Nursery World - 'Could be safer', say inspectors

The majority of registered providers ensure that children in their care are kept safe and healthy, but Ofsted has identified ways that safety could be improved in nearly half the settings in its new survey. Its report, Early Years: Safe and Sound, found that of 25,000 childcare providers inspected between April 2005 and March 2006, 97 per cent were satisfactory or better at keeping children safe, with 98 per cent helping children to be healthy.

Its report, Early Years: Safe and Sound, found that of 25,000 childcare providers inspected between April 2005 and March 2006, 97 per cent were satisfactory or better at keeping children safe, with 98 per cent helping children to be healthy.

Staying safe and being healthy are two of the five outcomes which the Children Act 2004 identified as vital for every child. Under a stricter inspection regime, Ofsted no longer judges a setting to be satisfactory if it fails to meet any of the national standards, and as a result, the proportion of settings found to be inadequate overall has risen from 1 per cent in the previous inspection cycle to 4 per cent this year.

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