Nursery World - Ofsted responds to comments around ‘culture of fear’

Delegates at the National Day Nurseries Association annual conference spoke about the ‘culture of fear’ surrounding Ofsted inspections and questioned why the inspection process has not been paused.

Ofsted's Alex Magloire and Wendy Ratcliff speaking at the NDNA conference on 9 June 2023 PHOTO Nicole Weinstein

Her Majesty's Inspectors Wendy Ratcliff, principal officer early education and Alex Magloire, deputy director, early years regulatory practice, were met with impassioned pleas from nursery providers at NDNA’s annual conference in Coventry last week, who spoke about the ‘culture of fear’ over the inspection process and the need for change.

The NDNA conference took place on Friday, ahead of the launch on Monday of Ofsted's consultation on the complaints process.

Addressing delegates ahead of a presentation on Ofsted’s Best Start in Life, Magloire acknowledged the ‘strong feeling’ around inspections and said, ‘We know all is not well.’

But one delegate pointed out, ‘If senior people at Ofsted are giving the message that all is not well, why have inspections not been paused?’

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