'While we are disappointed to hear of Helen Penn's experience, we remainclear that Government is committed to driving up standards in earlyyears. We know that good quality early education greatly impacts achild's development and strongly dispute any claims we've lost sight ofthis.
'However, we are not complacent. We introduced new legal requirements inSeptember to secure the standards that Ofsted-registered childcareproviders have to meet, and for parents to be informed where a settingis rated inadequate.
'Both we and Ofsted take judgements of inadequate provision veryseriously. Ofsted would not allow a setting to continue to operate wherethere are concerns about child safety. The vast majority of inadequatesettings improve quickly. Ofsted's latest figures show 95 per cent areat least satisfactory within a year of initial inspection.
'We are rolling out a programme of support through National Strategieswhich will ensure that poorer-quality settings get priority.'
- Ofsted
'Ofsted maintains a rigorous and thorough inspection and regulationprocess for childcare providers. Before we grant registration we conducta stringent vetting procedure, including a Criminal Records Bureaucheck, an interview and an assessment of the suitability of theirpremises.
'We do not carry out "light touch inspections" of registered childcare.Our inspections check that providers are meeting the legal requirementsof registration and how well they are delivering the Early YearsFoundation Stage. Where a provider fails to meet the requirements, wehave a range of enforcement powers we can use, including cancellation ofa provider's registration.
'Parents and carers can obtain the full inspection history of a providerfrom our website. This includes all the previous inspection reports ofthe provider, conditions of registration and information aboutcomplaints. Anyone who has concerns about a particular childcareprovider can contact us and we will investigate.'
- Comments in full at www.nurseryworld.co.uk
