Nurseries will be inspected following major complaints

The aim is to give parents more information about the overall quality of provision and allow providers more opportunity to put the complaint in context.

Ofsted says that the timing of the inspection will depend on the type of complaint made and whether children could be at risk.

The plan goes further than current practice, which involves Ofsted reporting any action that needs to be taken after an investigation on its website.

In cases where concerns are minor and do not suggest any risks to children – for example parents complaining about menus at nursery or activities - Ofsted plans to pass on this information to the provider and ask them to take any action they consider necessary to meet registration requirements.

The setting will need to record the complaint for parents to see and will check what action they have taken at the next inspection or visit.

Ofsted is reviewing the framework for the regulation of registered early years provision, in advance of the implementation of the revised EYFS in September.

The proposals are aimed at ensuring that regulation of providers on the Early Years Register ‘supports improvement, is proportionate and efficient, and is centred on the needs of young children and their parents,’ Ofsted says.

New inspections will include fewer judgements and grades, with more focus on the progress children make in their learning and development.

The current grades of outstanding, good, satisfactory and inadequate stay, but there will be a reduced number of areas that Ofsted will award grades for.

These are:

• outcomes for children in the EYFS;
• quality and standards of early years provision, including:

- the role of the practitioners in supporting children’s learning and development

- the effectiveness of care practice in helping children to feel emotionally secure and develop independence;

• leadership and management;
• overall effectiveness of the early years provision in meeting the needs of children.

Ofsted has decided to retain the self-evaluation form, because it says that their evidence shows that providers who complete are more likely to achieve good or outstanding inspections.

 Childminders

In other plans, childminders will now have to complete their training before they register with Ofsted.

Currently childminders are given up to six months after registration to complete their training.

Childminders will also now have shorter inspection reports.

Ofsted says that it intends to publish a summary for parents on its website to make it more user-friendly for parents choosing a provider.

However, in the case of childminders Ofsted proposes to only publish ‘a short summary report’, for providers who care for individuals based in their own home, i.e. childminders, or care for very few children in one room.

Ofsted says this is because ‘their provision is more straightforward than some other types of provider – for example there is no need to differentiate in the report between the different types of care offered in nursery rooms.’

Registration and CRB checks

In other changes, Ofsted will no longer issue a new certificate of registration when a provider wishes to extend the number of places they offer.

This means that if settings wish to increase their numbers they will just need to check that the EYFS allows them to do this.

Ofsted also intends to change the way it carries out CRB checks, so that the onus is now on the provider to carry out checks for managers.

Ofsted said, ‘We intend to stop interviewing managers ourselves and instead assess the registered provider’s legal responsibility in employing only those who are suitable and qualified. The DfE intends to remove the responsibility for carrying out the CRB check from Ofsted and give this to employers instead.’

With regard to assessing the suitability of ‘nominated persons’ – that is the provider or person representing them – Ofsted will carry out an initial interview at registration, but will no longer interview a new ‘nominated person’ each time they change. The provider will continue to be held accountable.

In future Ofsted will make online applications the main way for providers to apply to register their setting and to manage their registration, for example if they need to amend phone numbers.

The inspectorate also said that it will use email as the preferred method of contacting providers, rather than post.

Jean Humphrys, Ofsted's director of education and care, said, ‘Removing unnecessary regulation and bureaucracy is important to providers. Ofsted is aiming to find the right level of enforcement to ensure that children are safe and well cared for.

‘The changes we are proposing provide a balance. They will reassure parents that our systems and processes for regulating early years and childcare providers are robust, preventing unsuitable people from having access to children, while simplifying inspection for those providing care.’

• The consultation, Regulation of providers on the Early Years Register, runs until 6 April.