The Ofsted inspection framework for early years registered providers has recently been revised to bring it into line with the school inspection system and to place more emphasis on the impact of services on children's learning outcomes.
As a result, since November 2013, the inspection judgements have been changed so that there is no longer a 'satisfactory' judgement. In its place, a 'requires improvement' judgement has been installed. Unlike the previous 'satisfactory', it has its own set of criteria to measure the quality of provision.
The other minor change to the framework is the increased focus on safeguarding elements, with practitioners needing to prove that staff have relevant early years qualifications as well as up-to-date safeguarding training and present evidence of their staff's DBS checks at inspection.
Together with its review of the evaluation schedule, Ofsted has published a new self-evaluation form for providers to prepare themselves for the new inspection system, and details of this can be accessed on the Ofsted website accompanied by very useful guidance. The intention is to ensure that providers are well prepared for the new inspection process and to help them feel positively empowered to deliver the very best on the day of inspection.
IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGE
The reason the judgements have been changed, Ofsted claims, is that providers have not improved practice as much as it had hoped and that 22 per cent of providers are still not achieving better than a satisfactory outcome at inspection.
The principle is that satisfactory is not good enough and therefore the new judgement requires improvement means that providers have to make greater effort to improve services before the next inspection.
The theory is that with the requires improvement judgement, providers will be shamed into working harder to improve. Not to improve is no longer an option if providers want to keep their service running. In the case of the maintained sector, the requires improvement judgement has, in many cases, propelled schools into becoming academies or in some cases has led to them being replaced by free schools. These schools are still funded by Government so, one way or another, their futures as schools are guaranteed. In the private and voluntary sector, however, a tightening up of the Ofsted inspection system can result in business ruin and eventual closure.
There are two ways of looking at this. Some will say, 'All to the good, children and parents should not have to tolerate poor services', while others may argue that the same inspection regime should not be used for both childcare and early years education and the schools' sector because parents depend on the private and voluntary sector to be local and easily available so that they can get to work every day. The more restrictive the regulatory system, the fewer will be the services that survive.
THE REVISED SELF-EVALUATION FORM
This is online on the Ofsted website and guidance is also available to download. The guidance supports providers to get to grips with Ofsted expectations for inspection. It provides them with a framework that is simple to use and enables them to reflect on their service and delivery. The guidance recommends the use of relevant information sources that should underpin self-evaluation.
These are:
- Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage 2012 (the EYFS)
- Early Years Outcomes
- The Evaluation Schedule for Inspections of Registered Early Years Provision (the evaluation schedule)
There are two parts to the guidance. The first part looks at the information the provider collects about the description of the setting within the community it serves. The second part looks at how quality in standards of provision is developed to improve outcomes for children and parents.
INFORMATION ON THE SETTING
This part of the guidance is instructive because providers need to think about the physical environment they offer children and the contribution the provision makes to the wider local community.
- A safe and well-ordered environment with good access to outdoor space, used regularly, is the ideal to which all providers should aspire. The spaces need to be accessible to parents and must comply with health and safety regulations. Similarly, the staff team must be suitably qualified and trained to fulfil their roles and support children's well-being and education.
- In developing quality relationships with local health and community services, and with local schools, providers should ensure they demonstrate commitment to the children's health and well-being, and enhance their opportunities to promote their long-term educational achievements.
These points can be achieved by drawing organisations and parents into the nursery for educational and social events, and by exploring the local facilities.
For instance, providers can:
- invite parents to share their skills and expertise, as well as reading stories and doing activities with children when they have time.
- invite local health visitors and speech and language therapists to talk to parents individually or to give specialist talks about health, nutrition and communication development. In some nurseries health visitors are invited to participate in the progress check for two-year-old children.
- encourage teachers from local schools to visit and get to know the children who will be transferring to their classes.
- use local services such as libraries, shops, parks and fire stations so that children become familiar with the people who support the community.
DEVELOPING QUALITY
In respect to the second part of the evaluation schedule, the focus is on the specific elements of the inspection process that are assessed by Ofsted to inform parents about the quality of the provision. It looks at the following:
- how well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend
- the contribution of the early years provision to children's well-being
- the leadership and management of the early years provision
- the overall quality and standards of the early years provision
For each of these sections, reference is made to what providers need to consider in the evaluation process of their service. The intention is to raise awareness of what providers are already confident they are offering and to help them see beyond their actual achievements and so aim for future improvements to the service. Some key points to reflect on are:
- How is the early years curriculum implemented and how do adults promote children's learning experiences? Adults need to be knowledgeable about children's starting points when they first attend the setting, and they need to ensure that they respect the effective characteristics of learning to enhance children's growth and development. The educational environment must reflect the delivery of all areas of learning, and the emphasis should be on challenging children to learn through first-hand and practical experiences.
- How is children's well-being supported by the setting and how effective is the key person system for fostering bonding and attachment? How do the routines of the day encourage children to develop good life skills and ensure that they have freedom of movement and choice? By planning a daily routine that involves children in participating in all aspects of its delivery, children learn to be independent and to develop essential personal, social and physical skills.
- A well-managed, committed and happy staff team impacts positively on children's learning outcomes. Providers need to work closely with their staff members to produce policies and procedures that work well to support children's health and safety, and their continuous learning. Providers also need to understand that empowering parents as their children's first educators will ensure that children have improved educational outcomes and better access to lifelong learning.
The overall inspection outcome will be determined by the quality of provision.
It is essential that providers share their values and objectives with their staff and determine purposeful and realistic expectations of what they want to achieve each year.
Providers can use the self-evaluation schedule as a template for their development plan, and break down the agreed goals so that they can be put in place via a termly action plan.
By working directly with staff members and by delegating responsibilities to them for different parts of the development plan, staff will rise to the expectations, and feel empowered to deliver higher quality output and improved outcomes for children and parents.
Further information
The Evaluation Schedule for Inspections of Registered Early Years Provision,
Part 2, to be published on 24 February, will examine improving quality.
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