Nursery World - Maggie may?

The head of the new early years branch of Ofsted tells Alison Mercer how she sees its role in being flexible towards providers and firmly consistent towards standards The early years sector responded with anxiety to the news that Ofsted was to take over care inspections from local authorities. The idea conjured up images of an invasion of bureaucrats bullying childminders into a state of nervous exhaustion. The then chief inspector of schools, Chris Woodhead, offered little in the way of reassurance when he insisted that neither the head of the directorate, nor its management team, needed specific early years experience.

The early years sector responded with anxiety to the news that Ofsted was to take over care inspections from local authorities. The idea conjured up images of an invasion of bureaucrats bullying childminders into a state of nervous exhaustion. The then chief inspector of schools, Chris Woodhead, offered little in the way of reassurance when he insisted that neither the head of the directorate, nor its management team, needed specific early years experience.

The necessary confidence-booster came with the appointment of Maggie Smith as director of Ofsted's Early Years Directorate (EYD). Given the complexity of shifting from a local system of regulation to a single national one, there is no doubt that she has her work cut out for her.

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