Nurseries should be able to call on Ofsted for re-inspections, sector says

Proposed changes to the grades for settings on the early years register have caused alarm among nurseries, particularly the plan to replace the ‘satisfactory’ grade with ‘requires improvement’ and inadequate with ‘requires significant improvement or enforcement’.

There are concerns that such ratings could be a blow for many businesses now that parents are increasingly using Ofsted grades as the basis for choosing childcare.

Nurseries argue that Ofsted inspections can only offer a snapshot of what a setting is like, and that particularly given the fact that inspections are no-notice, there is always the chance that a nursery is not at its best when an inspector visits, for example if staff are on annual leave or sick.

Marg Randles, managing director of Busy Bees, told Nursery World, ‘We have been campaigning for a long time for nurseries to be able to have a possibility of a re-inspection. We’ve had several cases where we’ve felt that a grade was unfair, when we’ve received a good when we believed we were outstanding.’

She said that settings can move from satisfactory to outstanding in a short time, but the length of time between inspections means that Ofsted grades do not always give an up-to-date reflection of the nursery’s quality.

‘Sometimes you have to wait a year for re-inspection, even if you’re inadequate,’ she added.

Busy Bees has 43 nurseries with inspections pending dating back to 2009, just after the EYFS was introduced, with some of these settings currently graded satisfactory.

Because parents are using Ofsted grades as a guide, some grades could have a ‘catastrophic’ impact on nurseries’ occupancy levels, she said, adding that she believed that most private nurseries would be happy to pay for a second inspection.

‘You should get one shot at it, so that you can request a re-inspection when you feel you’re ready. Ofsted would need to give feedback on specific areas of improvement. You should be able to request a second inspection within three months.’

The National Day Nurseries Association, which consulted its members for its response to the Ofsted consultation, which ended last week, said that nurseries were generally in favour of the proposals, but also raised concerns about the length of time between inspections.

Chief executive Purnima Tanuku said, ‘With proposed changes to the inspection rating from "satisfactory" to "requires improvement" there is an issue that nurseries will be given this rating but may then face a long wait for re-inspection, meaning that after the required improvements have been made, the Ofsted rating is not a true reflection of their quality and can limit access to providing families with free nursery education places.

‘To overcome this issue more frequent inspections should be made and nurseries should also have the option to pay for re-inspection.’

Nurseries also said that consistency of inspection across all settings was also key and clear guidelines should be set to ensure a simple, consistent and fair approach. The nursery manager should always be present during an inspection to talk to inspectors during the inspection process.

She added, ‘As nurseries are open year round there is a real concern for leaders that they can be on holiday when their inspection happens. As a solution we are proposing that settings are able to nominate a limited number of weeks a year as holidays which Ofsted would avoid for routine inspection, whilst of course reserving the right to inspect at any time if this was deemed necessary.’

The Pre-School Learning Alliance also said that providers had told it that it would be prepared to pay for re-inspection itself and suggested six months as ‘a reasonable period of time’ so that nurseries can ‘demonstrate that appropriate interventions have been successfully implemented.’

Kathy Brodie, a trainer and Early Years Professional, said, 'I would agree that, as a nursery, you wouldn't want "requires improvement" as your Ofsted rating for three years or so. Especially if the team have worked together to make the improvements since the inspection.

However, would this then create a system which favours the better off nurseries?

Those who can afford to pay for re-inspection, would keep getting inspected until they reach outstanding, while those who can't would remain at "requires improvement".'

In its response the Alliance said, ‘Given that we all share the common goal of driving up quality in early years and that sustainability and the maintaining of quality will be part-dependent on Government funding, it is both unfair and wrong that settings judged "satisfactory" are excluded from access to funding for up to four years until their next Ofsted inspection, at a time when the need for places will have never been greater - especially as the Government drive for places for two-year-old children gathers momentum.’

An Ofsted spokesperson said, ‘The consultation has now ended and Ofsted is considering a large amount of positive feedback received. We will be announcing our response later in the summer and will address any issues raised by those who responded to the consultation.

‘Any revisions to arrangements will seek to make the process of registration and inspection as transparent and effective as possible for parents and raise standards in early years provision and ultimately, of course, to improve outcomes for children.’

He added that any move towards paid-for inspection would need changes in legislation and would initially be a matter for the Department for Education to consider.

Alliance members also queried why they should have no-notice inspections when schools with nursery units were given two days’ notice.

All group settings should have no-notice inspections, without exception, the Alliance said.