I have been looking through recent Ofsted inspection reports from a variety of providers to note the latest inspector concerns around health and safety in early years settings.

I note that concerns raised by inspectors are more about consistent failings than isolated incidents and report comments link through various inspection areas including leadership and governance, safeguarding and children’s welfare and wellbeing.

Some of the areas Ofsted are currently picking up on include -  
 
Concerns around safer sleep - this is a hot topic at the moment, with the introduction of the new sleep requirements, DfE has been clear that there aren’t any exceptions to the new requirements and Ofsted has stated that prams and buggies are no longer acceptable for sleeping babies or children. In inspection reports, Ofsted are commenting about unsafe sleep and lack of practitioner training.
 
Online safety - this links to the new screen time guidance (below) but is also a stand-alone concern. Ofsted note in reports that information about keeping children safe online is not being routinely shared with parents and children (including babies) are not being given online safety messages as part of the wider curriculum. A nursery report also commented on lack of safety and ongoing monitoring when children’s data was shared online.

Screen time - DfE has stated that a link to the new screen time guidance will be included in the EYFS from Sept 2026. This means that providers will need good reason not to use it. A provider advised me that her inspector had asked parents whether she had communicated the new guidance to them and talked about how long children spend on screens in the setting - so this is something to consider.
 
Safer recruitment - Ofsted inspection reports note that there are concerns with safer recruitment including lack of staff DBS checks and poor recruitment procedures. This includes, for example, staff being used in ratio before their DBS has come back - and in childminding settings staff starting to work when there are concerns about their suitability.
 
Intimate care routines - linking to the changes in the EYFS from September 2025, some reports note that there is no privacy provided for children who are having their nappies changed or using the toilet. This is now a statutory requirement in England, so you must consider whether you can use your body as a screen or provide other privacy during intimate care routines.

Visitors - in some group settings, Ofsted note that visitors are not monitored carefully enough and in some childminding settings there have been concerns raised about when a regular childminder visitor becomes a co-childminder and the 2 practitioners need to link their registration together. Generally, childminders can visit and meet up with each other during the week, but when 2 or more childminders are regularly working together, they need to become co-childminders for Ofsted purposes.

Security is also highlighted - inspectors in childminding and group settings note that garden gates or front doors are routinely left unlocked, allowing unauthorised persons to enter or children to potentially exit the premises unattended.

Broken equipment - Ofsted are noting when resources and equipment are broken and might pose, for example, choking hazards or cause injury to children. In a pre-school setting, a false wall / screen nearly fell on children and in a nursery, there were broken toys on the floor while children were playing. In a childminding setting, an inspector noted that the children were playing in unsafe conditions.  
 
Environmental blind spots - in the childminding environment, inspectors highlight that toiletries, cleaning products or medication are left in reach of children - for example, in a bathroom used by both the family and the minded children. inspectors also note loose toilet seats, unsecured glass cabinets and the lack of safety glass in low-level furniture and on internal doors.
 
Fire safety - in a childminding setting an inspector noted that buggies and highchairs were piled up / routinely stored in front of the fire escape door. The inspector stated that this was a fire hazard and asked to see the childminder’s fire risk assessment which was not in place. The inspector was also concerned about crawling babies hurting themselves on the highchair legs or pulling over the stacked buggies.
 
Hygiene - one comment that I have noticed coming through repeatedly is when practitioners do not wash babies’ hands after nappy changing. This, according to Ofsted, gets them in good habits for later life. Another inspection report comment is that nursery practitioners were routinely wiping children’s noses for them when they should be doing it independently. Cross contamination risks during meal preparation are also noted as a hazard.

Cleaning materials - must not be accessible to children. A childminder report notes that the childminder is now using the kitchen space as extra floor space but cupboards containing chemicals were accessible to the children. In another report a bucket of bleach water was on the floor while children were playing.
 
Allergy management - inspectors are noting lack of staff training to protect children from allergies and cross contamination during mealtimes. In another report, while core staff in a nursery had been trained, bank staff had not, which was a risk to the children’s safety.
 
Health and safety knowledge - inspectors are moving away from checking training certificates - they are now testing practitioner’s knowledge through a professional dialogue during the planning call and then looking to see how it is delivered during the inspection. There are repeated concerns about childminders and assistants having outdated knowledge of the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and how to report an allegation against themselves or a family member.

Supervision when eating - nursery reports note staff leaving children to eat while the adult is distracted - for example, preparing the next course, changing a nappy or filling in paperwork. Reports also cite a lack of a PFA-qualified staff member in the room during mealtimes. In a childminder report there was a report of dropped food being returned to the child's plate or children eating on the floor (inspection reports talk about unhygienic surfaces). Ofsted has stated that while childminders can take children on picnics, floor eating is not recommended as a routine at mealtimes in the setting.
 
In other health and safety news
 
The question raised many years ago about XL bullies in childminding settings has now been resolved - alternative arrangements must be made for their care. 

There is a new campaign as part of drowning prevention week from the Royal Life Saving Society to keep children safe around water. This is not something I have seen coming through inspection reports, but it is important to talk to children about staying safe when feeding the ducks and keeping away from waterways.

Illness and overnight stays - I think it is widely known that providers need to report when childminded children stay overnight in hospital to Ofsted using the serious notification form as soon as possible and within 14 days.
However, did you know that you also need to report when children stay overnight in hospital due to illness to your local health protection team (HPT)? You can find your HPT using this link.

I also note from practitioner feedback that Ofsted have become quicker to suspend childminders and less tolerant of small mistakes. This is likely because the revised inspection toolkit is based on ‘secure fit’ evaluations rather than ‘best fit’ judgements. This means that inspectors can no longer use their professional judgement and have been told they cannot ignore any breaches of the statutory requirements and health and safety is a priority during inspection, along with safeguarding.

It would also appear from feedback on social media that Ofsted are carrying out more interventions - for example, calls and unannounced visits and being generally more reactive to whistleblowing concerns. Members comment that, during inspection Ofsted are less receptive to tick lists - they want you to explain how you keep children safe and healthy and they want to see health and safety in action.
 
This is just a quick overview of some of the more recent concerns reported during inspections. Childcare.co.uk has a health and safety webinar update planned for September 2026.

I hope you found this helpful. 

​Chat soon, Sarah x

​Photo (c) Childcare.co.uk health and safety blogs 

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2026 has already been called 'a year of challenges' by number of colleagues. Every time we hope we've found an equilibrium something else comes along to unbalance us. 
 
Early years providers including childminders, nurseries, pre-schools etc are facing a cluster of interrelated challenges in early 2026. The early years sector has always been dynamic, embracing adaptations and making transitions as policies change.

I thought it might be useful to bring together some of the current challenges facing the early years, in the hopes that the decision makers read them and recognise what we are coping with and how amazing we are -
 
Funding - the 3- and 4-year-old funding does not (usually) cover the cost of caring for the children. There are also issues with local authorities not honouring notice periods when children leave mid-term and providers are reporting some punitive local authority funding audits.
At the same time, parents are typically looking for different patterns of attendance and flexible hours, which leave providers with gaps in their days and weeks which they cannot fill. There are also concerns reported by some childminders over how nurseries share (or refuse to share) the funded hours.
 
Workforce shortages - Ofsted figures show that 1000s of childminders have resigned and there are less qualified staff being recruited into nurseries. This is a huge challenge with more than half of early years settings reporting recruitment issues and many areas now a childminder desert.
Why is this happening? Low pay, limited career progression, punitive Ofsted inspection, constant requirement changes and high workload are some of the reasons cited by those leaving the profession. As a result, many childminders and group settings are limiting spaces and struggling to meet local childcare demand.
 
‘Free’ childcare and lack of capacity - the Govt has expanded its ‘free’ childcare offer without properly evaluating what the current early years sector can offer parents. Group settings need qualified staff, the country needs more childminders and many early yeas providers report that they cannot currently meet parental demand. This is naturally causing frustration for parents - and also for providers who want to help.

