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Early years inspection information: for use from November 2025

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For use on inspections from 10 November 2025.

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For use on inspections from 10 November 2025.

About this page

This guidance sets out how inspectors ('you') should carry out inspections of registered early years ( EY) settings.

Inspectors should use the guidance in this document and the toolkit for EY inspections, along with their professional curiosity and compassion, to gather evidence to reach fair and accurate grades. They should also draw on their experience and expertise.

Further information for providers on the process is in our inspection information for early years.

Where this guidance refers to leaders, this includes childminders who are the leaders and practitioners in their setting. Therefore, any references to leaders apply to the childminder. Any references to practitioners or staff apply to the childminder and any assistants.

Where this guidance refers to children, this means all children educated and cared for in the setting, including babies.

Conduct

Throughout the inspection, you must act in line with our code of conduct, and show professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect at all times. At the earliest opportunity, and as necessary throughout the inspection, remind the provider and the inspection team (where there is one) of the importance of following the code of conduct.

Key principles

Principle 1

Throughout the inspection, the toolkit will help you gather evidence to celebrate the setting's strengths, validate leaders' priorities and progress and highlight where improvement is needed. In doing so, you will consider the extent to which children:

achieve - develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to secure the best start in life

belong - feel safe, welcomed and valued

thrive - benefit from the right systems, processes and levels of oversight, so that they are kept safe and are able to flourish, whatever their background or individual needs.

The toolkit will give you assurance that you are building a clear and typical picture of all aspects of the setting's work.

Principle 2

Leadership, inclusion and whether there is an open and positive safeguarding culture are key areas of focus when gathering evidence.

Principle 3

The 'expected standard' in the evaluation areas in the toolkit is the starting point for planning your inspection activities.

What to do before arriving on site

Preparing for inspection

Preparation is a vital part of ensuring that the inspection is a positive experience. Being focused and proportionate is key. You may wish to review some information briefly before your first phone call with leaders to notify the inspection and return to this later in the day to review the information in more detail before the planning call.

When preparing, consider the 3 key principles.

Review the following, and record brief, relevant, evaluative information:

which register(s) the setting is on, confirming that we hold the correct details about the registered person/legal entity - if you are uncertain about the registration, contact the duty desk and try to resolve this promptly so the inspection can take place; if this is not possible, you may need to delay the inspection until the matter is resolved, seeking advice from a senior manager if this means the inspection will exceed the 'no later than' date

the number of places

whether an additional inspector is needed (guidance on this will be published later in autumn 2025) and this has been agreed by the region - if so, record the rationale and who agreed this decision; this might include concerns about suitability and/or your safety, and/or the number of places

details of the setting's regulatory history and of any concerns received, in particular those to be considered at the next inspection

whether your planning indicates that the inspection should be carried out as an inspection without notice - if so, record your rationale clearly; contracted inspectors must discuss this with the inspection duty desk and record who agreed the decision

any published information, including outcome summaries, regulatory notices and previous inspection reports

the setting's website, if it has one

information reported in the press or online

any safeguarding or other issues relating to the setting that may need to be followed up during the inspection

any other contextual information we may hold about the setting

data relating to the context of the local area, including deprivation levels, take-up of the early years pupil premium (EYPP), obesity rates and oral health statistics - this publicly available data will help to inform your discussions with leaders during the planning call.

Checking for open cases and regulatory history

You must consider any notifications and/or concerns received about the setting since the last visit/inspection. Take account of such information when planning inspection activities and use it to inform the areas of inspection focus.

If the inspection is taking place as a priority, for example because of a risk assessment of concerns or complaints received about the setting, the inspection will focus on the wider issues these raise.

You must do everything you can to protect a complainant's identity and make sure it is not shared with the setting. Sometimes, the nature of the complaint makes it possible for leaders to guess the complainant's identity. However, you must not confirm this.

Use your preparation and knowledge of the early years foundation stage ( EYFS), the Early Years Register and the Childcare Register requirements (if applicable), and the toolkit for early years to identify what to explore with leaders in the planning call.

Notification

Constructive, professional dialogue

At the heart of our inspections is a professional dialogue between inspectors, the setting's leader(s) and the nominee (where appropriate). This dialogue must follow our code of conduct and always be carried out with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect.

The notification call should set the tone for the inspection. From the outset, you should build positive relationships and rapport with leaders. Consider the well-being of both staff and leaders throughout.

Timing of the call

Contact the setting by telephone by 10am, unless any of the principles for carrying out inspections and regulatory work without notice apply. We will publish these principles later in autumn 2025. If you have any difficulty in contacting the setting, contact your region.

Childminders and group settings

For childminders, and group settings that do not operate regularly, such as summer play schemes, you must call the setting no more than 5 working days before the inspection to check which days they are operating and whether there are children on roll and present.

For childminders, identify the most suitable day for the inspection to take place. This will help you plan for inspection.

Group provision

For group provision, you must call the setting on the working day before the inspection.

Term-time-only settings

For term-time-only settings, you should not plan to inspect during the first week of any term, unless you have concerns that the setting is not meeting the requirements of the EYFS statutory framework. Your rationale for doing so should be clear in your evidence base if this is the case.

Where possible, you should inspect when children are present and agree with the setting the best day to do this.

If the setting is not going to have children present within the next 5 days, find out when children will be present within the inspection window. You should then rearrange the inspection to take place when they will be present.

Notifying leaders of the inspection

Ask to speak with the leader of the setting. In childminder settings, you must speak with the childminder directly. If the provider or their representative is unavailable, ask to speak with the person in charge.

If you have taken all reasonable steps to contact the setting but you have not been able to speak with anyone, the inspection will normally continue the following day without notice or as soon as reasonably practicable (for example, if you have established that the setting is not operating the following day).

Inform the setting that an inspection is taking place and explain the type and length of the inspection.

Confirm details of the inspector(s) and check whether there are any conflicts of interest or concerns. Note any concerns or conflicts and your response in the evidence base.

Explain if there is to be a quality assurance visit on this inspection. More information is available in the inspection information for registered early years settings.

Scheduling the planning call

Agree with the leader, or the next most senior member of staff, the time for a second, longer call (see the Planning call section). Explain that this is normally a video conference call, unless technology does not allow this. Agree with the leader the arrangements for this.

Explain what you are going to discuss on the call, that it will take approximately 30 minutes, and why it needs to happen on the same day (although after you have completed some preparation).

Emphasise to leaders that they can take breaks as needed.

Agree who should attend that call. Encourage the leader to have someone present to assist and support them in all calls. The nominee should also attend all calls.

Nominee

In group settings, explain the role of the nominee. In childminder settings, a nominee is not required. As the sole provider, the childminder will liaise directly with the inspector throughout the inspection. In other small settings, a nominee may similarly not be necessary to support with the logistics of the inspection.

Ask leaders if they would like to select a nominee to work closely with inspectors throughout the inspection. If they do, ask if the proposed nominee has accessed any of our optional training for nominees - though stress that it will not hinder the inspection if they have not. Reassure leaders that, if they decide they do not need a nominee, the inspection will still proceed as planned without any adverse impact.

Confirm that the nominee is suitably placed to support inspection activity. They should be a member of staff with a thorough knowledge of how the setting operates on a day-to-day basis. Record in the evidence base the role of the person selected to be the nominee.

Ask that the nominee, if one has been selected, joins the planning call(s) alongside the nominated individual ( NI)/person in charge and any other senior leaders. If the nominee joins the planning call(s) you must check that any information that you discuss is appropriate to share with them.

You must not share confidential notes or complaint-related information with the nominee. Only relevant logistical and contextual information may be shared.

Reasonable adjustments and adaptations

Ask whether anyone who will be joining the planning call requires any reasonable adjustments due to a disability and, if so, what arrangements are already in place.

Consider any requests, following the guidance in the responding to requests for reasonable adjustments and/or adaptations section, and contact the duty desk. Advise the setting of your decision. If they have any questions or unresolved concerns following this discussion, refer them to the provider contact helpline.

Consider making other adaptations to the inspection process where those with other protected characteristics may otherwise be put at a disadvantage.

Confirming key information about the setting

Confirm that, immediately following the notification call, an email will be sent to the NI. It will ask the NI to gather factual information about the setting before the planning call. It will also include guidance about the inspection.

If the leader on the call is not the NI and is unable to access the email before the planning call, they can provide a temporary contact email address. You should record this so this can be (temporarily) added to our system. The email will then be sent to both the NI and the temporary contact at the setting.

Check that the provider's email address is correct and that they agree to electronic communication.

You will need this information by the end of the inspection. At the end of the inspection, note any changes or updates to the information held about the setting.

At this early stage in the process, explain that during the inspection, you may need to access policies required by the EYFS, as well as other relevant information. Settings can find the list of documents in the inspection information for early years.

Requests for deferral

Familiarise yourself with our guidance on deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence.

You must contact the duty desk if you receive a request for a deferral.

Planning call

Call the setting at the time agreed in the notification call. This is normally a video conference call, unless technology does not allow this. Ask leaders not to record this call or any further calls. In exceptional circumstances, you may permit the setting to record the call where this is required to respond to a request for reasonable adjustments. Similarly, tell leaders we do not normally record the call, unless we have agreed this beforehand with them. Let leaders know that they are welcome to take notes.

Remember that the aim of this call is to have a meaningful and professional conversation about the setting, its context, and leaders' views about its strengths and priorities for improvement. It is an important discussion that will help you to form a top-level view of the setting.

Explain that the call will be in 3 parts:

introduction and discussing practicalities

understanding the setting's context

planning the timetable

Part 1: introduction and discussing practicalities

Record the role/s of all the setting's leaders who are on the call.

At this point, remind leaders that:

we have a code of conduct that sets out our expectations for leaders and staff at the setting

these expectations include asking the setting to be open, transparent and honest with inspectors so that the inspection can be carried out with integrity and in line with the requirements of the provider's registration

You should cover the following points.

Leaders' well-being

Check on the leader's and any other leaders' well-being.

Establish who is responsible, day to day, for the well-being of the NI/person in charge. Record how to contact them.

