Nursery World - Ofsted plans separate ratings for early years in schools

Early years education provided by schools may be rated separately by Ofsted.

Inspectors could begin issuing individual grades for nurseries and reception classes from September 2014 if the plans go ahead.

In a consultation, Ofsted said the change to the inspection regime was necessary to reflect the 'distinctive nature' of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) teaching.

It outlined plans for inspectors to use a separate set of evaluation criteria for early years, which focused on achievement, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety, and leadership and management.

Inspectors would be required to include a paragraph evaluating EYFS provision in their school inspection report, and take account of the separate judgement when evaluating the overall effectiveness of the school.

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