‘Free’ childcare - let’s go back here. The Government has doubled down on its promise to parents that they will receive 30 hours of ‘free childcare without fully explaining what that means in practice and to providers. The current funding rate does not cover the cost of delivery for 3- and 4-year-olds and there are many concerns about the way the Govt sells the ‘free’ places to parents who often don’t understand the hours are not available until baby is aged 1, the hours offered are term time only, some settings are limited to what hours they can offer a day because of the staffing crisis or childminder ratios and providers often have to charge for extras to stay sustainable.  
 
Policy uncertainty - we often (half) joke that we roll with the changes in early years, but there have been so many recently, with more consultations to follow - and the sector is uneasy. The new Ofsted inspection framework is not landing well with many providers, the Govt have set up and are heavily advertising their ‘school nurseries’ to the detriment of current early years provision and there is a general feeling of uncertainty because long-term planning is impossible when so much is changing and funding is not keeping up with rising bills, wages, changes to sickness and pension entitlements etc.
We then receive Friday announcements that send the sector into disarray - changes to safe sleep requirements without sector consultation (in a very disjointed email from DfE), limited or no more screen time for under 5s to be added to the EYFS from September and more. One has to ask what the Govt are trying to do to the early years sector - with many colleagues feeling that this is all linked to the introduction of even more school nurseries.
 
Making tax digital - introduced for the self-employed and landlords from April 2026, MTD will be statutory for all sole childminders who earn over £50,000 and then for lower earners over the coming years. This will be a big addition to the administration burden for childminders who will be required to send a digital record of their income and expenses every 3 months to HMRC. It might also be a big financial burden depending on the cost of the software (some is free) and charges from accountants (it can be done independently).
Many feel that HMRC has also been less than clear about how childminders should work out MTD and has failed to provide working examples or answers to questions that would help. Last minute guidance released by HMRC has been called ‘unhelpful’ and ‘vague’.

Climate action planning - nominating a sustainability lead, writing a climate action plan, possibly making changes to be more climate friendly - these are all requirements for group settings and voluntary for childminders. This new DfE requirement has added another layer of paperwork and extra expectations for curriculum planners who now need to consider how to weave information about environmental awareness into the overarching curriculum for various ages of children.

The Ofsted inspection framework is starting to embed and providers are asking, ‘Is it any better than the old system?’ While some childminders report their ‘best ever’ inspection, others are left frustrated by the new processes. There are mutterings that the ‘planning call’ - which can last an hour or longer - is just extra time spent on the inspection and hasn’t made any positive difference to the inspection process.
There are also concerns about the ‘exceptional’ grade with one childminder reporting she received it and it was then taken away a month later and another saying her inspector was in tears trying to justify it for her with a panel on the phone and getting refused. Providers are also waiting to see what impact the new grades will make to their continued sustainability and whether Local Authorities will remove their funding under new powers if their grades are not high enough.
 
The EYFS updates from September 2025 are still taking time to embed for some providers who are struggling to implement them due to lack of time or resources. Many providers have commented that, while they recognise the changes are there to keep children safe, there was too much happening all at once, despite the long lead-in time and the changes have left them scrambling to catch up.
 
Child Poverty Strategy 2025 - the main aim of the strategy is to make early education and childcare more accessible, particularly for low-income working families. This should be leading to higher quality provision for children, especially funded 2-year-olds. However, in many areas it is school nurseries which are benefitting from the funding and not current providers like childminders, nurseries and pre-schools. There is also evidence that DfE has closed down a number of existing pre-schools that were operating on school sites to re-open them as a school nursery.

Staff legislation and changes to employment law from April 2026 will, nursery owners and childminders with assistants fear, lead to more staff absences, more pressure on administration and lower staff retention rates. Providers comment that the higher wages and increased pension contributions are not covered by the low April 2026 funding increases, especially for provisions taking 3- and 4-year-olds.
 
Digital information was stolen recently from the Kido nursery group, a provider in the south of England. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) described it as ‘deeply distressing’ and highlighted that cybercriminals will target any vulnerable sector. Children’s data is sensitive and most providers do not have a good level of cyber security on their devices; childminders typically go on outings with photos of children in their mobile phones and phishing scams risk identity theft (see below).  This is leading to more pressure to get cyber security right and keep information safe - however, as a positive, the event has led to more cautious digital practice across the sector.
 
Child abuse - another nursery worker has recently been sent to prison for abusing children. This has led to a knee jerk reaction from the Govt which is currently consulting on whether CCTV should be required in group settings. If this leads to new legislation the extra cost of putting in CCTV systems will, many nurseries say, be one financial burden too many.

Phishing messages purporting to be from Ofsted have led to much uncertainty in the childminding sector. Some childminders were unable to recognise the phishing scam and uploaded their details before realising they had been defrauded of their personal information. Many childminders have now changed their phone settings so they cannot receive unsolicited phone calls or messages - this will cause issues if, for example, Ofsted attempt to contact them to plan their inspection from a withheld number.

However, it's not al doom and gloom!!
 
Here are some of the positive changes for early years:
 
Funding rates have gone up from April 2026 in most Local Authorities. The 9-month rollout has also expanded the funding opportunities as more parents look for childcare for their babies.
 
Stronger Practice Hubs are appearing across the country as part of the Govt Best start in Life initiative. Childminders report that some of the local hubs are useful for offering local support and free training. I suggest you approach your local stronger practice hub and ask them what they can offer you.

The Best Start in Life strategy means the Govt is currently pouring a lot of money into early years, especially around special educational needs and disabilities, with a focus on early intervention. There are free training courses and information websites popping up to support SEND practice and your Local Authority might have funding to support you if you apply to them.
 
Information sharing - Childcare.co.uk has committed to ensuring all early years providers have free access to high quality safeguarding training. In addition to the recorded training on the webinar player for gold members, they are now offering a free safeguarding refresher webinar every 3 months, focusing on various topics raised as concerns across local safeguarding partners, meaning they have real impact for providers who access the training.

Family Hubs - there are more Family Hubs opening across local authorities and the Govt state that there will be 1000 hubs by 2028. The family hubs are bringing together health, parenting support, early education and social care with a focus on intervention and supporting the whole family. They are widely seen as a positive return to holistic early years support (similar to the old Sure Start Centres) and should make it easier for families to access quick interventions for their children when needed.
 
Increased childcare availability sees more providers in most areas of the country filling their spaces with funded children and around 75% of local authorities report there are enough childcare places for most eligible under 2s. There is some evidence that the sector is slowly growing in capacity. If you do a Google search you will find your LA’s response to this.
 
Focus on school readiness - there are different strands coming together to focus on getting children ready for school including support websites for parents on toileting, healthy eating and more. The good news from this is that policy and research are increasingly centred on outcomes, not just provision, with a Govt aim that 75% of children will reach a good level of development by 2028 at the end of the reception year. The new policy frameworks link early years, SEND and family support into one system and there is a clearer recognition that high quality early years provision sets a foundation for lifelong outcomes.
 
Safeguarding inspection focus - a focus on quality provision with a binary ‘met’ or ‘not met’ evaluation at the end of inspection means steps can be quickly taken by Local Authorities to remove funding from early years settings that are not actively safeguarding children and refuse to engage with improvement. Whether this is related to unsafe sleep, lack of checks on new staff or similar, anything that is in place to protect children from harm must be seen as a positive.

More free training - of course, early years providers are reliant on Ofsted inspectors to ensure the new powers are managed fairly and Childcare.co.uk will continue to support members - those who need more training and those who feel they have been evaluated unjustly during inspection.

More investment - particularly in disadvantaged children sees several initiatives targeting inequality including expanded funding schemes for children at risk. There is a real feeling that equity for all children is a central theme of policy and decision making, which has to be positive for children.
 
