How are nurseries inspected in Northern Ireland?

How are Northern Ireland nurseries inspected? This article highlights details about Northern Ireland childcare regulation. This includes how are Northern Ireland’s childcare inspections conducted and who carries out the nursery inspections.

Who regulates nurseries in Northern Ireland?  

All childcare settings, including day nurseries and childminders, must be regulated, monitored, and registered by the Early Years Team in a Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust.  

Who inspects nurseries in Northern Ireland?

The Early Years Team in the childcare provider’s local Health and Social Care (HSC)Trust will inspect a nursery.

The early years teams in Northern Ireland are:   

Northern Health and Social Care Trust

• Early Years Northern Team 028 2766 1340.
• Early Years Central 028 2563 5111.
• Early Years South Eastern 028 9331 5112.

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

•  Early Years team 028 9504 2811. 

South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

• Early Years team 028 4451 3807.

Southern Health and Social Care Trust

• Early Years Armagh team 028 3756 4020.

• Early Years Banbridge team 028 4062 1600.

Western Health and Social Care Trust

• Early Years Londonderry team 028 7132 0950.

• Early Years Omagh team 028 8283 5108.

• Early Years Fermanagh team 028 6632 7734.

What is the role of Early Years teams in nursery inspections? 

Early Years teams regulate, inspect and report on early years services to make sure early years providers meet Minimum Standards in Northern Ireland.

Childcare settings inspected include day nurseries, playgroups, out-of-school care, childminders, creches and summer and holiday schemes.

Early Years Teams also work with childcare providers to improve services and ensure children receive safe, high-quality learning, care and development opportunities.

Nursery inspections: How are nurseries rated in Northern Ireland?

All childcare providers must adhere to the Minimum Standards in Northern Ireland. These minimum quality standards must be met, before a provider can be registered with a Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust.

Inspectors assess whether early years providers are adhering to the 16 minimum quality standards which focus on:       

• Quality of care.
• Quality of staffing, management and leadership.
• Quality of the physical environment.
• Quality of monitoring and evaluation.

Inspectors observe children and early years staff and talk to staff, parents and children. They find out about the children’s learning experience, what parents and staff think and how children are kept safe and supported to develop skills.

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) issues confidential questionnaires to parents and staff in advance of an inspection.

How often are nurseries inspected in Northern Ireland?

For group daycare settings, including day nurseries, playgroups and out-of-school care, social workers in Early Years Teams inspect premises at least every year.

When is a nursery inspection report published in Northern Ireland?

An inspection report usually takes no more than 30 working days from the date of a nursery’s inspection.

Where can I find a Northern Ireland nursery inspection report?

Northern Ireland’s nursery inspection reports are published on the Education and Training Inspectorate’s (ETI) website.