Reasonable adjustments and adaptations

Check that any reasonable adjustments agreed during the notification call have been put in place. Make sure you have considered any other requested adaptations appropriate to the inspection process where those with other protected characteristics may otherwise be put at a disadvantage.

Remind leaders that they can ask for any further reasonable adjustments or adaptations during the rest of the inspection process. See the Responding to requests for reasonable adjustments and/or adaptations section for further information.

Record any requests and their outcome in the evidence base, along with any other adaptations that may have been requested.

Ensuring that leaders have what they need

Establish whether leaders have the practical information they need, for example, the provider contact helpline number.

Encourage leaders to inform parents and carers (who we will refer to as 'parents' throughout, for ease of reading) of the inspection, including by displaying the notice of inspection poster.

Ask leaders if they have any requests that are specific to the setting's context. For example, you may be asked to provide photographs of the inspector(s) to help prepare children for who they will see.

Make sure leaders understand the process of inspection and the toolkit that you will use to guide evaluation and grading - let them know where they can access the latest inspection documents.

Ask leaders if they have any issues or concerns that they would like to raise or if there is anything they want to clarify before the inspection. Explain that they will also be able to raise any matters during the inspection itself.

If the inspection is taking place because of a risk assessment of concerns or complaints, explain that the inspection will focus on the wider issues the concerns and/or complaints have raised and that these will form part of the areas of inspection focus.

Explain how you will use your mobile phone during the inspection. More information is available in the inspection information for early years.

Part 2: understanding the setting's context and leaders' priorities for improvement

It is crucial that, as part of the planning call, you develop an accurate understanding of the setting's context, including the demographics of the children and their needs. This will help you to reflect on the impact of leaders' actions on the children, particularly disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities ( SEND), those who are known (or were previously known) to children's social care and those who face barriers to their learning and/or well-being.

Remember to apply the 3 key principles throughout the planning call.

Contextual information, leaders' successes and leadership priorities

To deepen your understanding of the setting, and in collaboration with leaders, use this part of the call to discuss:

the setting's context, including any changes since the previous inspection and details of (and responses to) any recent tensions in, or pressures from, the community

relevant safeguarding issues, as identified by leaders - this includes any safeguarding concerns, or allegations made about adults

leaders' recent and ongoing priorities and challenges, the actions they have taken to maintain or improve standards and how they have assessed the impact of their actions

the information asked for as part of the notification email to identify disadvantaged children, those with SEND, those who are known (or were previously known) to children's social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being

leaders' evaluation of the setting's strengths and successes, and their priorities for improvement, including where they believe they currently sit in terms of the 5-point grading scale for each evaluation area

what leaders want all children to know and achieve as part of the setting's curriculum ambition

Leaders' approach to inclusion

Explore:

leaders' approach to ensuring that staff are able to identify and support disadvantaged children, those with SEND, those known (or previously known) to children's social care, and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being; you need to consider this even if leaders have not identified any children on roll who fall into these groups - this is to ensure leaders are identifying and addressing children's needs effectively

how the setting supports these children

the impact of the support given to children and if and how that impact is monitored and reviewed

steps the setting has taken to meet the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children

how the daily routines and curriculum are organised to meet the needs of all children, especially those listed above

how the setting works with external professionals and agencies to support children effectively - this is particularly important in settings caring for children with more complex needs

how the setting ensures continuity of care and information-sharing for any children who attend shared care or split placements

If leaders have not identified any children on roll who are disadvantaged, have SEND, or are known (or were previously known), to children's social care, reflect on why this may be the case. Take into account any contextual information about the setting.

The purpose of this part of the call is to shape the plan for the inspection. Make sure leaders understand the plan and know what practical arrangements they need to make to support it.

Consider and plan with leaders what inspection activities you need to carry out to gather the necessary evidence to:

celebrate what leaders have identified as strengths

validate the priorities that leaders have identified for improvement, and whether they have an effective plan to bring about the desired impact

highlight where there is more to do to ensure that all children achieve, belong and thrive

Leaders may invite you to meet all available staff at the start of the on-site inspection. Similarly, they may invite you to be introduced to the children. You should agree to this wherever possible, so that you can develop positive relationships with those involved with the inspection.

When planning the timetable:

plan to check paediatric first-aid arrangements

arrange to meet with the practitioner designated to take lead responsibility for safeguarding

arrange to meet with the member of staff acting as special educational needs coordinator (SENCo)

arrange to meet those responsible for leadership

discuss the arrangements to speak with parents to gather their views

gather evidence about what EYPP funding the setting has received and consider leaders' rationale for how it has been spent

Also arrange to review the Disclosure and Barring Service ( DBS) records and other documents on the setting's safer recruitment procedures. Aim to do this as early as possible in the inspection so that any minor administrative omissions can be addressed before the conclusion of on-site activity. However, inspectors do not need to see the DBS checks for those providing childcare on domestic premises, childminders (including childminders without domestic premises) and any known assistants and/or household members. This is because these will already have been seen as part of the registration process. Explain that you will be looking at the culture of safeguarding across the setting throughout the inspection.

Briefly explain case sampling to leaders. Ask them to help to identify children who:

are disadvantaged (including those in receipt of EYPP)

are known, or were previously known, to children's social care

face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being

Make sure that you select a representative sample, always including (where relevant):

a child with an education, health and care plan, and, where possible, a disabled child

a looked-after child

a child known (or previously known) to children's social care

a child who receives EYPP

a child from any other groups that leaders have identified as significant to the context in which they work

Tell leaders that you will agree on the children for case sampling when you arrive on site. Explain that, during the inspection, you may identify other children that you will need to include in the sample following any emerging evidence.

Remember that the timings of inspection activities will vary, depending on the length of the inspection, the provision type and any relevant context. The following structure should be explained to leaders on this planning call.

Initial inspection activities

Initially, you will focus on gathering first-hand evidence of children's experiences through:

shared observations of children with leaders

discussions with children

considering, in detail, the experiences of children identified for case sampling

Advise leaders that, where possible, they will accompany you on many of these activities. This will enable you to connect the top-level view with the first-hand evidence they gather about children's experiences. These activities will allow leaders the opportunity to show inspectors their setting, discuss the context in which they work and exemplify the impact of their actions.

Explain that, if any managers are included in the child-to-adult ratios, you will factor this in when planning the inspection activities to make sure they can be involved in reflective discussions. It is important to be adaptable and to focus on what matters most, guided by early evidence, professional dialogue and the themes in the toolkit.

Additional inspection activities

Explain to leaders that, about half-way through the inspection day, you will meet with them and the nominee (if one has been appointed) to reflect on the evidence gathered so far.

Tell leaders that, during this discussion, you will check the emerging evidence. You will reference the toolkit evaluation areas and focus on whether the expected standard is being met.

You will also discuss with leaders how the emerging evidence aligns with their self-evaluation.

Explain to leaders that additional inspection activities will usually include a discussion with leaders about a particular area of focus and then explore further what it is like 'on the ground' for children in that evaluation area. Typical activities are:

focused leadership discussions with those responsible for particular areas - already mapped on to the schedule

further shared observations

meetings with staff

further informal or planned discussions with children

further activities relating to case sampling, such as discussions with parents and/or the key persons of the children selected

Focused leadership discussions might include talking about the initial areas of inspection focus or emerging evidence gathered during early inspection activities.

During the planning call, discuss with leaders which evaluation areas you are likely to want to explore in more detail through focused leadership discussions and shared observations. This will help them to plan and organise these at a suitable time during the afternoon. Bear in mind that in small settings, and particularly with childminders, one person may be responsible for many/all different areas. Discuss with leaders who would be the most appropriate person for you to talk with, and their availability.

It is important that time is scheduled for these discussions, so that you can understand leaders' rationale for the strengths and areas of focus they have identified, and their actions to date. Together, where possible, you and the leader may then carry out further inspection activities to see the impact on the ground through shared observations. This will help to validate the leaders' self-evaluation. Explain to leaders that shared observations are an important opportunity for them to show you their setting's context.

Other points to discuss with leaders on the call

Nominee

If leaders have chosen to have a nominee, agree with them how the nominee will support the inspection. In larger group settings this may include facilitating logistics, gathering contextual information, and coordinating access to evidence and inspection activities.

The nominee can accompany you throughout the inspection, except when their presence could limit evidence-gathering or discourage open communication. For example, the nominee should not attend confidential meetings with staff, children or parents. Be clear about this and agree which activities it applies to.

Write-up time

Make sure leaders understand that you will require short amounts of time between inspection activities to write up your evaluations.

Ongoing reflective discussions

Inform leaders that there will be regular reflective discussions with them throughout the inspection. Agree with leaders who may attend these discussions. Explain that we can be flexible about who attends throughout the inspection.

Explain that these discussions are an opportunity to review the evidence in relation to the toolkit evaluation areas covered so far. It is important leaders understand that sharing your thinking enables open, professional and transparent dialogue with them. You can also discuss whether any inspection activity needs to be adapted in light of emerging evidence.

The discussions also allow leaders to identify any evidence they feel is pertinent in reaching a well-rounded and typical understanding of how the setting normally operates.

These reflective discussions will be rooted in an ongoing review of the toolkit evaluation areas covered in the inspection activities so far.

Use the grading standards in the toolkit to consider the emerging picture, starting with the 'expected standard' for each evaluation area. The toolkit focuses on the quality and impact of leaders' choices and actions on children, rather than compliance alone.

Once you have identified reliable evidence indicating a 'secure fit' around an evaluation area, and leaders agree, you may decide not to gather any further direct evidence in this evaluation area. This is likely to be the case where the emerging evidence aligns with the leaders' self-evaluation against the grading standards.

Grading discussion

Explain to leaders that towards the end of the inspection there will be a grading discussion to which leaders and the nominee (if there is one) will be invited. This is when you review all toolkit evaluation areas and evaluate the evidence gathered, including that already shared at ongoing reflective discussions. Provisional final grades will be determined based on a 'secure fit'.

Agree which leaders will attend the discussion and the expectations for this. Explain that it is flexible who attends, as long as they agree with you who is attending before the discussion takes place.

The grading discussion may be combined with the final feedback in some cases.

Final feedback

Ask leaders to invite the appropriate people to the final feedback at the end of the inspection (see the inspection information for early years for who may attend).

