Nursery World - Nurseries and childminders back scrapping Ofsted one-word inspection judgements

Most early years providers would back the scrapping of single-word Ofsted judgements, according to findings from a survey by the Early Years Alliance.

Around eight in 10 providers reported feeling stressed about inspections 'fairly' or 'very often' PHOTO Adobe Stock

This found that more than three quarters (77 per cent) supported the removal of the single-word Ofsted grading – i.e Outstanding, Good, ‘requires improvement’ and Inadequate.

The survey also highlights the impact of Ofsted on providers’ mental health, with around eight in 10 (79 per cent) of nurseries, pre-schools and childminders reporting they were stressed about inspections ‘fairly’ or ‘very often’, while more than four in 10 (45 per cent) have had a negative Ofsted experience.

Around a fifth (21 per cent) said they have filed a formal complaint, and just over half (52 per cent) said the inspection judgements they received were unfair.

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