The quality of childcare provision remains strong, according to Ofsted's annual report, with providers generally responding well to the requirements of the EYFS.
However, the report cites increasing concerns about the quality of provision in areas of deprivation and further evidence of self-evaluation as the key driver for raising quality.
Talking to Nursery World, director of education and care at Ofsted, Patrick Leeson, says, 'This year's report paints a positive picture for the early years sector. The majority of all providers, including childminders, have demonstrated that they can offer good-quality care to young children through their effective delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage. But challenges remain to address the differences between childminders and other providers, such as nurseries and pre-schools, in areas of disadvantage.
'It is particularly important to secure better quality of provision in areas of high disadvantage so that the children who need it most have better chances of accessing good early learning and childcare.'
The report found that in the year to 31 August 2010, 13,479 providers joined the Ofsted registers, while 14,839 left - a net loss of 1,360. The number of places fell to 1,310,000, a drop of less than 30,000 places, compared with last year's drop of 200,000. The 2008/09 fall was due largely to some 1,500 providers no longer being required to register. Around 600 childminders were also not transferred to the Early Years or Childcare Registers because they had not cared for children for three years.
QUALITY FACTORS
All providers: After the introduction of the EYFS in September 2008, the proportion of providers judged good or outstanding rose from 56 to 65 per cent. That percentage now stands at 68 per cent, and coincides with a slight decrease in inadequate provision to 3 per cent.
Childminders: 66 per cent of childminders were judged good or outstanding, compared with 72 per cent of other types of provision. 'This difference in the quality of provision is more pronounced than it was in 2008/09,' notes the report. 'It may be the case that childcare providers on non-domestic premises benefit from working routinely with other practitioners and are therefore able to exchange ideas, share their practice and identify common areas for improvement, whereas childminders, who often work alone, may not have such opportunities.'
Characteristics of quality: Outstanding providers, says the report, 'have a high level of understanding of how children learn and develop, reflect fully on their practice to identify areas for improvement, and have strong partnerships with both parents and agencies.' They are also characterised 'by the extent to which they put children and their families first, and have a deep understanding of the needs of the communities they serve.'
Inadequate providers, in contrast, are 'insecure in their knowledge of how children learn and develop, pay insufficient attention to planning and providing activities that meet children's needs, and do not have proper regard for some of the key welfare requirements, such as ensuring that all staff understand and implement an effective safeguarding policy.'
Areas of deprivation: 'The more deprived the area, the lower the average quality of the provision', notes the report - and this gap 'has worsened since last year'. The gap between childminders and other forms of provision in deprived areas also widened - 52 per cent of childminders were judged to be good or outstanding, compared with 63 per cent of other types of setting. In 2008/09 the figures stood at 53 per cent and 60 per cent respectively.
The gap between provision in the most and least deprived areas also increased from 17 to 19 percentage points for childminding and from 10 to 12 percentage points for other providers.
Key areas of management and self-evaluation are cited as particular areas of weakness among childminders in deprived areas. However, the report also notes that outstanding childminders in these areas have forged 'strong relationships with the families of children who attending their settings' and 'provide good role models for families and show that every child can succeed'.
Generally, outstanding providers in these areas are 'not complacent and continually aspire to do better', notes the report, concluding, 'A sense of common purpose and close teamwork permeate these settings.'
Particular strengths and weaknesses: Of the 3 per cent judged inadequate, common weaknesses included insufficient training, unsafe recruitment practices and failing to have a high enough adult:child ratio (see graph). While 77 per cent of providers were judged to be effective in working in partnership, engagement with parents was only satisfactory in 36 per cent of provision. Poorer quality settings tended to focus on child development and welfare, rather than on learning, and to rely on informal and oral communication, leaving parents largely ignored in the assessment process and, in some instances, unaware of assessment records.
Self-evaluation: Between 1 June 2008 and 31 August 2010, just over 17,100 providers submitted an optional self-evaluation form (one fifth of currently active providers). While 19 per cent of those submitting a form were judged outstanding, only 6 per cent of those without a form received the top grade.