Agree with leaders how the proposed timetable will be finalised on arrival at the setting.

End the call and ensure that all relevant evidence has been recorded in the evidence base.

After the call(s): when there is a team of inspectors

When there is more than one inspector, you (as the lead inspector) should inform team members of any relevant information, including the specific context of the setting. Record this information in the evidence base. Inform any team inspector of the planned activities.

Make sure any team members are aware of the outcome of any requested reasonable adjustments, and any other adaptations to the inspection process that are to be made where those with other protected characteristics may otherwise be put at a disadvantage.

Core requirements throughout the inspection

On the day of the inspection, arrive at the time arranged with leaders. This should not normally be before 8am.

If the inspection is being carried out without notice, talk with leaders about any concerns that have led to this. Be mindful of the need to maintain confidentiality, and to protect sensitive information and the identities of any complainants.

If there is more than one inspector, you (as the lead inspector) are responsible for assuring the quality of the evidence gathered, managing the conduct of the inspection team and ensuring the smooth running of the inspection with leaders, including the nominee.

Check with leaders on their well-being and the well-being of other staff before the inspection activities begin, and throughout the day.

With the nominee (if there is one), review and adjust inspection activities as needed, to accommodate the setting's routines.

During each reflective discussion, reflect with leaders and the nominee (if there is one) on the well-being of staff and how effective any reasonable adjustments and/or adaptations have been. Ask whether they want to change the arrangements/adaptations or make any additional requests. (Refer to the Responding to requests for reasonable adjustments and/or adaptations section for further information.) Continue to anticipate and consider any further reasonable adjustments and/or adaptations you may need to put in place.

The time you leave the setting will depend on its usual routines, the time the inspection started and the length of time it should take. However, you should leave by 5pm, other than in exceptional circumstances or when the setting, such as after-school provision, operates routinely after that time.

Evaluating safeguarding in practice

When determining whether safeguarding is 'met', it is important to go beyond reviewing documents and ensuring that the setting meets statutory requirements.

You must connect all the evidence gathered during the inspection to evaluate the effectiveness of the setting's safeguarding culture over time. This includes how safeguarding practice is embedded in its day-to-day work. Consider information received from notifications and/or concerns that have informed your areas of inspection focus. Throughout inspection activities, speak with staff, and children where appropriate, and observe how the setting models and maintains safe practice.

To evaluate safeguarding culture, you must:

meet with the practitioner designated to take lead responsibility for safeguarding children or their representative; this would typically take place early in the inspection

probe further than just the information a setting presents to you

take account of a range of evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements over time

through sampling the experience of children, review decisions made by the setting, any incidents that have occurred since the previous inspection, and whether the setting has taken appropriate action to deal with safeguarding concerns and to safeguard the children affected; consider the effectiveness of the setting's referral systems and its work with relevant professional agencies

review, with the leader, any allegations or concerns about adults, and the steps the setting has taken in response to them

discuss how the setting manages processes in relation to safeguarding concerns or allegations about the leader; this may include speaking with the NI and/or committee

consider proportionately the views of children, parents and staff, using complaints or local intelligence

speak with staff and look for evidence of effective safeguarding training and practice and the impact of this on all children

examine how effectively the setting is implementing its safeguarding policies and processes, and how it keeps them up to date and under review

check early in the inspection that recruitment is managed safely, ensuring that practitioners have the relevant checks and training required for their roles

take into account Working together to safeguard children, the statutory guidance on safeguarding

Throughout the inspection, adapt the above activities to the setting's context and agree this with leaders where possible.

Recording evidence

You must make sure that the evidence base:

is a clear and accurate evaluative record of relevant evidence (rather than a verbatim record of discussion or inspection activities)

explains how you arrived at your decisions and findings, including how you weighed the evidence in reaching these - this includes findings relating to provisional grades, as well as other relevant decisions, such as the focus of inspection activities or responses to requests by leaders and the nominee

complies with any relevant legal requirements, thresholds and Ofsted policies appropriately (justifying any departures from policies) and reflects our guidelines (including this operating guide for early years and the toolkit for early years)

If leaders have accompanied you on activities, briefly review your findings with them. Record and evaluate evidence in a proportionate way. It should provide enough detail to clearly explain the gradings you made. Recorded evidence should be more detailed in cases where decisions are more complex, or potentially have greater consequences. This is so that you can record accurately and clearly how the decisions were reached and how you took account of relevant policies and guidance in doing so.

There will be times during the inspection when not using a laptop may be helpful - for example, in conversations with children. Avoid making handwritten notes to upload to your laptop later where possible; instead block out time following inspection activities to add your reflections to the evidence base at the earliest opportunity.

Meeting standards and determining grades

Evaluating against the toolkit evaluation areas and grading standards

You must formally confirm provisional grades for each evaluation area.

When you have gathered reliable evidence in an evaluation area to support an indicative grade, as set out in the 'gathering evidence about' sections of the toolkit, consider whether all the expected standards are reached (a secure fit). If this is the case, consider whether all the strong grading standards have also been reached securely. At this point, you might have enough evidence to consider the 'exceptional' grade. This is summarised in the following table. You should call the duty desk when an 'exceptional' grade is likely.

When grading, consider the following steps:

1. 'Expected standard'

Does the setting reach all expected grading standards for this area?

If no, go to the 'Where the evaluation standards are not reached' section.

If yes, go to Step 2.

2. 'Strong standard'

Does the setting also reach all the strong grading standards?

If no, grade as 'expected standard'.

If yes, go to Step 3.

3. 'Exceptional'

Is there clear evidence of the standards that define 'exceptional' practice?

If yes, grade as 'exceptional'.

If no, grade as 'strong standard'.

Some minor inconsistencies may lead to priorities for improvement but do not lower the grade. Where one or more standards have not been met for a particular grade, then that grade cannot be given and you should refer to the guidance below.

Breaches to the statutory requirements of the EYFS

Check that the EYFS requirements relating to the areas of inspection focus are met. In planning the inspection, inspectors will use any information from concerns received to form their areas of inspection focus. You are not expected to check that the setting meets every statutory requirement set out in the EYFS. However, if you find that a particular requirement is not met when you gather evidence, consider the impact of this on children's learning and development, and their safety and welfare, and take this into account when deciding what action to take and how to grade the relevant evaluation area(s).

In some circumstances, a setting could commit a series of minor breaches of the EYFS requirements that, taken individually, do not have a significant impact on children's health, safety or welfare, or their learning and development. However, if the setting has a history of previous non-compliance in any of the evaluation areas, this most likely indicates that it either lacks knowledge of the requirements or is unwilling to comply with them. In such cases, grade leadership and governance as less than the 'expected standard', because the setting does not meet the statutory requirements.

If you are a contracted Ofsted Inspector, you must consult the duty desk if:

there is evidence of any immediate risk to children or failure to meet any of the conditions placed on the registration

previous concerns about the provision have not been dealt with satisfactorily, including actions and/or welfare requirements set at a previous visit

you consider that you may need to serve a welfare requirements notice or take other enforcement action, such as suspension, cancellation or prosecution

the setting is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare and/or learning and development requirements of the EYFS in a responsible way

The early years and childcare enforcement policy provides more information about enforcement options and the arrangements for following up enforcement activity. Discussions with the duty desk will determine what the inspection report card will say about the enforcement action.

Where the evaluation standards are not reached

If the 'expected standard' is not met in any evaluation area, this means that there are breaches of the EYFS requirements that need to be addressed as a priority.

Needs attention

If the breaches of the EYFS requirements do not have a significant impact on children's safety, well-being and/or learning and development, and you do not have concerns about the provider's suitability, the evaluation area should be graded as 'needs attention'.

You must set actions for the provider to meet the relevant statutory requirements relating to the root cause of the breaches.

In addition to this, an evaluation area is likely to be graded as 'needs attention' when:

the 'expected standard' grade has not been reached, and

no 'urgent improvement' indicators apply

Use the indicators for 'needs attention' to explain the grading and outline the next steps. These should be based on the expected standards that have not been evidenced during the inspection, and the associated prompts in the 'gathering evidence' section of the relevant evaluation area.

Urgent improvement

If breaches to the EYFS requirements do have a significant impact on children's safety, well-being and/or learning and development, and/or you have concerns about the provider's suitability, the evaluation area is graded 'urgent improvement'.

If you find breaches of the EYFS requirements that pose significant risks to children's safety and/or welfare, you will need to explore enforcement action. The type of enforcement action we can take is set out in the early years enforcement policy.

In addition to this, if any of the 'urgent improvement' indicators apply, the evaluation area is likely to be graded as 'urgent improvement'. You should call the duty desk when an 'urgent improvement' grade is likely.

Inspectors should use the relevant expected standards to help craft the setting's next steps, including the associated prompts in the 'gathering evidence' section of the relevant evaluation area.

If safeguarding is 'met'

Safeguarding will be graded as 'met' overall if all the individual safeguarding standards are 'met' and none of the 'not met' standards apply.

If safeguarding needs minor improvements

During the inspection, you may identify minor improvements that the setting needs to make to its safeguarding practices, such as correcting small administrative errors in paperwork or updating policies. If these do not have a direct impact on children's safety and/or well-being, and leaders can make these minor improvements easily before the end of the on-site inspection, give them every chance to do so by discussing this constructively with them. This includes instances when the provision does not meet statutory requirements at the time of the inspection. You must also consider any previous non-compliance.

Sometimes, leaders cannot finish making the required minor improvements before the end of the on-site inspection. When this is the case, you can still grade safeguarding as 'met' if they have taken the necessary steps to resolve the issues, for example where training has been booked, but will not take place for a number of weeks.

Importantly, the minor improvements should be such that, if they were not made straight away, leaving them undone would not have an immediate and/or significant impact on children's safety.

If safeguarding is likely to be graded as 'not met'

Contracted Ofsted Inspectors must call the duty desk to discuss any concerns where safeguarding is likely to be graded as 'not met'.

A 'not met' grade for the safeguarding evaluation area does not automatically mean the setting will be graded 'urgent improvement' in other evaluation areas. Evaluate the impact of the breaches to establish the appropriate grade for other evaluation areas.

The setting will likely be reinspected within 6 months if safeguarding is 'not met', but there can be enforcement activity in between if required.

