The suitability of Ofsted inspectors has been put into doubt by providers who have been visited by those who run neighbouring businesses or have a history of operating poor-performing settings.
Nursery World is aware of several early years providers that have been inspected by freelance inspectors who have failed to declare a conflict of interest because they run a setting locally to them. One of these providers is taking legal action against Ofsted as a result.
This is despite Ofsted’s terms and conditions for contracted inspectors stating that they must disclose any conflicts of interest ‘immediately’.
An experienced childminder in the Cambridgeshire area told Nursery World how she was inspected by a fellow childminder in the village next to her last year and who downgraded her setting from Outstanding to Good.
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