More information sharing - Childcare.co.uk is publishing a new monthly update newsletter to ensure all early years providers have access to up-to-date information and guidance, so they are up to date with what is happening in the early years world and can make the best possible decisions about changes and how to move forwards.
 
Chat soon! Sarah

Picture - copyright unknown - I thought we could all do with a calming picture, taken from my files. 
Links - worked at the time of posting. Links do sometimes change - this is out of my control. 

 
Ofsted has been inspecting settings under their new early years inspection framework since 10th November 2025. We are hearing mixed feedback from childminders. Some areas saying what a lovely inspection they had while others have found the transition to the new framework very hard.
 
I have written a number of blogs about the changes for Childcare.co.uk and will continue to update colleagues as new information comes through in Ofsted inspection reports. I am also grateful to those childminders who share their inspection feedback online and in private messages because it helps me to inform colleagues about what is happening ‘out there’ during inspection in real time, especially because Ofsted inspection report cards are typically taking a very long time to be processed at the moment.
 
In this blog, I want to share some information I have received from Ofsted about the ‘exceptional’ inspection grade. Ofsted has been clear - they expect to see the ‘exceptional’ grade awarded least often. They say it will be so rare that it’s unlikely inspectors will have seen it before. To be considered for an ‘exceptional’ grade, you must meet all the evaluation criteria for ‘expected standard’ and ‘strong standard’ consistently. Ofsted are using a ‘secure fit’ model for their inspection evaluations which means one slip will mean a lower grade. They also keep telling us in their training that ‘expected standard’ is a high bar.
 
Ofsted state that when a setting is graded ‘expected standard’ their inspector has seen practice that has high impact for all children and especially high impact for the most vulnerable children. They also expect to see that the setting is narrowing the gap between disadvantaged children and their peers.
When an inspector sees a setting graded ‘strong standard’ they have seen every single statement for ‘expected standard’ and more.
Note that Childcare.co.uk audits covering ‘expected standard’ and ‘strong standard’ are available for gold members.

To gain an ‘exceptional’ grade, Ofsted state that you have to be doing something so outstanding that your practice is among the very best nationally. They say that most inspectors will not see ‘exceptional’ in any of their inspections. Some of the expectations for ‘exceptional’ shared by Ofsted include:
• Practice so unique that it could be showcased so others can learn from it, to drive practice nationally.
• Impact on outcomes for children that is well beyond what the inspector sees in a ‘strong’ settings.
• Achievement for children (especially the most vulnerable) that is ‘what other settings might not even think is possible.’
• Giving children what they need, not just now but also for the future.
• Making a ‘transformational impact’ on children’s individual experiences and overcoming barriers to learning.
• Clear evidence of exceptional action on the part of leaders that others can learn from.
• The setting is doing something truly exceptional.
• Standards are sustained consistently over long periods of time.
• Practice so transformational that it could be used to change national policy.
• Compelling examples that the setting is reducing barriers to learning for every child.
 
Ofsted also state that inspectors need to be mindful of any evidence that might ‘undermine the grading’. For example, if there have been complaints or concerns raised about the setting or if the data ‘tells a different story.’ Parent / carer feedback will also be considered and must support the grade.
 
I have feedback from one childminder who is currently waiting for her report and is expecting to be graded exceptional in one inspection area. She tells me the inspector spent 1.5 hours on the phone to the Ofsted duty desk, during the inspection, before she was allowed to award the grade. This is because Ofsted do not trust their inspectors to make the decision while they are in the setting - any inspector who thinks they might be seeing exceptional practice has to call the Ofsted duty desk during the inspection and argue the case with a panel that have never met the provider or seen what they do. Feedback that has been shared with me confidentially is that this call can last 1.5 hours or longer and inspectors are finding the calls very hard - which begs the question, ‘How does this support inspector wellbeing?’
 
After the inspection, there will be an expectation that settings graded exceptional share their practice with colleagues in local and national networks to improve outcomes for all providers. Providers have stated that this is a ridiculous expectation - most are far too busy doing their jobs, keeping updated with all the many changes in early years and staying sustainable to find the time to share their practice.
 
Some feedback I have received from early years providers which will be shared with Ofsted to challenge their thinking includes:

• Why do inspectors have to argue with someone who has never been to the setting for a provider to get a grade? What impact might this be having on inspector confidence? Are inspectors more likely to avoid even trying to give a setting the exceptional grade because of the pressure on them to justify it to someone who has never met the provider or seen the provision, in an office who has maybe never worked with early years children?
• One of the aims of the inspection changes after the tragic death of a head teacher due to Ofsted pressure was to make the inspection process fairer and more proportionate. Making a grade pretty much unattainable is not the right approach to help providers continue to aim high. This is one of the influences likely to lead to more providers leaving the sector.
• Imagine being an inspector and saying to a provider that they are going to ring the office to talk about ‘exceptional’. They are on the phone for 1.5 hours arguing the case. They then have to come back into the setting and explain why exceptional was taken away from the provider. How is this fair, reasonable or, to quote some of Ofsted’s C’s of inspection ‘constructive feedback’ and ‘consistency’?
• Will parents understand that ‘exceptional’ is pretty much impossible to gain? Or will they see a setting that was once ‘outstanding’ and is now possibly ‘expected standard’ as having failed? The whole system, feedback from colleagues tells me, appears set up to fail providers. Colleagues ask, ‘Why have the grade?’ Ofsted were supposed to make it fairer, better transparency and fairness to providers and all they have done is make everything harder.
• A childminder was told she couldn’t have the grade because she doesn’t deliver national support for colleagues (she is very active supporting other providers locally); a childminder was told she couldn’t have the grade because she doesn’t impact national policy (she is very active supporting other providers locally and nationally). Even inspectors are telling providers that they do not understand why it’s been added to the toolkit.

 
One of the questions we cannot answer until we have more post-inspection feedback is, ‘Are they saving this grade for school nurseries to make them appear better than childminders and the private and voluntary sector?’ This leads to a bigger question around how the descriptors will be evidenced proportionally across different types of provision as the framework embeds. Childminders are very different in the ways we work from bigger settings with managers and teams of staff.
 
There are many pressures on early years providers including the unfair funding formulae, the introduction of making tax digital and HMRC removing 10% wear and tear allowance (essential for all childminders to offset damage to their homes), constant changes to expectations and requirements, Local Authority pressure, unfair DfE advertising of school nurseries and more. Many providers state that this is yet another nail in the coffin and they will be retiring or leaving the sector. I am sure this is an unexpected consequence of the changes, but it must be considered by Ofsted.
 
 Chat soon! Sarah

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) was updated in September 2025 to include new requirements around nappy changing and toileting which are statutory for all early years providers.

Toilets and intimate hygiene
3.86 Childminders must ensure:
• There is an adequate number of toilets and hand basins available.
• There are suitable hygienic changing facilities for changing any children who are in nappies.
• Children’s privacy is considered and balanced with safeguarding and support needs when changing nappies and toileting.
• There is an adequate supply of clean bedding, towels, spare clothes, and any other necessary items.
 
Ofsted and personal care needs
The recently updated (11.2025) Ofsted early years inspection toolkit states that to gain an 'expected standard' grade, providers must ensure that, ' Practices ensure that the personal needs of babies and children of all ages are met appropriately. Practitioners teach children to become increasingly independent in managing their personal needs.'

Reflection - what steps do you put in place to encourage parents to support their child's independence at home? 

In addition to the practicalities of ensuring there are suitable and hygienic toilets and hand-washing facilities, nappy changing and toileting must be balanced with supervision of the child and other children in the setting, children’s safety and dignity. Safeguarding considerations must be central to all intimate care routines in the setting, putting children’s wellbeing at the heart of the process.
 