Ofsted is likely to take enforcement action, for example serve a welfare requirements notice, when a provider is failing to meet one or more of the safeguarding and welfare requirements that has a significant impact on children's health, safety and well-being.

This is normally where one or more of the following apply:

the setting does not have the capacity to improve without support through monitoring, following the serving of a welfare requirements notice

leaders and managers do not demonstrate their understanding of how to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the EYFS

there have been previous occasions of non-compliance in relation to the same or different requirement(s)

the setting has not completed actions relating to existing failures to meet safeguarding and welfare requirements satisfactorily

the failure to meet the requirement is so serious that the inspector judges that a welfare requirements notice is appropriate

Steps to take if there is a failure to notify Ofsted or to meet other conditions

We cannot set actions for failures to meet conditions or failures to notify us about a significant event. However, you must consider the impact of such breaches on children in assessing the relevant evaluation areas. Record any such failure(s) in the relevant section in the report.

Refer to the early years and childcare enforcement policy and contact the duty desk if necessary.

Where the evidence indicates a particular grade is likely to be reached

During a reflective discussion, if you have reliable evidence indicating a particular grade for any evaluation areas, let leaders know. If the evidence is reliable enough for a provisional grading decision, discuss and agree this with leaders. Record the provisional grade and leaders' comments in the evidence base.

Remember - you need to be very clear with leaders that any indicative grading throughout the inspection is provisional. The final grading process will be carried out at the end of the inspection and will be subject to Ofsted's quality assurance and consistency checking process.

What to do on site during the inspection

If you are carrying out an inspection without notice, you must share and obtain the same information from leaders upon arrival that you would have done during the notification call and planning call.

When you arrive on site, you should:

ask the setting to display the notice of inspection

check on the well-being of the leader and staff and find out whether any issues have arisen since the planning call

meet with leaders and/or the nominee (if there is one) to review the planned timetable and the areas of inspection focus you discussed during the planning call

confirm with leaders the children selected for case sampling, as discussed in the planning call

check that you have all the documents detailed in the inspection information for early years

familiarise yourself with the setting, and greet staff and children

make sure that any team inspector (where there is one) understands the setting's context and leaders' priorities and actions

check whether anyone involved in the inspection requires or has requested any reasonable adjustments because of a disability

consider whether you need to make any other adaptations to the inspection process where those with other protected characteristics may otherwise be put at a disadvantage (refer to the Responding to requests for reasonable adjustments and/or adaptations section for further information)

if there have been any requests, record them in the evidence base along with their outcome and any other adaptations that have been requested

Follow the timetable and organisation for the inspection as discussed in the planning call

Structure of the inspection

Remember to apply the 3 key principles throughout the inspection.

Initial activities should include:

sampling recruitment checks as a priority

reviewing paediatric first aid checks and DBS records as a priority

meeting the practitioner designated to take lead responsibility for safeguarding

carrying out inspection activities, focusing on children's experiences and the extent to which leaders' actions are effective in supporting children to achieve, belong and thrive

Follow-up activities should include:

focused leadership discussions

shared observations

case sampling

any other appropriate follow-up inspection activities discussed with leaders, including your areas of inspection focus

Prioritise activities that are useful for highlighting areas you might need to explore further, such as:

the outcomes and experiences of disadvantaged children, those with SEND, those who are known (or were previously known) to children's social care, and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being

the difference the setting makes for its children

leaders' priorities and actions, and their impact

leaders' capacity to sustain or improve standards

Be flexible and responsive - If new issues emerge, discuss them with leaders and adjust the inspection activities as necessary. Use the toolkit to adapt what you focus on as you go. Leaders will be aware of the need for this flexibility from the planning call.

Inspection activities

Observing children in the setting

Observations should be carried out with leaders where possible. This is an opportunity to gather a range of evidence across all toolkit evaluation areas, and for leaders to show you their context. Each observation may have an agreed specific focus on one of the following areas:

A focus on inclusion helps you gather evidence about the outcomes and experiences of disadvantaged children, those with SEND, those known (or previously known) to children's social care, and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being. This focus typically includes a discussion with, or observations with, the member of staff acting as SENCo.

A focus on children's welfare and well-being helps you gather evidence about the impact of children's care routines and contributes to your evaluation of the culture of safeguarding.

A focus on curriculum, teaching and achievement (this does not apply to before-and after-school or holiday settings) gives you the opportunity to evaluate how well children make progress from their starting points across the 7 areas of learning and development.

A focus on behaviour and routines allows leaders to discuss how they implement and apply their approach consistently and the impact it has on children.

A focus on leadership gives leaders the opportunity to demonstrate how their priorities and actions are being realised. You should connect the evidence from the range of inspection activities to discuss and understand the impact of leaders' work. This will provide important evidence for leadership and governance in particular, as well as other evaluation areas.

During shared observations, or soon after as part of ongoing discussions with leaders, share a summary of your evaluations so that leaders have the opportunity to reflect on whether the emerging picture of the setting is typical and one that they recognise. Where leaders do not feel this is the case, explore with them what other inspection activities may be useful and practicable.

Case sampling

The sample should include children who have specific needs or face particular barriers to learning. This must include a representative sample of children of different ages, including babies, particularly those who are disadvantaged, those with SEND, those known (or previously known) to children's social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being.

During the on-site inspection, carry out activities that help you to understand these children's experiences, the support they receive and the progress they are making from their starting points.

Observe these children in the setting and discuss with leaders what they intend for these children to learn, based on what the children already know and can do.

The evidence gathered must refer to:

each key person's knowledge of each baby/child, how they decide what to teach them, and how they ensure their individual needs are met - this will include a focus on children's care needs and their learning and development

the progress check for children aged 2

the impact of any additional funding for eligible children on their development, including the EYPP

the quality of support for children with SEND

how well children are learning and developing in readiness for their next stage of development and education, including school

whether children who are disadvantaged and those with SEND are receiving their full entitlement to early education, and the impact this has on them; if they are not receiving this, clearly explain why, and the impact on the children

the setting's values and policies and whether the day-to-day experiences of those most in need of support reflect these in practice

Where possible, speak with the parents of children who are part of the case sample. This will help you to evaluate how well the setting supports these parents to make sure their children take up their full entitlement to early education, claim any additional funding the children might be entitled to, and continue their child's learning at home. Speaking with parents can also help you in evaluating how well the setting works with parents and professionals.

If leaders have not identified any children on roll who are disadvantaged, have SEND, or are known (or were previously known) to children's social care, consider how well staff are supported and trained to be able to accurately identify these children's needs and to help them, should there be any on roll in future.

At the end of each period of shared observation, take time to reflect on and evaluate the information you have gathered so far before discussing it with leaders.

Reflective discussions

Meet leaders and the nominee (where appropriate) to reflect on the emerging evidence. You should:

check on leaders' and staff well-being, and allow leaders and/or the nominee to raise any issues or concerns, or to seek clarification, including about the conduct of the inspection or of individual inspectors

ensure you have applied the 3 key principles when evaluating the first-hand evidence you have gathered

evaluate to what extent the evidence supports a 'secure fit' in any of the evaluation areas, starting with the 'expected standard' for each evaluation area in the toolkit

consider which areas are emerging as strengths in the setting's work, and areas where they may have more to do - this will support you in having a transparent dialogue with leaders about the emerging evidence, give leaders and the nominee an opportunity to suggest further evidence, and help you to identify further areas to explore

let leaders and the nominee know if you have emerging evidence that any evaluation area is likely to be graded as 'needs attention' or 'urgent improvement', or if safeguarding is likely to be graded as 'not met' (see the section Meeting standards and determining grades)

identify the most appropriate inspection activities to gather further evidence required

It may sometimes be necessary to change planned activities to make sure that they enable you to form a clear picture across the toolkit evaluation areas by the end of the inspection. You should have explained the flexible, responsive nature of the inspection process to leaders in the planning call; keep them informed in a timely way of any changes that are required.

Grading discussion

Once you have finished collecting evidence, you are ready to reflect on the evidence before formally confirming provisional grades for each evaluation area.

Invite leaders and the nominee (where relevant) to the end-of-day grading discussion, where you will reflect with leaders on the evidence and advise them of the provisional grades.

In some cases, it may be necessary to combine the grading discussion and the final feedback. In this case, ensure that the points set out in the final feedback are covered, in addition to the following.

At the beginning of the discussion:

check on leaders' and staff well-being, and allow leaders and/or the nominee to raise any issues or concerns, or to seek clarification, including about the conduct of the inspection or of individual inspectors

reflect with leaders and the nominee on how effective any reasonable adjustments and/or adaptations were; ask them whether they want to change the existing arrangements or make any additional requests for the final feedback meeting

Following this, for each evaluation area:

consider the additional evidence collected since you last held a reflective discussion with leaders

evaluate how this evidence builds on that gathered earlier in the inspection

agree with the team inspector (if there is one) the provisional grade for each evaluation area following the grading process, in the following order (you, or the lead inspector if there is more than one inspector, are responsible for detailed oversight of leadership and governance):

safeguarding

inclusion

curriculum and teaching

achievement

behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines

children's welfare and well-being

leadership and governance

if required, identify priorities for improvement

Final feedback

Record the main points for feedback to the setting in the evidence base during the inspection.

Your feedback must be clear, respectful and grounded in the evidence gathered. It should cover the points that will appear in the written report card.

