Nursery World - Alarm over Ofsted data delay

An investigation by the Pre-school Learning Alliance has revealed severe delays in the publication of hundreds of early years inspections.

Alliance analysis of Ofsted data has revealed that one in ten early years providers inspected during the most recent inspection period (July - October 2013) were rated ‘inadequate’.

The statistics themselves are worrying enough (prior to the introduction of the new Ofsted framework in September 2012, that figure stood at just 3 per cent) but perhaps more alarming is that fact that very few in the sector will be aware of these statistics – because Ofsted has decided not to publish an inspection outcomes report for this period.

At a time when Ofsted is being roundly criticised for poor transparency, and sector confidence in the integrity of the early years inspection framework is at an all-time low, it’s difficult to understand why the inspectorate would think it appropriate to withhold inspection statistics – particularly figures that show that the number of ‘inadequate’ early years providers have reached an all-time high.

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