Settings where at least three-quarters of staff are qualified to Level 3 or above are more than twice as likely to be rated outstanding.
The statistics show that whereas 522 settings were rated as outstanding when under 75 per cent of staff are qualified to level 3 or above, 1,370 were given the top billing when this is reversed.
Across the country, 13 per cent of nurseries and childminders are rated as outstanding.
Ofsted says the stats are results of inspections of nurseries and pre-schools on the early years register on 31 March 2015 and may not reflect the sector as a whole.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said he was ‘unsurprised’, adding, ‘Given that Ofsted inspectors are now expected to take qualifications into account when judging providers, we would expect this trend to continue going forward.'
The statistics are available here.