Thank everyone for their contributions, engagement and involvement in the inspection. Then explain clearly to all those attending:

that attendance at the final feedback is voluntary and any attendee may leave at any time

the key findings from the inspection, and the provisional grades for each evaluation area - explain that any of these may change as a result of quality assurance and consistency checking procedures or moderation

the rationale for each provisional grade and the key evidence supporting it, using the language of the toolkit

celebrate the key strengths and validate the successes/evaluation of the setting's work

highlight any priorities for improvement (including safeguarding, if relevant) and what the setting needs to do to improve, giving sufficient detail so that those attending understand their part in improving the setting, especially the NI and those responsible for governance

any implications of the inspection findings, including any actions raised or any need for enforcement action; actions must refer to the requirements in the EYFS - see the information about next steps following our inspection findings in inspection information for early years

that the setting is advised to inform the local authority where any areas have not reached the expected standards, and/or if safeguarding is graded as 'not met'

that leaders should share the inspection findings with the NI and those responsible for governance, and whoever else they consider appropriate, which may include colleagues, family members, and/or their wider support group; however, the information should not be made public or shared with parents

that the draft report card they receive must not be published; they must wait for the copy of the final report card

that when they receive their draft report card and complete their factual accuracy check they do not need to check data from other published sources but may want to review any data that was gathered on inspection or commented upon in the report card

that the leader should, ideally, complete the post-inspection survey

that the setting may raise any issues or concerns or seek clarification about the inspection, and can also contact us after the end of the inspection, if necessary (see inspection information for early years)

that leaders can make a formal complaint and that information on how to do this is available in our complaints procedure

Reflect the setting's context and frame your feedback through professional dialogue, with the aim of supporting improvement. Manage the conduct of everyone who attends the meeting to make sure it is practical and constructive.

What to do after the inspection

After the end of the inspection, write the report card, following our internal writing guidance.

The text in the report card must:

reflect the evidence gathered

be clear, concise and focused on what matters most, as informed by the setting's context, leaders' evaluation of their provision and the toolkit

explain the grade given for each evaluation area

make clear what the setting should improve

be consistent with the verbal feedback given to the setting at the end of the inspection; this includes any enforcement action to be taken following the inspection

If the setting submits comments after reviewing the report card, you are responsible for reviewing and responding to the comments and making any necessary amendments.

Quality assurance and consistency checking

You are responsible for the quality of your work. You must ensure that the inspection is carried out in accordance with the principles of inspection, in line with our enforcement policy and the code of conduct.

The inspection may occasionally be carried out by more than one inspector. In those cases, you (as lead inspector) are responsible for ensuring consistency.

This may entail giving your colleague/s feedback on the quality of their work and their conduct.

Additional guidance to support inspection

As explained earlier, you must check whether anyone involved in the inspection requires (and/or has requested) any reasonable adjustments because of a disability. It is also important to continue to consider making other adaptations where those with other protected characteristics may otherwise be put at a disadvantage. Refer to the Responding to requests for reasonable adjustments and/or adaptations section for further information. Record any requests and their outcome in the evidence base, along with any other adaptations that have been requested.

Document review

Where it is relevant, review documents to connect evidence that informs your evaluations. This may include reviewing safeguarding records and policies required by the EYFS. See the inspection information for early years for the full list of documents that settings are asked to make available.

Additional guidance to support evidence-gathering

The toolkit provides guidance on gathering evidence within each evaluation area through inspection activities, as well as the standards you will use to determine grades.

The toolkit is not a checklist.

Connect evidence across a range of activities to gather reliable evidence and determine the grades.

Always use the toolkit when you are reflecting on the quality of the provision; remember, however, that the setting may not use the toolkit in this way and may approach their evaluation of the quality of their provision differently. However, for the purpose of inspection, use the EY inspection toolkit for collaborative reflection.

Use the toolkit to guide conversations, consider evidence and ensure that grades reflect the evidence you have gathered during the inspection. Always discuss with leaders the typicality of the evidence you are gathering and the emerging evaluations. Where leaders do not believe the evidence is typical or reflective of their provision, try to gather additional evidence where appropriate within the time you have.

Engaging with leaders and practitioners

When you meet members of staff and/or leaders on their own, offer them the opportunity to be accompanied by a colleague. However, it is important that staff can express their views freely to inspectors.

Remind staff that you do not expect them to bring documents with them, but they may do so if they wish.

You should take careful account of the well-being of leaders and staff and make suitable adjustments as necessary. For example, staff may need a break, or a later opportunity to follow up discussions, so that they can carry out their usual daily routines and responsibilities. If you see or suspect that a leader or staff member is upset or distressed at any point, you should respond sensitively. Where appropriate, consider suitable adjustments to enable the leader or staff member to continue. If you have serious concerns, you must inform those responsible for the person's well-being, other than in exceptional circumstances, and you must contact the national duty desk.

In exceptional circumstances, you may need to consider pausing the inspection.

Discuss with practitioners:

what children are learning from their curriculum activities and experiences

their assessment of what children know and can do and how they are building on it

what they understand about the EYFS curriculum and how they ensure the best possible outcomes for children

individual care routines for the youngest children (or similar wording)

how well leaders support their well-being and professional development

their experience of working at the setting

the impact of leaders' actions

the culture of safeguarding

Where relevant, speak with committee members who are responsible for the oversight of the setting and/or the NI. Discuss the leadership and governance of the setting, and their roles and responsibilities in terms of oversight of it.

Be proportionate in considering the views of staff. Connect evidence from their views to the wider evidence base.

For settings that provide care exclusively for children at the beginning and end of the school day or in holiday periods, talk with practitioners about how they:

gather children's views in planning activities

make decisions about the learning environment

Also ask them how well leaders support their well-being and professional development.

Use this evidence to evaluate the setting's culture and inclusive nature.

Engaging with apprentices and/or any trainees

When reviewing the list of current staff, you must check whether it includes any apprentices and/or trainees on placement.

Where possible, meet the apprentices and/or trainees to gather their views on how the setting is supporting their development and to evaluate the support, mentoring and induction they have received.

Engaging with parents

You may gather evidence from parents in person through informal discussions at the start and/or end of the day. In some circumstances, such as in childminder settings, you may wish to telephone parents to seek their views.

Discussions with parents should take place without leaders or staff being present, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Talk with parents to find out:

how well they are kept informed about the setting's curriculum, activities and routines

the quality of support for any children who are disadvantaged, have SEND, are known (or were previously known) to children's social care or face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being

what children are learning to keep themselves safe and healthy and how parents are supported to continue this learning at home

how the setting gathers children's views and considers them in planning curriculum activities and routines

to what extent their children are included and engaged in the setting's community

any other information that is relevant to the areas of inspection focus

If individual parents raise serious concerns, follow these up with leaders and record their response. If the complainant has requested confidentiality, take all practicable steps to ensure that their identity is not disclosed to the provider.

Be proportionate in considering parents' views. Connect evidence from their views to the wider evidence base.

Engaging with children

Use a range of activities to understand children's typical experiences, including through engaging with them and observing them:

both inside and outside the setting

during mealtimes and sleep times

at times of transition, such as at the start or end of the day

You might play alongside children or join them in an activity that encourages them to talk with you informally.

Specific contexts to consider

Co-childminders and childminders without domestic premises

You should normally inspect co-childminders together, but you may do so separately, especially if they work at different times of the week or from different premises.

When inspecting co-childminders, determine which childminder the parents contract with, which childminder claims funding for the children, and which childminder is the key person for which children.

If a co-childminder is only assisting with the care of children who are the responsibility of another childminder, they are to be considered as an assistant for the purpose of inspection.

Co-childminders have a shared responsibility to safeguard children, as set out in the EYFS. Where they share policies, procedures and resources, you must explore how they reflect on their practice and improve what they do, separately and collectively.

If a person who provides or assists with caring for children as a childcare on domestic provision also holds a childminding registration, both registrations will be inspected. Inspectors will determine when, where and how providers and childminders operate under which registration. It is not possible to operate as a childminder and a childcare on domestic premises provider on the same premises at the same time.

This also applies to childminders without domestic premises.

Before- and after-school and holiday provision

Settings (including childminders) that are registered on the Early Years Register but only provide care exclusively for children at the beginning and end of the school day or in holiday periods do not need to meet the learning and development requirements of the EYFS. Therefore, when using the early years toolkit for these settings, you must not evaluate curriculum and teaching or achievement.

Similarly, for children younger than Reception age, the provider must have regard to, but does not have to meet, the learning and development requirements.

In both cases, therefore, these settings only have to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the EYFS. The arrangements for inspecting this type of provision are set out in Applying the EIF to inspections of before- and after-school care and holiday provision.

You must use the toolkit, however, to assess the setting's safeguarding and welfare arrangements.

If the setting is registered on both the Early Years Register and either the compulsory or voluntary part of the Childcare Register, you must confirm that it meets the requirements of all registers. Record this in the inspection report card.

Use your professional judgement to interpret and apply the standards within the evaluation areas to the before- and after-school or holiday setting. If children at these settings receive their main EYFS experience elsewhere, explore how leaders are guided by the EYFS learning and development requirements to complement the EYFS experience children receive beyond this setting.

To support this, discuss with leaders what they intend the children to gain from the activities they provide. The evidence gathered must refer to:

key persons' knowledge of each child and how they decide on activities and routines to support the children

the quality of support for any children with SEND

how well the children are learning to keep themselves safe and healthy

how the children's views are sought and considered in planning activities and routines

how included and engaged these children are in the setting's community

No children are on roll or no children are present

If no children are on roll or no children are present and the inspection must take place, you must evaluate only the leadership and governance of the setting. This is to determine if the provider is meeting the requirements of the EYFS and the Childcare Register (if applicable).

You will grade leadership and governance only as 'expected standard', 'needs attention' or 'urgent improvement'.

The early years provision is on a school site

A registered early years setting that is run by a school should be inspected according to the requirements of this operating guide.

When inspecting this type of provision, remember it is the quality of the provision that is inspected and not the children. Ask leaders questions to understand how the provision is organised. This will determine what you need to look at on inspection.

Where the school and the registered provision are mixed, for example during wrap-around care, factor this into your evidence collection and grades.

If you have any questions about this type of inspection, contact the duty desk.

School-based early years provision that does not need to be registered with Ofsted should be inspected in accordance with the requirements of the school inspection operating guide.

The early years provision is on the site of a school inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate

Information about our work with the Independent Schools Inspectorate ( ISI) is available in our guidance Regulating and inspecting association independent schools with an early years registration.

If you are carrying out the post-registration inspection of one of these settings, follow the usual arrangements for confirming, planning and carrying out the inspection.

After you have completed the post-registration inspection of the registered early years provision, you must follow the guidance about recording this correctly on our inspection database and about the next steps for informing the ISI.

When inspecting this type of provision, you will use the toolkit in the same way as you would for other registered school-based early years provision.

