Childcare Register
Ofsted have a power, but not a duty, to inspect those only registered on the Childcare Register. Overall we will inspect 10% of registered settings each year chosen in one of two ways:
We do not inspect a provider within the first three months of their registration, unless we receive a complaint about them. Neither do we randomly select any provider who has had an inspection in the past 12 months.
As with other inspections, providers are given little or no notice of an inspection.
If the inspection is following a complaint, the inspector normally carries out an unannounced inspection unless the provider is a home childcarer. We must have the occupier’s written consent before we enter the premises where a home childcarer works and this is requested.
If the inspection is randomly selected, the inspector normally telephones childminders to check if children are on roll, and home childcarers to obtain the permission of the occupier no more than five days before the inspection. For childcare provision on domestic or non-domestic premises the inspector gives the provider no notice of the inspection.
The purpose of the inspection is to check that the provider is complying with the ongoing requirements of registration. We will not make qualitative judgements or produce a report as we do with inspections of those on the Early Years Register.
At the inspection visit the inspector will
-
Check registration details and assess compliance with, and the provider’s understanding of, the requirements of registration
-
Assess the safety of the registered premises and the effectiveness of the risk assessment
-
Talk to the provider, the children and any staff members and observe the provision to make sure policies are being put into practice
-
Assess any staff’s understanding of policies and procedures
-
Look at the recruitment policies, where applicable
-
Look at the arrangements for making sure unvetted people do not have unsupervised access to children.
At the end of the inspection the inspector will give feedback to the childminder or, in group settings, to most appropriate person - usually the registered provider, their nominee or the day-to-day manager - about whether or not a provider complies with requirements.
Further guidance of how we inspect those on the Childcare Register can be found in the Guide to registration on the Childcare Register
www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/080032
Where providers are on both the Early Years Register and the Childcare Register (either the compulsory part or the voluntary part or both) we will check compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register when we carry out the prescribed inspection of the early years provision. We will include the judgement on whether a provider met the requirements of the Childcare Register in the inspection report on the quality of the early years provision. The exception is where we receive a complaint that only relates to the requirements of the Childcare Register where we will carry out a separate inspection to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register.
Key People
Strategic Leadership
Early Years Inspection Senior Managers
Other Early Years Managers
Ofsted Early Years Inspection Service
Registration Visits
Inspection Visits
Reports & Safeguarding
Inspectors Code of Conduct & Expectations
Events
Medway Childminders
Web Links
|