Top tips for preparing for a nursery inspection

Being inspected by Ofsted can be a nerve-wracking and daunting experience and as nurseries are only given a half a day’s notice that Ofsted is coming, it is vital that they prepare for an inspection well in advance.

Nurseries are feeling the pressure even more now, as two years ago Ofsted announced that only a rating of Outstanding or Good is acceptable with nurseries at risk at closure if they don’t show rapid improvement. Nurseries which Require Improvement are now monitored and reinspected within twelve months and those rated Inadequate are reinspected within six months.

Last year, the regulator introduced the Common Inspection Framework to ensure there is consistency across nurseries, schools and colleges. As part of the framework, from May this year, nurseries will be inspected on their special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision for the first time. Inspectors will visit early years settings and will look at information about SEND’s children’s progress. There is also now more of a focus on safeguarding and British values.

Michael Freeston, director of Quality Improvement at the Pre-School Learning Alliance, spoke at the recent Childcare Expo, on his findings from Ofsted reports looking at the impact of the new framework and giving advice to nurseries on how to prepare for inspections under the new requirements.

British values and the Prevent Duty

British values and the Prevent Duty which puts a duty on nurseries to protect children who are at risk of radicalisation or extremism, have featured heavily in the media since they were announced as being part of the new inspection regime.

Nursery providers have voiced anxiety over how to show inspectors they are teaching children ‘fundamental British values’ with the National Day Nurseries Association at its conference last year calling the whole concept “ambiguous”. Ofsted’s then national director for early education, Nick Hudson responded by saying “We will be looking at whether children are sharing values, rather than whether you have the right posters on the walls. It is not about having posters on the walls saying we encourage British values. I don’t think it is a huge challenge for most settings as it is what you do every single day.”

Interestingly, Mr Freeston has found that since the new framework was introduced, no inspection reports have mentioned the Prevent Duty and only one has mentioned British Values. Inspectors will look for these elements and ask about them on the day but perhaps inspectors are avoiding including them in the report as they have proved to be such a contentious issue.

“We do not need a knee jerk reaction in the sector in response to extremism and radicalisation. We need to be pragmatic,” said Mr Freeston. He recommends to nurseries that Ofsted inspectors will want to talk to nursery staff about policies and procedures so make sure they are fully conversant with these.

It is crucial to prepare your staff to talk to the inspector

Comments made by inspectors that commonly crop up in reports are ‘staff have good knowledge of how children learn and develop’, ‘older and more able children are not being stretched’, ‘the key person system is effective’ and ‘staff know how to act if they are concerned about the welfare of a child’.

His analysis of the inspection reports for the early years found half of the report is generally on safeguarding and half tends to be on the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) with outcomes generally squeezed into two or three lines.

Inspectors’ comments on good outcomes tend to be ‘Children make good progress for their starting point’, ‘Children are well prepared for the move to school’ and there are often references to healthy snacks and meals.

He has found that so far there are very few references to the EYPP (Early Years Pupil Premium) which was introduced in April 2015 to help give more support to children who are disadvantaged. However the inspector will ask if you know of any children that are eligible for the EYPP, how you are planning to spend the money and what impact you think the intervention will have.

A useful tip for pre-schools that are run by committees is to remember to notify Ofsted of any changes to committee members. Make sure Ofsted has up to date information. Mr Freeston warned that settings have been marked down as Requires Improvement because of this.

Early years inspections brought back in-house

Ofsted recently announced it is taking back control of the management of early years inspections from April 2017 and will not renew the contracts of firms operating on its behalf, following pressure from nurseries for the watchdog to deliver 'consistent' inspections.

The two firms Tribal and Prospects will continue to carry out early years inspections for Ofsted until their contracts end on 31 March 2017.

At the Childcare Expo, Michael Freeston said: “They will be bringing all the operations in house and this is no mean feat.” He added: “However it is important to remember it will be the same inspectors.”

For early years providers wanting to look at inspection reports by provision and local authority and carry out detailed analysis of reports, Mr Freeston recommends a website called watchsted.com.