Nursery World - 'The power imbalance between Ofsted inspectors and providers needs to go'

Ofsted's focus on the early years in its five-year strategy is long overdue, says Dr Susana Castro-Kemp, who shares early findings on inspections from a Roehampton University study

Dr Susana Castro: 'Interactions with Ofsted inspectors are characterised by a power imbalance'

We must be clear what the real issues are with the delivery of high-quality early childhood education and care and its assessment.

The move to a stronger focus on the early years comes as findings from a Nursery World survey show grave failures in the Ofsted inspection process.

These findings are well aligned with the preliminary results of the study conducted by my team at Roehampton University: in a set of interviews with nursery managers, most expressed profound dissatisfaction with the process adopted by Ofsted in their inspections.

Although all managers agree that an inspection procedure is necessary, most of them refer to a culture of fear in the current system. Interactions with Ofsted inspectors are characterised by a power imbalance.

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