Paperwork

• You do not need a written nappy changing or toileting policy, but you must be ready to share your procedures with parents and Ofsted.
• You do not need a written policy, but you might want to include something about intimate hygiene in your Safeguarding Policy.
• You do not need parental consent to change nappies or take children to the toilet.
• You should inform parents about their child’s bladder and bowel movements – there is no requirement for this information to be in writing.
• You do not need to record times for nappy changing or toileting to comply with the EYFS - however, this might be a requirement in your early years setting. 

 
Safeguarding

• You must ensure facilities are private for the child – for example, using your body as a shield.
• You must not use mobile phones in toilets or changing areas.
• You must be professional – talk to the child, explain what you are doing, use PPE (if required by your setting) and record the details (if required by your setting).
• Report any unexplained marks, bruises or disclosures immediately to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL in settings) or Local Safeguarding Partners (childminders).
• If you are working on your own, you must ensure other children are supervised (in sight and / or hearing) while you are changing nappies and taking children to the toilet.

Reflection - think about how you would ensure privacy for an older child.  

Health and safety

• Keep changing areas clean and sanitary.
• Clean nappy changing mats, toilets and seats after use by the children.
• Wash yours and children’s hands after every nappy change and toilet use.
• Ensure there are sufficient baby wipes, paper towels, soap etc for the day.
• Do not leave children unsupervised on changing mats or toilets.

 
Put the child first

• Gain the child’s consent where appropriate.
• Encourage independence where possible.
• Never force a child to use the toilet or potty.
• Maintain professional boundaries and respect a child’s right to privacy.
• To ensure safety and protect children from, for example, child-on-child abuse, do not allow children to the toilet facilities without supervision.
• Do not use negative or shaming language about a natural process – for example, calling a child ‘stinky’ or criticising a child for having a toileting accident.

 
If the child makes a disclosure
Children will typically make disclosures when they feel secure and are spending one-to-one time with their key person. You might also note concerns while changing nappies or supporting a child with toileting: 

• Stay calm and neutral.
• Do not ask leading or investigative questions.
• Record the child’s exact words.
• Report immediately to the DSL (setting) or Local Safeguarding Partners (childminders).

 
At transition times

• When a child arrives in the setting find out what their normal routines are at home.
• When a child is preparing to transition from nappies to the toilet work in partnership with parents.
• When you have new staff, train them in safeguarding and keeping children safe when nappy changing and toileting. Do not allow assistants (childminders) to change nappies until they have their Ofsted suitability letter, have completed in-house training and feel confident with the process.
• If you are working on your own and children are eating and a child needs you to help them with nappy changing or toileting, you must remove food because you are no longer sitting with them to keep them safe (EYFS 3.47, 3.63 and 3.69).

Reflection - which are the hardest transition times in your setting? For example, if children are waiting around for a long time while everyone is washing hands before a meal, this might lead to poor behaviour and an Ofsted inspector would ask what learning intentions were being met while children were standing in a line for an extended period of time.  

Independence
The EYFS includes independence as part of the personal, social and emotional development (PSED) curriculum. 
Ofsted put a lot of focus on independence during inspection, stating in training that providers should not do anything for a child that they can be reasonably expected to do for themselves. 
In addition to supporting children's care needs, you also need to work on their independence so they are ready for school. In relation to nappy changing it might mean children pulling up their own trousers and following prompts to support hand washing. For toileting, children might stand on a step, manage their personal needs (depending on their stage of learning), flush the toilet and wash their hands independently, before taking a cloth to dry them carefully. 

If you have any questions about nappy changing or toileting, Childcare.co.uk has a useful recorded webinar for gold members to watch again. 

Chat soon, Sarah

One of the aims of this blog is to support early years providers with and demystify Ofsted inspection.
 
Ofsted has recently updated their early years inspection framework from 10th November 2025 and are now using a suite of 3 documents to help plan, implement and grade early years inspection. While the focus is often on the early years inspection toolkit, because it provides information about grading, there is more to read in the other documents published alongside the toolkit.
 
For example, the operating guide sets out what will happen during the planning call. An inspector will ring before 10am to introduce themselves and arrange a later planning call. The planning call will take longer because it will be focused on you and your setting, giving the inspector a flavour of what they will find when they come out to visit you. Ofsted will also send you an email between the phone calls, which will include a list of some of the questions they will ask during the planning call.  
 
This means, especially for busy childminders, finding time to do a lot of Ofsted-related things on the same day – answering the initial inspector phone call, reading the Ofsted email (often while working), putting together answers to the questions on the email and then preparing for a longer planning call from the inspector which might be in working hours, depending on their flexibility.
 
During the planning call with your inspector, you will talk about lots of different things which can be organised in advance, so you are ready for what they are going to ask because it’s not a secret and they have made the questions available. For example, you can look up information about the context in your local authority (oral health, obesity and other statistics) and think about how you support, for example, children to learn about oral health and healthy eating, sharing information with parents to support home learning. 

The context of your setting questions include –

• Number of children on roll.
• Number of spaces available.
• Lowest age of children on roll – for example, a baby or toddler.
• Upper age of children on roll – for example, a school child.
• Staff and qualifications.

In relation to inclusion, which is a key inspection focus area, the inspector will ask you about –

• Ages of any children in receipt of Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) or Disability Access Funding (DAF). You might find the Ofsted EYPP blog useful.
• Total number of children known (or previously known) to social services.
• Total number of looked after children.
• Number of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
• Number of children with an education, health and care plan (EHCP).
• Number of children receiving SEN support for communication and language and / or cognition and learning and / or social, emotional and mental health and / or sensory or physical needs.

 
During the general discussion part of the call –

• The inspector will ask you who is responsible for your wellbeing.
• They will want to know if you need them to make any adaptations or reasonable adjustments and if there are any protected characteristics (see the Equality Act 2010 – section 4)
• The inspector will remind you to inform parents that Ofsted are coming and might suggest you get parent feedback or ask when it is the best time to talk to parents. Childcare.co.uk has sample parent questionnaires for you to download and use.

Some other questions the inspector might also ask relate to, for example –

• Your self-evaluation and action planning – what you do well and what you are working on. The inspector will then look for evidence of this during inspection.
• Local authority safeguarding focus areas – this question has come up a few times and your LA should be able to advise you. You can then ensure your professional development has covered them.
• Your curriculum and teaching approach – for example, you will be expected to talk about curriculum and teaching during the call and then you can showcase it through inspection. If you are unsure about how to explain your curriculum, Childcare.co.uk has a number of gold member guides.
• A childminder was recently asked, ‘What makes your setting unique?’ so think about that one! When you are selling a space to new families, what do you talk about? What are your unique selling points? What sets you apart from other childminders in your area?

 
The inspector will also advise you to read the Ofsted early years inspection toolkit. If you have looked through it in advance and used the Chldcare.co.uk ‘expected standard audit’ to evaluate your setting, you will be ready to let the inspector know what grade you are aiming for as well.
 
Ofsted comment on the planning call in this short video (picture above).
 
Childcare.co.uk has more detailed guidance and a list you can complete so you feel ready for the planning call in their inspection preparation pack.

I hope this is useful. If you have any questions, please ask.

Chat soon, Sarah

DfE has now announced what grades will lead to early years providers losing funding, depending on what their Local Authority decides (it will be a regional decision). This is linked to the new Ofsted early years inspection toolkit.
 
One of the grades will be safeguarding – not met (red).

With most early years providers now accepting Govt funding and relying on it more and more for their income, a ‘safeguarding – not met’ outcome could be devastating and a ‘safeguarding – met’ inspection evaluation will be essential for continued sustainability.
 
I thought it might be useful to explore in more detail what ‘safeguarding – not met’ looks like in practice, using examples from childminders who have fed back from recent inspections.
 
What does ‘safeguarding – not met’ look like in practice? I will use (paraphrase) the ‘not met’ outcomes set out in the Ofsted early years inspection framework as a starting point and review them in more detail:
 
Children are unsafe – this will usually link to breaches to the statutory framework – the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) or the Childcare Register (compulsory register).
For example, you are not complying with the requirement relating to food safety - watching children when they are eating or asking parents for information about intolerances as well as allergens. In a recent example, a nursery manager did not apply for DBS checks for new staff quickly after they started.

