Nursery World - Ofsted 'must take account of ongoing pandemic in inspection'

Ofsted has been urged to consider the ongoing impact of Covid in its inspections as early years settings continue to recover from the pandemic, organisations responding to its annual report have said.

Ofsted restarted inspections In May this year

Ofsted's annual report for 2020-21 published today found that 'almost all children' had suffered in lost learning or development as a result of the lockdown and pandemic.

Chief inspector Amanda Spielman wrote in the report, ‘Almost all children felt the impact of Covid-19 and the resulting restrictions to some extent. Many of the youngest children had their development and progress hampered, with some even regressing. Given the vital importance to children of a good start in life and the learning potential of the youngest children, this must not be overlooked.'

Meanwhile, the National Education Union (NEU) has called on the Government to ‘pause’ the inspection regime, in the wake of ongoing concerns about the new Omicron variant.

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