'
While most discussion about private nurseries is at the top end of the market, she said many of these nurseries were set up in shop fronts and converted churches, with little or no outdoor space, often catering for illegal workers.
Writing in Nursery World this week (see page 12), Professor Penn describes a visit to one south London nursery, which she said was 'absolutely shocking' and 'the dingiest place imaginable'.
The Family Information Service could not give any details about the nursery and referred her to Ofsted.
Professor Penn said that as local authorities no longer inspected nurseries, they may be ignorant of bad provision in their area, which usually only comes to light when a complaint is made.
She also said less frequent inspections by Ofsted had allowed poor-quality nurseries to avoid scrutiny by changing hands.
'What possible standards can Ofsted have if it lets places like this be registered? I think there may be a lot of nurseries very near the edge. The standards are so low they are unsatisfactory.'
She added, 'Having a childcare market is problematic because you have a system that attracts the worst as well as the best of entrepreneurs. We need to have better systems in place.'
However, early years organisations said Professor Penn's experience was not typical of childcare for the poorest families.
Neil Leitch, director of communications at the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said, 'Sure Start, Neighborhood Nurseries and the initial focus of children's centres in the most deprived areas has directly contributed towards improving the consistency and excellence of childcare for all.'
But he said there was 'an increased reluctance to maintain local investment in pre-school development workers' who provide practical support to early years settings and are 'the eyes and ears of local communities'.
With local authorities likely to be under increased financial pressure, more instances like this could occur, he warned.
The National Day Nurseries Association disagreed that some private nurseries were using Ofsted registration to 'cash in'.
Its chief executive, Purnima Tanuku, said, 'DCSF surveys show many providers barely break even let alone make a profit and work hard to help poorer families.'
RESPONSES IN FULL
Neil Leitch, director of communications at the Pre-school Learning Alliance
Frankly, this incident is an appalling example of childcare and all of us working within the early years sector would want to see the strongest possible action taken to stamp out such practice. However, it is important that we do not give the impression that this is typical of the childcare market. There are numerous excellent examples of quality, affordable childcare provision being delivered across the sector and this incident does not typify the standard of childcare for our poorest families.
As the largest voluntary sector provider of quality, affordable childcare in England, the Alliance understands only too well that operating within areas of deprivation brings several challenges, not least of which is sustainability. But it is important to balance this with the fact that over the past seven years, there has been unprecedented support and investment into childcare for the poorest families living in England. The development of Sure Start Centre's, the Neighborhood Nursery initiative and the initial focus of Children's Centre's in the most deprived areas, has directly contributed towards improving the overall consistency and excellence of childcare offered to everyone. Indeed, I am often confronted with the criticism that the childcare sector does not operate on a level playing field basis and that there is a strong bias towards those living in areas of deprivation.
However, it is apparent that in some areas, support for early years settings has diminished. Over recent years we have seen an increased reluctance to maintain local investment in the role of the Pre-school Development Worker. As well as providing a practical and responsive support service to local settings, these workers are the eyes and ears of local communities! With the effects of the recent economic downturn coming into play, local authorities are likely to be placed under increased financial pressure and I fear that without continued and new investment in local quality support more incidents like these may occur.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association
NDNA believes that it is vital to recognise that the vast majority of nurseries are committed to the highest standards of care and are certainly not using Ofsted registration as an opportunity to ‘cash in' on needy parents. Indeed, DCSF surveys show many providers barely break even let alone make a profit and work hard to help the lower income families they support. Government more than ever is driving for higher standards and staff with enhanced skills and qualifications for the benefit of children and families. Any setting falling well below Ofsted standards and failing to improve should rightly have action taken against it, and we would urge anyone with concerns about the quality of childcare at any setting to raise the issue with Ofsted.
A spokesperson for the Department for Children, Schools and Families
While we are disappointed to hear of Helen Penn's experience, we remain clear that Government is committed to driving up standards in early years. We know that good quality early education greatly impacts a child's development and strongly dispute any claims that we have lost sight of this. Through the Next Steps for Childcare and Early Learning we committed to further improving a strong workforce. The vast majority of settings across the country offer childcare of a high standard, parents are pleased with the impact these settings have on their children and importantly the professionals working in high quality settings rightly have a strong sense of pride about their achievements. However we are not complacent. We introduced new legal requirements in September 2008 to secure the standards Ofsted registered childcare providers have to meet, the provision they offer children, and for parents to be informed where a setting is rated inadequate so that they can make an informed choice about what is best for their children.
Both we and Ofsted take judgements of inadequate provision very seriously. Ofsted would not allow a setting to continue to operate where there are concerns about child safety; they have a rigorous process to follow up all judgements of inadequate by giving clear actions to the setting and carrying out frequent monitoring. Some settings need a little longer than others to improve their provision and we do not expect Ofsted to allow an inadequate provider to continue to operate indefinitely. However, the vast majority of inadequate settings improve quickly, and Ofsted's latest figures show that 95% of them are at least ‘satisfactory' within a year of the initial inspection.
We are rolling out a programme of support through the National Strategies which targets resources and support in inverse proportion to success. This approach ensures that poorer quality settings, particularly those in deprived areas, get priority.
A spokesperson for Ofsted
Ofsted maintain a rigorous and thorough inspection and regulation process for childcare providers and childminders. Before we grant registration we conduct a stringent vetting procedure on the applicant, including a Criminal Records Bureau check, an interview and an assessment of the suitability of their premises.
We do not carry out light touch inspections of registered childcare. Our inspections check that providers are meeting the legal requirements of registration and, for providers offering care to children aged from birth to the 31 August following their fifth birthday, how well they are delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage. For older children, we check that the provider is meeting the necessary regulations. Where a provider fails to meet the requirements, we have a range of enforcement powers we can use, including cancellation of a provider's registration where appropriate. We do not hesitate to use these powers where necessary.
Parents and carers can obtain the full inspection history of a provider from our website. This includes all the previous inspection reports of the provider, conditions of registration and information about complaints that we have received about them. We inspect newly registered provision within seven months of registration, providing there are children on roll, and publish that report on our website. In this way parents and carers have access to the most up to date and relevant information to help them in making their childcare choices.
Anyone who has concerns about a particular childcare provider can contact us and we will take appropriate action to investigate and ensure the provider continues to meet the requirements of registration.