Other matters

Responding to requests for reasonable adjustments and/or adaptations

On all inspections, you must ask whether anyone requires any reasonable adjustments due to a disability. Contact the duty desk for all requests. Those on the duty desk may seek further advice from relevant policy and legal teams as needed.

What is considered reasonable is an objective test that depends on all of the circumstances of the particular case. This includes the needs of the individual concerned, how effective the change will be in avoiding the disadvantage the disabled person would otherwise experience, what impact providing the adjustment will have on the inspection, and the circumstances in respect of the relevant inspection or visit.

To understand the request, you must enter into an open dialogue with the individual about it. Ask what steps the individual thinks Ofsted should take to address the anticipated disadvantage. In the light of this, consider what adjustments might be reasonable in the circumstances of the inspection or visit. You can consider adjustments not proposed by the individual.

When considering whether the request is reasonable, take into account:

how effective the reasonable adjustment would be in overcoming the disadvantage

how practicable it is for Ofsted to make the adjustment

the costs of making the adjustment

the disruption that making the adjustment would cause

the resources available to the inspector and to Ofsted

the amount of resources already spent on making adjustments

any health and safety risks, including the effect the arrangements will have on others

There is a 'positive' duty to make such adjustments if they are considered to be reasonable, as set out here. A failure to comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments is a form of discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 and is an 'anticipatory' duty. You can treat disabled people better or 'more favourably' than non-disabled people and sometimes this may be an appropriate response to a request for reasonable adjustments.

It may also be appropriate to consider other adaptations that are requested where those with other protected characteristics may otherwise be put at a disadvantage. Where you are being asked to make such an adaptation to avoid potential discrimination, consider the reason for the policy, criterion or practice that you are being asked to adapt (the objective justification), and what the impact would be of both making and not making the adaptation.

The Equality Act 2010 protects people from unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation on the ground of a protected characteristic. This may include taking steps to avoid indirectly discriminating against someone on the ground of a protected characteristic. However, you should also consider the effect the proposed adaptation would have on others. Ensure that, in making the adaptation, you are not directly discriminating against anyone else on the ground of a protected characteristic.

If you agree to the request(s), agree a plan for reasonable adjustments or adaptations with the individual and leaders as appropriate. You must discuss and agree the plan with the inspection team.

You must record in the evidence base that you have asked leaders if they need to request any reasonable adjustments and/or adaptations. You must also record the outcome of any decisions. It is essential that this information is recorded factually and accurately, and assures that the anonymity of the individual is maintained.

If the setting has concerns/complaints

Record any concerns raised, and actions taken, in the inspection evidence. Try to resolve any issues with leaders during the inspection. If this is not possible, the setting can follow the steps set out in the complaints procedure.

If you identify evidence or allegations of abuse on inspection

You must familiarise yourself with our guidance on safeguarding concerns.

If you come across evidence or allegations of child abuse, stop all other activity immediately and focus on ensuring that the child receives the help they need. Do not attempt to investigate this yourself, but make sure the appropriate authority is informed, in line with the setting's safeguarding policy. You must be satisfied that the correct referral has been made and record this in the evidence base.

If you need to consider pausing inspections

There may be exceptional occasions when you need to consider pausing an inspection, including in response to concerns raised by the nominee. Contact the duty desk for advice. We will consider requests on a case by case basis according to our published guidance on pausing inspections.

If the setting uses artificial intelligence

You do not need to ask if artificial intelligence ( AI) is used or actively search for it. If you come across instances where a setting uses AI, record how leaders have chosen to implement it, its impact (for example, on tackling absence), and the setting's checks and balances to make sure it is accurate, safe and used in the best interests of children. If you have any concerns about the setting's use of AI, contact the duty desk.

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Early years inspection operating guide for inspectors: for use from November 2025

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For use on inspections from 10 November 2025. This guidance sets out how inspectors ('you') should carry out inspections of registered early years ( EY) settings. Inspectors should use the guidance in this document and the toolkit for EY inspections, along with their professional curiosity and compassion, to gather evidence to reach fair and accurate grades.

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Provider Contract 2024 re Early Education and Childcare (EEC)

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The qualifications that staff must hold to be included in the specified staff:child ratios at levels 2, 3 and 6 of the early years foundation stage (EYFS).

Applies to England

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Early years qualification requirements and standards

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The qualifications that staff must hold to be included in the specified staff:child ratios at levels 2, 3 and 6 of the early years foundation stage (EYFS).

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* NEW Jan 24 *Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023-Updated Guidance

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* NEW Jan 24 *Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023-Updated Guidance

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Check your fire safety responsibilities under Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (accessible)

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This guidance is issued by the Secretary of State in accordance with Article 50 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the FSO). If you are a 'Responsible Person' on whom duties are imposed under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, find out what new responsibilities you have as the result of amendments made to the Fire Safety Order by Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022.

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** NEW July 2023**Helping parents understand Ofsted in the early years.

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** NEW July 2023**Helping parents understand Ofsted in the early years.

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Since 2001, Ofsted has been responsible for inspecting and registering early years settings, like nurseries, childminders, and preschools. And, if you grew up in England, you may remember Ofsted turning up every so often to inspect your school. But even if you do remember the strangers in suits, carrying clipboards and watching your grownups, it still might not be 100% clear to you what Ofsted and their inspectors do. And if you didn't go to school in England, you might even be wondering who on earth Ofsted are.

So let us explain...

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‍

Who are Ofsted?

Ofsted is short for the Office for Standards in Education. They are a governmental department that registers and inspects schools, children's homes, apprenticeship providers and early years settings like:

Ofsted inspects against the Early Years Inspection Handbook for Ofsted-registered Provision to check that settings are meeting the statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or EYFS. Essentially, it's their legal responsibility to check your child's nursery or preschool is meeting their legal responsibilities.

Early years settings are judged in five categories:

Overall effectiveness

The quality of education

Behaviour and attitudes

Personal development

Leadership and management

‍

After an inspection, settings receive a written report and a grade of Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, or Inadequate.

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‍

What does an Ofsted early years inspection look like?

Early years settings will usually receive a telephone call that Ofsted is coming to inspect them the following day, but not always. Depending on the type of inspection your child's setting is having, the first you might know about the inspection taking place is a poster on the door when you drop off. However, if your child's setting receives notice the day before their inspection, they must let you know that Ofsted are coming.

During the inspection process, one or two of Ofsted's inspectors will observe what happens in your child's setting throughout the day, as well as talking to the staff and the leadership team. They will usually also speak to some parents or carers and pick up or drop off.

You don't need to do anything differently while your child's setting is being inspected as inspectors will aim to minimise any disruption to the children. The inspector may ask your child how they feel about their setting or collect some personal information in the course of their inspection. Ofsted's inspectors all undergo background checks (just as the other adults at your child's setting do) and your child will never be alone with an inspector.

A few weeks after Ofsted has inspected your child's setting, the report and final grade given can be found on Ofsted's website.

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What if I have feedback for Ofsted about my child's setting?

At the start of the inspection of an early years setting, you may have an opportunity to talk to the inspector about your child's education and care. The inspectors will be in looking to find out:

How much your child's educators share with you about your child's learning and development, including how you can support their learning at home

How much the setting share with you about how they're supporting your child to how your child to progress to the next stage of their learning

If you receive funding for your child's education and care, how this is being used to support your child's needs

However, while Ofsted are responsible for checking that your child's setting is doing everything they are legally supposed to, the inspector visiting your child's setting can't resolve individual disputes.

If you have a concern about your child's education or care, Ofsted advises you go directly to the setting first, unless you fear children are at risk of harm. If you are concerned about a child being at risk of harm, Ofsted advises you to contact your local authority's children's services department.

How can I support my child's teachers?

For your child's educators and carers, the day Ofsted come to do an inspection is hugely important. An Ofsted grade can have a huge impact on a setting, both positive or negative, so while some settings can't wait to show off all their hard work to inspectors, they may find the process stressful or nerve-wracking. Here are a few ways you can help them out:

A visit from Ofsted takes a lot of energy and is often the culmination of years of hard work. Whether the inspection goes well or not, it can put a lot of strain on the educators and leaders at your child's setting. Dropping them a quick message or wishing them good luck can mean the world.

If you love your child's setting, tell the inspectors! Even if you don't spot the inspector at drop-off or pick-up, you have the opportunity to arrange a phone call with them to offer your feedback.

While managers may have previously felt that they couldn't say much on the day, Ofsted now advise that leaders can share how an inspection went with whoever they think is appropriate. So, while Ofsted advise against circulating the report widely until their moderation process is complete, you can certainly ask your child's setting how it went. They're bound to appreciate you reaching out.

Settings and their communities do not always agree with Ofsted's judgements and can even feel the inspector wasn't fair. Sadly, only the setting themselves can appeal the outcome of an Ofsted inspection, so if you feel your child's setting was judged unfairly or incorrectly, the best thing you can do is let your child's educators know you believe in them.
Get free tools now
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‍

What do the Ofsted grades mean about my child's setting?

Here are some key things to remember when considering your child's setting's grade:

Read the full report
Whether your child's setting gets 'Outstanding', 'Inadequate', or anything in between, always read the report written alongside the grade. This will help you to contextualise the judgement and learn more about what the inspector observed. One word just won't tell you everything you need to know.‍

Don't assume the worst
Even if a setting is handed the judgment 'Inadequate', it doesn't always mean that all aspects of the setting are inadequate or that your child is necessarily at risk of harm. A nursery may be given this grade but still have strengths in some areas, alongside a plan to address any issues. If you're concerned, talk to a member of the leadership team at the setting.‍

The inspection is a snapshot
The Ofsted rating given by inspectors is mostly based on what they observe on the one day they visit your child's setting - this is, of course, only a small snapshot of how the setting runs. Ofsted themselves state that "We may see things when we carry out an inspection, but you [parents and carers] will be in the setting far more regularly than us."‍

Check the date
The normal inspection cycle for early years settings is roughly once every 6 years, (or within 30 months of registration) during which time settings can change a lot. Remember to take the date of an inspection into account.‍

Talk to the setting
Most importantly of all, raise any queries you have about the report directly with your child's setting. Most leaders will be happy to explain or expand on different things the inspector noted in their report.

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You can find out more about how an inspection happens in Ofsted's own guide for parents and carers or check out their guidance for EY providers and practitioners themselves.