Failure to resolve weaknesses – for example, Ofsted has already graded you ‘not met’ or ‘inadequate’ under the old inspection system and you have not improved, or they come out to re-inspect you and find another concern. A recent example – an inspector first noted a childminder was breaching the statutory requirements by not having a safeguarding policy; on their return, there was a policy in place, but it was generic and not fit for purpose.
 
You are not open to challenge – for example, the inspector points out something you are not doing well enough to you and, instead of accepting you have made a mistake and putting it right, you argue with them. In a recent example, a LA officer was with a childminder on a monitoring visit and said they needed to improve something and whistle blew their concern to Ofsted. When Ofsted came out to the setting to investigate further, the childminder had not actioned the concern.  
 
You do not learn from issues or incidents – this usually relates to incidents when something has gone wrong and you do it again. A recent example – a childminder was over ratio during an unannounced inspection – children had arrived before her assistant, and she was trying to be helpful to parents and let them into the house. The inspector returned for a spot check a few weeks later and the childminder was over ratio again.
 
Failure to support children – you must know the different types of abuse set out in the EYFS (physical, emotional, neglect and sexual abuse) and how and when to refer children for support – for example, by contacting your local safeguarding partners (MASH in some areas) and advocating for the child, pushing for them to intervene to keep the child safe. A recent example – a child in a term-time only pre-school was recorded as at risk of harm – the pre-school closed for the summer and nothing more was done to get them help during that time.
 
Different safeguarding concerns – in addition to physical, emotional, neglect and sexual abuse, Ofsted has added ‘grooming and exploitation’ to the list. In the early years inspection handbook they also refer to the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ which also comes in a parent friendly format to share with parents.
Do you / your assistants or staff need to do some professional development to help you understand the types of abuse? Note there are many more types of abuse which inspectors might ask about – for example, during a recent inspection a childminder was asked about contextual abuse and another colleague was asked about the impact of domestic abuse on outcomes for children. This is why professional development and safeguarding refresher training is so important.
 
Not stopping online harm – for example, failure to share information with parents about keeping children safe online, not teaching children about how to keep themselves safe online, not securing internet enabled devices in the setting and not constantly supervising children when they are on the internet. A recent example – a child took out their mobile phone during an inspection and started using it and accessing the internet in front of the inspector. Another example – an inspector picked up a tablet in the setting and got straight on the internet – the tablet was within reach of children.
 
Failure to listen to children – you must know and be able to explain how to manage a disclosure from a child including listening without prompting, asking the right questions, record keeping and reporting the disclosure without delay. You must know the local authority child protection challenges – for example, in Cheshire east they are listed on the safeguarding website. You must also know which types of abuse you must report to your LA without talking to parents first – this varies and will be shared in your LSP training.
 
Impact of policies – a safeguarding policy is a living document, always open to challenge and available for everyone in the setting, to be used for reference, if you want to look something up. It must also be shared with parents to comply with the compulsory Childcare Register requirements.
A recent example – a childminder was aware of poor practice in the community, but she did not follow her whistleblowing policy and report it to Ofsted. Another example – parents did not bring their child to the nursery for a few days but staff failed to follow their attendance policy and report it to the DSL in the setting who then should have alerted children’s social care.
 
Keep policies under review – if something changes you need to ensure your policy is updated straight away, so you know what to do in different child protection situations. A recent example – a childminder told her inspector that she knew her policy needed work after the EYFS was updated in September 2025 but she hadn’t had time to do it yet.
Bear in mind that you don’t have to complete a full re-write if there are mid-year changes to safeguarding or child protection – you can add a quick addendum and share it with parents, to ensure everyone is up to date.  
 
Safer recruitment policy not followed – if you have or intend to have an assistant (childminder) or staff (group setting) you must ensure you have a safer recruitment policy that you can work through to ensure you have taken all steps to keep children safe. As part of this, childminders must have a suitability letter for an assistant before they can work in ratio or unsupervised.  A recent example comes from a newly registering childminder who told the inspector she had no intention of taking on assistants, but Ofsted are attempting to future-proof registration inspections by checking that newly registering childminders know the procedures they must follow if they want to take on assistants in the future.
Childcare.co.uk includes a module on safer recruitment in their pre-registration guidance.

Prevent duty not followed – you must know when a child is at risk of radicalisation and exposure to extremism and how to report. A recent example – a childminder told the inspector that radicalisation wasn’t a problem in her local area because it was affluent.
Also note the latest Prevent duty (2023) includes information about how we must be alert to the idealistic reasons for being radicalised – is your training up to date?

Poor record keeping – you must be registered with the Information Commissioners Office as a data handler – some inspectors ask to see the certificate. You must use a child safeguarding file (or similar) to record concerns. When the child moves on the information must be handed to the next setting. A recent example – a childminder had a disclosure from a child and didn’t believe them or record it because ‘the child has a history of telling lies.’ Another recent example – a nursery’s record keeping was poor and the manager was unable to find requested documents and there was a big backlog of filing which could have contained essential information to keep a child safe.
 
Concerns about adults not reported – you must refer allegations to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) within 24 hours and notify the DBS service even if they have left the setting and no longer work for you. A recent example – a group setting had a report from a parent about a child’s disclosure against a staff member. However, instead of reporting it to LADO and DBS they allowed the staff member to leave. Another example – a staff member was a friend of the manager and, when a complaint was brought against them, the manager attempted to bury the disclosure.
 
Things to do next
Comply with the EYFS and complete the statutory Annex c safeguarding training – basic and DSL training is available from Childcare.co.uk as a recorded webinar and you are advised to engage with your Local Authority safeguarding training (if available).
**Stay updated with safeguarding training – Childcare.co.uk are committed to including regular refresher training in their weekly webinars.
**Use the Childcare.co.uk free quick reference cards, glossary of safeguarding terms and more to ensure you are up to date with latest safeguarding information.
**Read through the inspection toolkit 'safeguarding - met' evaluations and use them as an audit / tick list. More guidance from Childcare.co.uk in the 'expected standard audit'. 

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Note that I have paraphrased the points above for the ‘safeguarding – not met’ evaluation. This is what it says in the Ofsted early years inspection toolkit:

The safeguarding standards have been developed from the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the ‘EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers’, ‘EYFS statutory framework for childminders’, ‘Keeping children safe in education’ and ‘Working together to safeguard children’. Safeguarding standards are likely to be ‘not met’ if any of the following apply: 
...Serious and/or widespread failures in safeguarding practice lead to children, or particular groups of children, being unsafe. Breaches of the statutory requirements for safeguarding have a significant impact on children’s safety.
...Leaders have not taken sufficient action to resolve weaknesses following a failure of safeguarding arrangements that meant children may not have been kept safe.
...Leaders are not open to challenge and/or do not learn from issues or incidents.
...Leaders do not identify children who may need early help and who are at risk of harm or who have been harmed. This can include, but is not limited to, neglect, abuse, grooming, exploitation, sexual abuse and online harm.
...Leaders do not actively seek and listen to the views and experiences of children, practitioners and parents, and they do not deal with concerns promptly, when necessary.
...Leaders do not understand the impact of their policies, processes and systems. They are not receptive to challenge and/or do not reflect on their own practice to ensure that safeguarding policies, systems and processes are kept under continual review.
...Leaders and practitioners do not follow the requirements for safer recruitment, reporting, referrals and the ‘Prevent’ duty.
...Poor record-keeping has a significant impact on children’s safety.
...Leaders do not manage safeguarding concerns or allegations against adults appropriately. They do not fulfil their duty to refer allegations or concerns to relevant agencies, including the LADO and the DBS.

It is also important to note the links between 'safeguarding - not met' and the 'leadership' evaluation - they will affect each other. DfE also announced that low 'leadership and governance' grades will also likely impact funding, depending on your LA decision.  