'Honest and searching self-evaluation is critical if providers are to identify areas for improvement accurately and understand precisely whether their actions to improve are effective,' says the report.
'In over 2,000 providers who submitted their self-evaluation form before their inspection, around four-fifths evaluated themselves the same as, or more harshly than, the inspector. This evidence, combined with the overall inspection outcomes, suggests that where the process of self-evaluation is embedded in practice, it can have a positive impact on outcomes and that a core of childcare providers do this well. However, self-evaluation is far from being securely embedded in the practice of all providers.'
Quality assurance scheme: Only around 5 per cent of providers inspected this year are part of a quality assurance scheme. Of those, 89 per cent were judged to be good or outstanding, compared with 65 per cent who were not members of a scheme. That figure rose to 92 per cent in the case of childminders.
'These providers continue to be more likely to be judged outstanding than those who do not participate in such a scheme,' the report says. 'Despite the strong correlation with positive inspection outcomes, only a small proportion of providers take part in a quality assurance scheme.'
Actions: Ofsted has demanded one or more actions to meet requirements for 28 per cent of the providers on the Early Years Register inspected this year. While this figure is down from 34 per cent last year, the three most common areas remain the same: safeguarding and welfare; premises, environment and equipment; and maintaining records and documentation required for the safe and efficient management of the setting.
Improvements: Of the providers inspected this year, 406 had improved by two or more inspection grades since their previous inspection. 'An important aspect of this rapid improvement is the way these providers have focused on planning, observation of children and assessment,' says the report. 'These providers have also embraced self-evaluation'.
Nearly two-thirds of the providers judged inadequate in 2008/09 have since been reinspected, and 95 per cent of these are now satisfactory or better.
SUPPORTING PROGRESS
Commenting on good practice in developing communication, language and literacy, the report notes that outstanding providers:
- - ask open and meaningful questions
- - offer alternative words to help develop a child's vocabulary
- - engage in conversation and listen carefully to a child's responses
- - encourage children to think for themselves, respond to new situations and ask questions when they are unsure
- - make effective use of song, rhyme and story across the curriculum
- - encourage early development of language in babies through talking during play, using sounds and signing, responding to non-verbal expressions and encouraging them when they mimic what they hear
- - know key words in a child's first language.
Conversely, in poorer-quality settings, practitioners watch rather than interact with children and fail to take advantage of opportunities to extend a child's learning and vocabulary through open questions. They make little use of stories, lack skill in communicating with children and fail to encourage children to express their thoughts, feelings and opinions.
COMPLAINTS
During 2009/10, Ofsted received some 2,800 complaints relating to childminding and around 5,000 involving other forms of childcare. There were also just over 800 further complaints about unregistered childcare.
Of the 7,900 complaints investigated, 58 per cent resulted in no further action because the provider was found to be meeting requirements. Investigations are continuing with 10 per cent of complaints. Ofsted also issued 49 enforcement notices to unregistered childminders.
SURE START CENTRES
Ofsted began inspecting children's centres in May this year and by the end of this annual report year had inspected 39. Five were judged outstanding, 17 good, 13 satisfactory and four inadequate. While general conclusions can't be drawn from this small number, the report notes 'key differences' between them.
Strong children's centres 'have an excellent knowledge and understanding of their local communities and work to provide targeted services that will meet their needs.' They are 'exceptionally well led', have 'a clear ambition and determination to succeed', and have formed 'effective and extensive partnership arrangements at both strategic and operational levels'. They 'prepare children very well for school' and make good use of data to plan and evaluate their services.
Weaker centres, by contrast, have a limited understanding of the needs of local families and are 'hampered by a lack of clear governance arrangements'. They have failed to forge effective partnerships or use data to monitor and evaluate their services. Such failings have limited severely their ability to plan services, reach potential users and improve outcomes, including preparing children for school.
An Ofsted spokesperson says, 'The DfE has placed Ofsted under a duty to inspect all children's centres by 31 July 2015. We agreed with the department that we would re-inspect all inadequate centres within a year of their first inspection.'
MORE INFORMATION
The Ofsted annual report, www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/ Annual-Report-2009-10.
