Every time that inspection results are released for nurseries and childminders there is quite a fanfare and lots of comment.
Things are generally improving, we are told, but even with three-quarters or more of settings achieving 'good' or 'outstanding', there is still a lot of work to be done.
Fair enough. But meanwhile, no-one seems to be paying much attention to the inspection results of children's centres, which have declined dramatically. Fewer than half the centres inspected recently received 'good' or 'outstanding' compared to 75 per cent for the final quarter of 2010.
Our Analysis piece in this issue examines what is happening (pages 12-13). In some ways, the drop in grades is no surprise - drastically declining budgets allied to tougher, changing targets and criteria, plus cutbacks to management in the move to the hub model, are causing huge pressures.
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