If you have any questions, please ask. Sarah. 

The Ofsted early years inspection framework, including a toolkit with grade descriptors, an operating guide for inspectors and further guidance, will be in use from today, instead of the previous inspection handbook.
 
Childcare.co.uk has already published a lot of inspection guidance and there are recorded webinars for gold members to watch again - with more to follow. I thought a quick blog on the main changes you need to know about might be useful.

You need to know:

• There are 7 inspection areas – safeguarding and inclusion are new; the others have new names. The 7 inspection areas are safeguarding – inclusion – curriculum and teaching – achievement – behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines – children’s welfare and wellbeing – leadership and governance.
• Ofsted will make ‘secure fit evaluations’ rather than ‘best fit judgements’. This means there will be less opportunities for inspectors to use their professional judgement when awarding your grade. Instead, inspection will be based on how you evidence your compliance with each of the statements in the ‘expected standard’ and other evaluation sections of the Ofsted toolkit.
• There are 5 grades – exceptional (blue) – strong standard (dark green) – expected standard (green) – needs attention (amber) – urgent improvement (red).
• Safeguarding will be graded ‘met’ or ‘not met. A ‘not met’ grade will result in regulatory action and a re-inspection within 6-months.
• You will receive a report card to share with parents - see ‘after inspection’. Ofsted talk about the report card in this video on YouTube 

 
Between now and inspection
I suggest you spend time reading through the inspection toolkit and other documents and:

• Review safeguarding –as a minimum, you need to ensure your Safeguarding Policy is up to date with the EYFS Sept 2025 changes and complete training to comply with the EYFS Annex C – ‘met’ grade is non-negotiable. Ofsted want to see that all children belong (core inspection principle) – are safe and protected.
• Assess inclusion – you need to know the children, quickly identify additional needs, reduce barriers to inclusion, make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to the curriculum and teaching (Equality Act 2010) and put support in place quickly using a graduated approach (SEND Code of Practice). Ofsted want to see that all children belong (core inspection principle) – you have high expectations for every child.
• Review your curriculum and teaching – you must be able to explain how you plan for every child (your curriculum) and deliver the planning (your teaching) to your Ofsted inspector during the initial 30-minute video call and then demonstrate it in practice during the inspection. Ofsted want to see that all children are learning (core inspection principle) – know more, remember more and can do more.
• Be confident about explaining achievement – talk about how children are getting on and preparing for school. Ofsted want to see that all children achieve (core inspection principle) – knowledge and skills.
• Support behaviour, attitudes and routines – this inspection area is linked to teaching children about their emotions, self-regulation and good behaviour (executive function) and children’s regular attendance and good timekeeping. You must share your Attendance Policy (required by the EYFS) with parents. Ofsted want to see that all children thrive (core inspection principle) – attend regularly, learn how to behave well and join in with the activities and routines you plan.
• Discuss children’s welfare and wellbeing – this evaluation area is closely linked to personal, social and emotional development in the EYFS and the EYFS updates relating to health and safety. Ofsted want to see that all children belong (core inspection principle) – feel safe, welcome and valued.
• Be confident in your leadership – your oversight of your setting, compliance with the EYFS and Childcare Registers (where relevant) and other legislation, self-evaluation and action planning, staff wellbeing and workload (if relevant). Ofsted want to see that all children thrive (core inspection principle) – leadership is strong.

Before inspection

• You will receive an introduction phone call before 10am. During the phone call, Ofsted will aim to book a 30-minute video call for later in the day. For childminders the phone call will be within 5 days of inspection; for group settings inspection will be next day.
• Between the phone and video call, you will receive an email to confirm what will be discussed during the video call. Childminders have raised concerns about the video call format – this is something you will need to discuss with your inspector.
• During the video call Ofsted will talk to you about your context (demographics and challenges), priorities (self-evaluation and action planning), case sampling (SEND, children receiving EYPP) and to plan the inspection timetable. Ofsted has promised more context-informed inspection, recognising your local challenges. Feedback from trial inspections is that there is a big focus on self-evaluation and action planning – knowing your strengths and what you are working on next to improve.
• For all settings, including childminders, an inspection day will be agreed.

You will find guidance about this and other areas of inspection in Childcare.co.uk gold member guidance and Childcare.co.uk will continue to work with Ofsted if members have inspection concerns. 
 
On the day
Ofsted has said there will be more collaboration and professional discussions during inspection:

• Documents – you should be ready to share your paediatric first aid certificates and anything that is statutory (required by the EYFS). There is also a list of further record keeping in the Ofsted inspection operating guide. Ofsted has stated that paperwork will be reduced and they are not adding extra workload expectations.

• Observations – Ofsted will watch and listen to check that curriculum and teaching are secure, children are safe and healthy, the setting is suitable, staff are happy etc.
• Discussion – Ofsted are aiming for collaborative engagement to find out about you and your setting. They have promised more focus on your wellbeing during inspection.
• Outcome – at the end of the inspection there will be a discussion about your various grades and priorities for improvement.

 
After inspection

• The report card will be sent out within 18 days – it will include the colourful grades, what you do well and clear actions for improvement.
• You will have 5 days to complain after receiving the draft report card. If a complaint is made, Ofsted has said it will delay publishing the report card. Ofsted has promised a better complaints process for providers to challenge errors. Ofsted has said that the complaints process will be easier.

• Once it has been agreed, the report card will usually be published within 30 days.
• Ofsted has said that every inspector will be trained the same way and there will be more inspector quality assurance after inspection.
• If needed, support should be available from the Local Authority. Childcare.co.uk also offers members pre- and post-inspection support.

 
Things to get your head round:

• The previously used grades outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate are gone.
• The 3 Is (intent, implementation and impact) are gone along with lots of other Ofsted buzzwords and phrases. This is because Ofsted say inspection is much closer to the EYFS - but still with some Ofsted twists.
• Grading starts with ‘expected standard’. Ofsted has said you might want to use ‘expected standard’ as a starting point for your auditing and action planning. Childcare.co.uk has a useful guide.
• Ofsted has promised more inspection consistency based on the inspection toolkit statements.

Keep an eye out for: 

• Inspection is moving towards 4 yearly and 12-18 months for newly registered providers from April 2026 – no further information available yet (11.2025) but Ofsted has said they will write a blog.
• Ofsted stated in the DfE ‘Giving every child the best start in life’ blog that they will release inspector training and launch a new service called 'Ofsted: explore an area’, which publishes data from your local authority in November.
• We do not have information yet from DfE about what inspection outcomes will lead to removal of Local Authority funding.
• When there is feedback from the first cohort of inspections, Childcare.co.uk will release further guidance to support members. 

You will find more inspection detail in this Childcare.co.uk blog.

I hope this helps! Please do ask if you have questions.

Sarah

What do you know about the internal senses?

We all know the 5 external senses – sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.

However, did you know that there are 3 important internal senses as well?

The internal senses are –

• Proprioception – gives your brain awareness of your body's position and movement through signals from muscles, tendons, and joints. 
• Interoception – provides information about your body's internal state, like hunger or thirst.
• Vestibular – located in the inner ear, it controls your sense of balance and head position in space.

The internal senses are important for body management.
 
Interoception affects our ability to recognise what our body is telling us, so we know when we are hungry, thirsty, in pain, tired and when we need a toilet break. Interoception is also closely linked to the child’s ability to self-regulate, especially if they are neurodivergent or have experienced trauma or attachment difficulties (adverse childhood experiences – ACES).
 
Think about each of the children in your care and how well they manage interoception –

• Do they struggle to drink enough – or drink too much?
• Are they constantly asking for food – or saying they are not hungry?
• Do they recognise when their bodies are hot or cold?
• Can they talk about their feelings – or do they disengage?
• Do they go from calm and happy to suddenly having big emotions and behaviours?
• Does enjoyable play quickly turn into overwhelm?
• Do they know when they are doing a wee or poo – or wet / soil themselves?

