Ofsted

Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) is the government department that carries out registration and inspection of schools, day nurseries, sessional groups, crèches, out of school facilities and childminders for children under 8 years of age.

Ofsted has clear legal requirements and guidance as to what is required from each setting and monitors this through regular inspection. Inspection provides an impartial, external evaluation of the effectiveness of the provision, and is designed to help improve its quality.

A full guidance to inspection procedures and requirements can be found in the factsheet “Are you ready for your inspection?”.

From September 2008 it is mandatory for all schools and early years providers registered with Ofsted to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. This means that all Early Years providers will be working towards common goals, and can liaise with each other to best support each individual child's learning and development.

All information on the EYFS can be accessed through the Ofsted website under “Early Years Foundation Stage opens in a new window

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