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Helping parents understand Ofsted in the early years | Famly

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What to expect when Ofsted comes to inspect your child's nursery or preschool and what those all-important grades really mean.

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Safeguarding and Welfare Requirement Audit Tool

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Safeguarding and Welfare Requirement Audit Tool

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** Updated April 23-Ofsted Strategy 2022-27 and new Area SEND Framework

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** Updated April 23-Ofsted Strategy 2022-27 and new Area SEND Framework

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Early Years Inspections and Ofsted Strategy 2022-27 – All You Need To Know From 2 Ofsted Inspectors

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New Feb 2023-Pre school online safety advice by Internet Matters

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New Feb 2023-Pre school online safety advice by Internet Matters

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supporting preschoolers online nought to

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more and more preschoolers now have

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and if they don't they're probably using

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here's what you can do to make sure they

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whilst it's always best to supervise

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take the time to have regular chats

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understand what they should watch out

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reassure them if they see or hear

anything online that upsets them

they will not be in trouble and they

should come and talk to you about it

because safety on the internet matters

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Pre-school (0-5) online safety tips and advice | Internet Matters. Help pre-schoolers get the best out of the internet and understand staying safe online.

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New Feb 2023-Pacey- All about toilet training

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New Feb 2023-Pacey- All about toilet training

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PACEY - Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years

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New Feb 2023-Step by step guide to potty training-childcare.co.uk

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New Feb 2023-Step by step guide to potty training-childcare.co.uk

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Childcare.co.uk is the UK’s leading childcare platform. Search over a million Babysitters, Nannies, Registered Childminders and Childcare Jobs. Find a local Babysitter, Nanny, or Childminder and view thousands of Nanny Jobs online.

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New Feb 2023- Potty training at nursery and school-ERIC

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New Feb 2023- Potty training at nursery and school-ERIC

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With a good grounding in the basics of toilet training and an understanding of how to identify common continence problems, families have the best chance to help their child use the toilet independently.

It's vital that parents and early years practitioners work together to give children consistent messages.

ERIC's Potty Training Package

Our user friendly resource has been designed by continence experts to enable nurseries and early years settings deliver best practice and supportive toilet training.

The free, downloadable pack includes the following:

Potty Training Policy

Potty Training Flowchart for practitioners

Early Years Healthy Bladder & Bowel Assessment

Potty Training Record

Children who will only poo in a nappy and other toilet avoiders

Bristol Stool Chart

ERICs Potty Training Policy Package for Early Years Settings (PDF 1.7MB)

Copyright notice

All rights are reserved. Should you wish to adapt the policy or supporting documents a request for permission must be made in writing to [email protected] Changes permitted will be made by ERIC and an administration charge will be incurred.

Training for early years workers
Get information on the training courses we offer for early years and education staff

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Potty training at nursery and school - ERIC

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With a good grounding in the basics of toilet training and an understanding of how to identify common continence problems, families have the best chance to help their child use the toilet independently. It's vital that parents and early years practitioners work together to give children consistent messages.

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New Fen 23-BBC CoComelon- Potty training song

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New Fen 23-BBC CoComelon- Potty training song

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CoComelon - Stories: 85. Potty Training Song

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New- Feb 2023-BBC-6 ways to survive potty training

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New- Feb 2023-BBC-6 ways to survive potty training

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Potty training can be stressful at times, so take a look at our top tips that might make potty training your little one a little easier.

# data[].attributes.headline
NEW Feb 2023-BBC-Potty Training for toddlers

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NEW Feb 2023-BBC-Potty Training for toddlers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get practical advice and top tips from CBeebies Grown-ups on how to start potty training your child.

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Successfully Manage Your Nursery - Famly Document 

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How to Successfully Manage Your Nursery - Famly Document 

# data[].attributes.body
A useful tool for any setting management team

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How to Successfully Manage Your Nursery Team (UK)

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NEW-Oct 22. Personal, Social and Emotional Development in Early Years-practitioner handbook

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NEW-Oct 22. Personal, Social and Emotional Development in Early Years-practitioner handbook

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Leadership and Management information- August 2022

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Leadership and Management information- August 2022

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Management information aggregating registered childcare providers and inspections and their outcomes.

We publish management information to provide updates to our data in between more detailed official statistical releases.

Management information will be published twice per year:

in January/February for data as at 31 December

in July/August for data as at 30 June

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Childcare providers and inspections: management information

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Report a serious childcare incident-August 2022

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Report a serious childcare incident-August 2022

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Ofsted-registered childminders, nannies, nurseries and other daycare must use this service to report significant events affecting their childcare within 14 days.

Who this service is for:

This service is for Ofsted-registered:

What you must tell Ofsted about

You must tell us about:

an allegation of serious harm or abuse committed either at the premises or elsewhere by people who:

live on the premises

work on the premises

look after children on the premises

the disqualification of the registered provider, an employee or someone living on the childcare premises (see guidance on how to waive disqualification)

any significant event that may affect someone's suitability to look after children, or be in regular contact with children (for instance, health changes or involvement with the police or social services)

events that might affect the condition and safety of the premises or the quality of childcare offered, or lead to ongoing closures (such as a fire or flooding)

the death of a child while in your care

a child's serious accident, injury or illness while being looked after, including food poisoning affecting at least 2 children

the death of, or a serious accident or injury to, anyone else on the premises (unless you only look after children from birth to the age of 5)

Things you do not need to tell us about

You do not need to tell us about:

minor injuries

general hospital appointments

routine treatments by a doctor

any confirmed case of COVID-19 affecting a child or member of staff

your setting closing, as long as there's no significant effect on how you provide childcare

going on holiday, unless you have already been notified of a visit during this time

Minor injuries include:

sprains, strains and bruising

cuts and grazes

wound infections

insect and animal bites

Read more information on what we see as minor injuries.

How to tell Ofsted

You will fulfil your legal requirements if you submit the online form within 14 days. It will take about 10 to 20 minutes to complete.
Report online
To complete this, you'll need to have:

your reference number

the childcare address

details of the incident and those involved

After you give us information

Ofsted may:

review information we hold about your registration

look for records of previous serious incidents and how we assessed risk

talk to you about it at your next inspection

contact you to discuss the incident

carry out an inspection or visit

Other changes to your registration

Tell Ofsted about updates to your registration, such as changes to your address, at enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk

View guidance on making other changes, such as adding or removing someone from your registration.

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Skip to main content We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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Daycare providers on the voluntary childcare register-August 2022

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Daycare providers on the voluntary childcare register-August 2022

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Once you're registered with Ofsted you must meet these ongoing requirements. We will check this if we carry out an inspection.

Child welfare

You must:

keep the children being cared for safe from harm

make sure that enough people are present at all times to ensure the children's safety and welfare - at least one person must be the provider, manager or employee

make sure that anyone under the age of 17 is always supervised by someone aged 18 or over

make sure that no-one smokes or consumes/is under the influence of alcohol or drugs on the premises while childcare is being provided or around any child being cared for, including medication that might affect their ability to look after children

manage the children's behaviour in a suitable manner

not use corporal punishment, and you must ensure that no-one providing the childcare, or living or working on the childcare premises, uses corporal punishment on a child

Safeguarding

You must:

have, and follow, a written policy to safeguard children from abuse or neglect

not let children have unsupervised contact with anyone who does not have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with barred lists

Checking suitability

The provider, manager and everyone who provides childcare must be suitable to work with children.

As the provider, you must:

have an effective system in place to make sure that everyone providing childcare is suitable

make sure that everyone providing childcare has obtained an enhanced DBS check with barred lists

Anyone aged 16 or older who lives on the premises or works there during childcare hours must have an enhanced DBS check with barred lists (see 'People connected with Ofsted-registered childcare').

Qualifications and training

At least one person looking after the children must have:

Your premises and equipment

Your premises must be safe and suitable for childcare.

You must:

make sure that no child can leave the premises without someone who is providing childcare becoming aware (unless the child is over 5 and you have agreed with their parent that they can arrive and leave by themselves, or you offer open access childcare)

make sure that no one can enter the premises without someone who is providing childcare becoming aware

do everything necessary to minimise any risks to children and staff from the premises, equipment and activities

You must display your registration certificate on the premises. If applicable, you must also display any notice of suspension there for the period of suspension.

Organising your childcare

You must make arrangements with other later years childcare providers or with parents for occasions when you cannot provide childcare.

You must not refuse to look after a child or treat them less well than another child because of any of the following:

the child's race, home language, family background or gender

the religion or belief of the child or the child's parents

any disability or learning difficulty that the child may have - this means that you must follow your legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 (for example, the provisions on reasonable adjustments)

You must have public liability insurance . This covers death, injury, public liability, damage or other loss.

Providers of childcare on domestic premises - working elsewhere

Under your childcare on domestic premises registration, you can apply to spend up to 50% of your time providing childcare from non-domestic premises, such as a church hall or community centre.

You can provide this childcare without applying. However, you cannot offer Ofsted-registered childcare from the non-domestic premises unless you have applied and we have given approval.

Complaints

You must:

have a written complaints policy and investigate each complaint fully

keep written records for 3 years of every complaint, the investigation outcome and any action taken

respond (in writing, if requested) to the parent who made the complaint, setting out the findings of the investigation and any resulting actions - you must do this as soon as reasonably possible but within 28 days of the complaint being made

provide, if Ofsted requests it, a summary of complaints made in the last 12 months and any action taken, or a list of all complaints made in the last 3 years, within a reasonable timeframe that Ofsted specifies

Keeping records and providing information

You must record the following for each child:

name, home address and date of birth

their parents' names, home address and telephone number

the days and times they attend the childcare

You must also record, as soon as reasonably possible:

any accidents that happen on the premises

any medicine given to a child, or that a child takes themselves, including the date, circumstances, person who gave it and the parent's consent

the name, home address and telephone number of everyone living on the premises or working there during childcare hours

You should keep this information for 2 years from the date it was recorded.

Giving parents information

You must provide the following to parents whose children you look after:

Giving Ofsted information

You must tell Ofsted about any serious childcare incidents while you are looking after a child. You should do this as soon as possible but within 14 days. Find out what serious incidents you need to report and how to tell Ofsted.