 
In addition to knowing what is happening inside the body, children need to recognise how to poo. Proprioception – body awareness – helps children know how hard to push (how much force to use) when they are sitting on the toilet and doing a poo.

Lack of proprioception awareness often means that children only feel safe and comfortable to poo when they are wearing a nappy, because being on the toilet causes real or perceived pain (it’s going to hurt – it might hurt), especially if they have been constipated and remember previously painful poos. Heightened proprioception means even passing a soft stool will hurt them.
 
Children’s ability to know when they need to poo can sometimes be delayed or lost because their internal senses of interoception and proprioception are not well enough developed by the time they are starting toilet training.
 
However, when children hold their poo, it can lead to loss of bowel control and rectum issues, including reduced muscle tone and desensitised nerve endings so we need to support them.
 
Ways to build awareness of their interoception and proprioception when doing a poo include –

• Permission from parents to administer daily medication to manage constipation (laxatives) to ensure softer stools and stop the build-up of stools, to allow the bowel to regain its shape - if it needs to be given more than once a day at home.
• Exercises to practice together to improve the pelvic floor – bottom squeezes.
• Ensuring the child can put their feet on a step or the floor when siting on the toilet.
• Extra pressure when pooing – for example, holding an air-filled wedge which tilts the pelvis slightly or using a cushion to press down on.
• Visual reminders that it’s time to use the toilet and try for a poo if they generally go at about the same time every day.
• Using a toilet seat with a smaller hole – for example, an insert in the toilet seat, so they feel safe. This easy adaptation supports the child's vestibular sense too.

 
Other sensory input also plays a part. For example, children’s toileting success can be influenced by touch (seat texture, feel of toilet paper), vision (flashing or bright lights), smell (cleaning fluids, other users) and hearing (flushing and dryers in public toilets). 
 
There are more useful ideas to support children who struggle to poo on the Eric website.
 
Chat soon, Sarah 
 
Picture 'Let's go potty' (c) Eric website 

Ofsted inspection will look and feel different from 10th November 2025.
 
There are 3 documents –

1. A toolkit – includes inspection evaluations.
2. An operating guide includes information about inspection management.  
3. An inspection information booklet with some useful extra insights.

 
There are 7 new evaluation areas –

1. Safeguarding – met or not met grade.
2. Inclusion.
3. Curriculum and teaching.
4. Achievement.
5. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines.
6. Children’s welfare and well-being.
7. Leadership and governance

 
There are 5 new possible grades –

1. Urgent improvement (red).
2. Needs attention (amber).
3. Expected standard (green).
4. Strong standard (dark green).
5. Exceptional (blue).

No more single word judgements – you will be likely graded differently for the different inspection areas.
 
Each evaluation area follows the same format –   

• What the evaluation area covers – its scope and priorities. 

• How you can show strong practice. 

• How practice looks different depending on age groups and provider types – for example, childminders, out of school clubs and no children on roll. 

• How inspectors will gather evidence. 

• What the grades mean, from ‘needs attention’ (red) to ‘exceptional’ (blue).

 
There is a new report card that will set out the different evaluation areas and grades for each, with the safeguarding grade at the bottom.
 
Before inspection, you will receive a phone call before 10am to arrange a second longer call later in the day. During the second call, which will replace the learning walk, you will need to talk about –

• The context of your setting – there is a lot in the inspection guidance about context.
• The children who attend and days they are with you.
• The inspector will arrange an inspection day.

 
Inspection timings are changing – this information is set out in the DfE ‘Giving every child the best start for life’ report –
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/686bd62a10d550c668de3be7/Giving_every_child_the_best_start_in_life.pdf  
For all early years providers, inspections from April 2026 will be moving towards every 4 years instead of 6. Ofsted say this will be a process of transition.
New providers will be inspected within 12-18 months after their registration inspection.

One of the big changes is that childminder inspections will be given a day (apart from unannounced of course).
 
During inspection, Ofsted has said that the inspector wants to see a normal day and they will focus on the children and your wellbeing. They don’t want lots of paperwork and you should not do anything special for Ofsted.
 
You can find the new inspection toolkit, operating guide and further guidance here –
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-inspection-toolkit-operating-guide-and-information

I suggest you read through this blog and then refer to the documents for more information.
 
The evaluation areas in brief
 
Safeguarding
Safeguarding has its own section and will be judged ‘met’ or ‘not met’.
If the outcome is ‘not met’ there will be ‘regulatory action’ to follow.
Inspectors want to see a ‘culture of safeguarding’ – not policies in folders, but a whole setting approach.
The ‘culture’ must run through everything – it starts with compliance with the EYFS statutory requirements.

The Childcare.co.uk ‘Safeguarding Q&A’ blog is a useful starting point –
https://www.childcare.co.uk/childminders/safeguarding-q-and-a
 
Comment
Inspection is already 'high stakes', especially with early years providers who take funded children and their continued sustainability is largely reliant on their inspection grade. If DfE makes 'not met' for safeguarding a limiting grade for continued funding, it will be even more important that providers stay updated and informed.  

Inclusion
Inclusion has its own evaluation area and weaves through all other areas as well.
It is linked to children who face barriers to their learning and well-being, including disadvantaged children, children with SEND, and children known or previously known to social care. 
Inclusive practice means noticing which children need support, acting quickly to reduce barriers, involving parents in decision making, compliance with the Equality Act 2010 (reasonable adjustments), justifying early years pupil premium (EYPP) spending, working with other settings or agencies to support the child and having high expectations for every child.  

Ofsted has a blog about their expectations around EYPP spending –
https://earlyyears.blog.gov.uk/2025/04/10/how-we-look-at-the-use-of-early-years-pupil-premium-eypp-in-our-inspections-of-early-years-settings/
 
Curriculum and teaching
The curriculum and teaching section combines what used to be known as ‘intent’ and ‘implementation’.
Ofsted want to see an ambitious, high quality and well sequenced curriculum that uses the EYFS 7 areas of learning as a starting point and prioritising the prime areas for the youngest children.
Communication and language threads through all the areas of learning – vocabulary, reading, songs, story telling, poetry, conversations etc.
Providers must understand typical child development and progression and adapt teaching to different rates of development. Activities must have purpose and be provided to allow children to practice, consolidate or make progress so they remember what they are learning.

Ofsted has used their ‘Best start in life’ reviews as a guide for expected curriculum –
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/best-start-in-life-a-research-review-for-early-years

 
Achievement
Achievement is what used to be known as ‘impact’ – it’s about the progress children are making across the 7 areas of learning and whether they are ready for school. There is a lot of information about children being ‘ready for the next stage in education, including school.’
This means strong foundations in communication, confidence, resilience, independence, curiosity etc – and these are included in the ‘curriculum and teaching’ expectations.
Ofsted do not want to see spreadsheets of data – they want to know that we will reliably notice if a child is at risk of falling behind and support them quickly, working with parents and taking a multi-agency approach to help them get back on track.

If you do have concerns about a child’s progress, Childcare.co.uk has lots of guidance including ‘quick assessment checks’ which you can use –
https://www.childcare.co.uk/eyfs
 
Behaviour, attitudes and routines
The evaluation area is complex, also linked to attendance.
You must use positive behaviour strategies and teach children about their emotions.
Ofsted are looking for children to have a positive attitude to their learning – they are more likely to feel positive if the environment is predictable and supportive and they are taught about kindness, respect and how to take a breath when things get tough.
Consistent routines support children to feel secure in the setting and you will be able to showcase what you do well in your setting when children know their routines. Inspectors will watch meal or snack times, tidy up times and other parts of your routine.

You can monitor children’s behaviour using the Leuven scales (see Childcare.co.uk recorded webinar), and you must know when to step in if you have concerns about changes in behaviour (linked to safeguarding) –
https://www.childcare.co.uk/webinars
 
Comment
The problem with linking attendance to ‘behaviour, attitudes and routines’
Attendance is not compulsory in the early years. Attendance often reflects complex problems and social and systemic factors, for example, family circumstances, parental health, housing insecurity, parent expectations around the ‘free’ funded hours, transport problems etc. Even concerns as diverse as, for example, lack of availability of clothing and an unexplained bruise can stop parents from bringing a child.
Behaviour is linked to how well children manage their daily routines and the expectations of the setting. It’s about whether children are taught to behave well, learn about and understand their emotions, are offered engaging experiences in the setting and are supported to want to attend and behave well at home.
Routines suggests daily routines which support behaviour and attitudes to learning – however, Ofsted seem to be using a more nuanced approach in relation to how routines also support children’s attendance.
 
Children’s welfare and well-being
Are children happy in your setting? How do you know?
Do they feel healthy, safe and well cared for? Is there wellbeing high on the agenda with key person relationships from day 1, strong bonds and environments where children feel secure?
Inspectors will watch your routines – hand washing, toileting or nappy changes (privacy), inside and outside play, eating and resting / sleeping. They will look for, for example, children being encouraged to be independent and taking safe risks.

The DfE Nutrition statutory guidance should be consulted about menus and healthy eating –
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-nutrition
 
Leadership and governance
Can you explain your vision to your inspector?
Think about some recent training and what you have implemented in practice – and the impact it has had on outcomes for children.
Do you fully understand the EYFS requirements?
If you have assistants (childminders) or staff (settings) do you comply with the requirements?
Do you set high expectations for every child and follow-up quickly if there are concerns?
Are you a good leader who prioritises their own wellbeing, reduces paperwork and unnecessary workload and considers their own professional development?
Are parent relationships strong? Do you have a good multi-agency support system for children?
How do you intend to drive improvement in the future?

You will find more information in the Childcare.co.uk ‘Action planning’ guide on the-books for gold members page –
https://www.childcare.co.uk/gold/e-books
 
Has anyone noticed?

• The word ‘judgement’ has become ‘evaluation’.
• No mention of the 3 Is – they are there in curriculum, teaching and achievement but less explicit.
• The outcome ‘expected standard’ is much more closely aligned to the EYFS.
• No mention of British values.
• New expectation to teach children about the protected characteristics which is not in the EYFS.
• No mention of cultural capital.
• They have slipped ‘attendance’ into ‘behaviour’ without it being a separate evaluation area.
• 5 grades with sometimes overlapping expectations risk putting more pressure on providers.
• We will have to advocate for our children much more – if we know it’s a sequenced curriculum for the child, we will need to be able to explain it to the inspector clearly or they might think we’re under or over challenging them.
• ‘Past, present and future’ have appeared into the curriculum for understanding the world – these are end of reception early learning goals. We were previously told the ELGs were not a top-down expectation.
• The report card is going to look like a Nando’s menu.
• The word ‘context’ is used repeatedly with little explanation of what it will actually mean in practice.
• If the 2nd part of the phone call cannot be arranged in the evening, how will those of us who work on our own manage a 30 minute phone conversation while juggling children?
• There is a clear, welcome statement about less paperwork and more inspection of everyday practice.
• The ‘characteristics of learning’ are only mentioned in the definition of teaching – not linked to the behaviour evaluation as they are at the moment.

 
I hope this blog provides you with some useful insights.

There will be more to follow in the Childcare.co.uk upcoming webinars on the changes.
https://www.childcare.co.uk/webinars
​
I will also respond to questions (when I see them or if I am tagged) on the Independent Childminders Facebook group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/independentchildminders
 
Chat soon, Sarah

Childminders are talking a lot at the moment about the nutrition changes and how to support children in their settings.

​I think the question to ask is: What do children eat at home?
 
Asking parents that question is the first step towards supporting healthy eating in the early years setting, because when you know what children have eaten and enjoy eating at home, you can build on it in the setting by offering what they already know (their safe food) and introducing new tastes and textures.
 
However, you need to think about what you will do if children are only offered beige food, sweet, fatty or processed foods at home and parents then want to bring that sort of food in lunch bags for their child.
 
Many parents will say they their child’s place is funded and funding means it should be free. They might go on to say that their child can eat whatever they send – it is their decision how they feed their child. This might mean that they are coming into the setting with unhealthy food, far too much food, unsafe food etc.
 
This scenario is happening regularly and can be tricky to navigate.
 
While some children will only eat their safe foods because of sensory needs or, for example, celiac disease or arfid (avoidant or restrictive food intake disorder), other children might not have been offered a yummy fresh apple (but they drink sweet fruit smoothies) or a colourful salad as a side with their lunch (they usually have crisps at home). Ofsted state that they will take the ‘context’ of children’s food into consideration, but they also want to know how we ‘educate’ parents about healthy eating.
 
As early years providers, we recognise that we need to support children’s health and wellbeing and that we are required by the EYFS to provide a ‘healthy, balanced and nutritious meals’. We must share information with parents about, ‘How the EYFS is being delivered in the setting’ and ‘Food and drinks provided for children’ to comply with EYFS requirement 3.97.
 
We have also been provided with DfE nutrition guidance (04.2025) which we need to share with parents and use in the setting. However, many providers say that the sample menus in this guidance are mostly expensive to buy all the ingredients, time consuming to prepare (even for a chef) and unlikely to suit every child because of likes, dislikes, allergies, intolerances and preferences.

The EYFS from September 2025 includes a range of new requirements relating to safer eating which are discussed in this Childcare.co.uk blog.

DfE also offer further guidance on the ‘Help for early years providers’ website (health and wellbeing page) about safe eating which parents can read as well as practitioners.

However, none of these requirements take into account the children’s contexts – the background to what they are eating and why they like certain food. We also need to consider why parents are putting certain food into their lunch bags – maybe because it’s affordable or possibly they just want their child to eat.  Childcare.co.uk has tackled some of the questions early years providers might need to consider if parents are sending unhealthy or unsafe lunch bags for their children in this recent lunch box blog.
 
We can share information with parents and provide guidance to parents, but what we cannot do is change everything all at once. Parents are unlikely to understand why their child cannot share a cake with friends on their birthday or why you’d rather they (as one parent put it) waste money on oily fish (and let their child go hungry) than let them provide the chocolate spread sandwich they already know their child eats and enjoys. As one of our parents asked – why should they be the bad guy, putting things in their child’s lunch bag that they don’t like or haven’t tried before, when they have so many other favourite foods?  Why should they, as another parent asked, stress their child out and leave them hungry?
 
Thinking about food allergies and intolerances, preferences and dislikes, sensory issues and resistance to trying new foods, lack of choice because of financial implications, a preference for processed and packaged food, high sugar and fat contents etc can leave settings with a headache. This happens whether they provide food or encourage parents to send in packed lunches.
 
Early years settings need to be creative, engaging children and parents to ‘educate’ (Ofsted term) them about healthy eating. There are still cost barriers, but it’s a start. Planting fruit and vegetables or joining colleagues on an allotment, providing new tastes every week (research suggests children need to try something up to 10 times to decide if they like it or not) and reading books about healthy eating are a good starting point. It still leaves the practitioner with a problem though – opening a highly processed lunch bag when Ofsted inspectors are in the setting is not going to go down well.
 
Practitioners need to be ready to advocate for the children during inspection and explain the context of the food that has been sent. They also need to talk to their Ofsted inspector about what they have done to encourage healthier eating and any successes they have had with families and children. This might include, for example, sharing the Food and Nutrition Policy with parents* and having regular conversations with parents and children about healthier options, providing recipes for favourite food, sharing ideas about how much food to send in the lunch bag, celebrating successes when children try something new and encouraging parents to send it again.

*Note it is not a statutory requirement for childminders to have a policy in writing. 

I hope this helps. Sarah.