You must also tell us about:

any changes to your full name, home address, telephone number, address where you provide childcare, working hours and number of children you look after

any changes to the manager

changes to people responsible for running the childcare

changes to any people aged 16 or over living on the premises or working there during childcare hours

To tell us about changes to people, please see 'Report changes to registered people in your nursery or other daycare'.

Add another premises

If you want to work from additional premises under your Ofsted registration, you must apply to add another setting.

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Daycare providers on the voluntary Childcare Register: Ofsted requirements

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Once you're registered with Ofsted you must meet these ongoing requirements. We will check this if we carry out an inspection.

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Childminders on the Voluntary Childcare register-August 2022

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Childminders on the Voluntary Childcare register-August 2022

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Once you're registered with Ofsted you must meet these ongoing requirements. We will check this if we carry out an inspection.

Child welfare

You must:

keep the children safe from harm

make sure that at least one person looking after children has an appropriate first aid qualification

be present on the premises at all times while providing the childcare - the only exception to this is that a childminding assistant can look after children on the premises for up to 2 hours a day if their parents have given their permission

make sure that anyone under the age of 17 who works with children is always supervised by someone aged 18 or over

make sure that no one smokes or consumes/is affected by alcohol or drugs on the premises during childcare hours or around any children being cared for, including medication that might affect their ability to look after children

make sure that children's behaviour is managed in a suitable way

not use corporal punishment, and you must make sure that no-one else looking after children, or living or working on the premises, uses corporal punishment on a child

Safeguarding

You must have, and follow, a written policy to safeguard children from abuse or neglect.

You must not let children have unsupervised contact with anyone who does not have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service ( DBS) check with barred lists.

Checking suitability

You and anyone else looking after the children must be suitable to work with children. You must have an effective system in place to ensure this.

You must make sure that everyone who looks after children has obtained an enhanced DBS check with barred lists.

Anyone aged 16 or older who lives on the premises or works there during childcare hours must have an enhanced DBS check with barred lists and be suitable to be in contact with children (see 'People connected with Ofsted-registered childcare').

Qualifications and training

At least one person looking after the children must have either:

Your premises and equipment

Your premises and equipment must be safe and suitable for childcare. You must:

make sure that no child can leave the premises without someone who is providing childcare becoming aware (unless the child is over 5 and you have agreed with the parent that they can leave by themselves)

make sure that no one can enter the premises without someone who is providing childcare becoming aware

do everything necessary to minimise any health and safety risks to children and staff from the premises, equipment or activities

You must display your registration certificate on the premises. If applicable, you must also display any notice of suspension there for the period of suspension.

Organising your childcare

You must make arrangements with other childcare providers or with parents for occasions when you cannot provide childcare.

You must not refuse to look after a child or treat them less well than another child because of any of the following:

the child's race, home language, family background or gender

the religion or belief of the child or the child's parents

any disability or learning difficulty that the child may have - this means that you must follow your legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 (for example, the provisions on reasonable adjustments)

You must have public liability insurance. This covers death, injury, public liability, damage or other loss.

Looking after children on non-domestic premises

Under your childminder registration, you can apply to spend up to 50% of your time providing childcare from non-domestic premises, like a church hall or community centre.

You can provide this childcare without applying. However, you cannot offer Ofsted-registered childcare from the non-domestic premises unless you have applied and we have given approval.

Complaints

You must:

have a written complaints policy and fully investigate each complaint

keep written records for 3 years of any complaint, the investigation outcome and any action taken

respond (in writing, if requested) to the parent who made the complaint, setting out the findings of the investigation and any resulting actions - you must do this as soon as reasonably possible but within 28 days of the complaint being made

provide, if we ask for it, a summary of complaints made in the last 12 months and any action taken, or a list of all complaints made in the last 3 years, within a reasonable timeframe that we specify

Keeping records and providing information

You must record the following for each child:

their name, home address and date of birth

their parents' names, home address and telephone number

the days and times when they attend the childcare

You must also record, as soon as reasonably possible:

any accidents that happen on the premises

any medicine given to a child, or that a child takes themselves, including the date, circumstances, person who gave it and the parent's consent

the name, home address and telephone number of everyone living on the premises or working there during childcare hours

You should keep this information for 2 years from the date it was recorded.

Giving parents information

You must give the following to parents whose children you look after:

Giving Ofsted information

You must tell us about any serious childcare incidents. You should do this as soon as possible but within 14 days. Find out what serious incidents you need to report and how to tell Ofsted.

You must also tell Ofsted about any changes to:

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Childminders on the voluntary Childcare Register: Ofsted requirements

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Once you're registered with Ofsted you must meet these ongoing requirements. We will check this if we carry out an inspection.

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Childminders on the compulsory Childcare Register Ofsted requirements-August 2022

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Childminders on the compulsory Childcare Register Ofsted requirements-August 2022

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Childminders on the compulsory Childcare Register: Ofsted requirements

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Requirements you must meet if you are a childminder and registered with Ofsted on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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**NEW April 22 **360 Early Years is a simple tool that allows settings to review and improve their online safety practice for the benefit of the setting itself and for the children, staff/volunteers and families.

# data[].attributes.subject
**NEW April 22 **360 Early Years is a simple tool that allows settings to review and improve their online safety practice for the benefit of the setting itself and for the children, staff/volunteers and families.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Designed and Developed by Will Earp, South West Grid for Learning Trust Ltd (https://swgfl.org.uk/)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Online Safety Self-Review Tool | 360 Early Years | 360 Early Years

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
360 Early Years is a free, powerful tool designed by award-winning online safety experts, that simplifies a difficult task. It allows you to review your online safety policies and practice, compare these to other settings, suggests improvement actions and points to good practice resources.

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** NEW April 22 **LGBTQ+ -The Early Years

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** NEW April 22 **LGBTQ+ -The Early Years

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LGBTQIA+ Early Years - Learn more about Equality and Diversity

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Due to the unprecedented number of visitors, we need to undertake essential maintenance to ensure that we provide the optimum experience

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** NEW April 22**Nursery World- Inclusion: Working with LGBTQ+ Families - Feeling welcome

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** NEW April 22**Nursery World- Inclusion: Working with LGBTQ+ Families - Feeling welcome

# data[].attributes.headline
** NEW -April 2022 **Supporting quality interactions with children under 5

# data[].attributes.subject
** NEW -April 2022 **Supporting quality interactions with children under 5

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Learn more about interactions as part of the early years foundation stage (EYFS), including advice from experts and suggested activities.

Contents

Why interactions are important

From birth, babies want to connect with others and are eager to interact. For example, they might kick their legs ready to play a peekaboo game. These are important parts of an interaction that adults should notice and encourage.

Being with others helps children to build social relationships which provide opportunities for friendship, empathy and sharing emotions.

Research shows that good interactions between adults and children make a big difference to how well communication and language skills develop. Children benefit from being with responsive and enthusiastic adults who show interest in talking with them.

Video

In this video, an early years expert explains the importance of interactions in the early years foundation stage framework. There are also some tips on how to support children in this area.

What the EYFS framework says

Children's back-and-forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and mental development.

The number and quality of the conversations they have with adults and other children throughout the day in a language-rich environment is crucial.

By commenting on what children are doing or interested in and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added, you will build children's language effectively.

Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage.

What this means in practice

The setting, relationships and the role of the adults are important in maintaining good interactions with children.

Good interactions use:

To support children who are non-verbal use objects, pictures, or visual cues, such as showing a coat to indicate going outside.

Taking turns and waiting for a child to respond builds confidence and independence. Maintain a conversation by being warm and attentive and adapting your language to meet the needs of individual children.

If you join in with children's play and comment, repeat back, wonder aloud and add new words you will extend their language.

You should plan the curriculum to allow for these good interactions and share ideas with parents to support the children at home.

Suggested activities

Blowing bubbles

You'll need:

a bubble wand and bubble mixture

an uncluttered, quiet, familiar place to play on the floor where both child and adult can see each other well

uninterrupted time so that the interactions can be unrushed and the adult has time to notice and tune in to the child

Simple games like blowing bubbles can help babies and non-verbal children to learn to take turns and communicate.

Capture the child's attention and interest by blowing the bubbles and watching them pop.

Build anticipation by saying "ready, steady......" but do not blow the bubbles yet. Smile and wait for the child to gesture (reach out) before blowing the bubbles again as you say "Go."

Respond to their reaction and notice what they do. Use words to accompany their reaction, such as "yay, bubbles."

Repeat when the child reaches out again "ah, you want more bubbles?" Wait until they are ready to play again, they might show you with facial expressions, giggles, gestures, eye contact and movement.

This fun game is a great way to engage very young learners who are pre-verbal or older learners who may have communication difficulties. It teaches about the back and forth of communication and interaction to support the idea of a conversation.

Communication boxes

Encourage children to bring in boxes filled with things from home to share and to talk about with you. You can make one too, to show to your group of children and their parents and carers.

The box may include:

photos of important people and pets

a favourite toy or book

objects from a special trip

This encourages children to share and engage in meaningful interactions, about things that are important and familiar to them.

As part of this activity, you might:

introduce new vocabulary

ask questions, allowing children time to answer to learn more about the child and their parents or carers

encourage children to practise using new vocabulary in a meaningful context

This activity will also help to develop the important relationships between you, the children and their parents and carers, which will support warm and positive interactions in the future.

Developing relationships through communication and sharing experiences supports personal, social and emotional development as well as early literacy skills. Being able to connect socially as well as use language to explain ideas and share thinking with others is central to successful learning in all areas.

Other activities

Simple games like blowing bubbles in this clip from the community children's health partnership can help children to take turns and communicate from an early age.

Speech language and communication strategies and resources from birth to 5.

What other nurseries and childminders are doing

"In practice we use 'Ask me about...' stickers to encourage communication through positive adult-child interactions. Practitioners will write a brief note on a sticker about something interesting each child has done at pre-school that day and give it to the child to share. Children and their parents or carers can then talk about it together on their way home. The intention was to spark discussion, create opportunities for meaningful interactions, and develop those important two-way relationships between early years providers and home."

Anna, Noah's Ark Preschool, Northamptonshire.

Summary

Children are born to communicate and will seek out interaction.

Good interactions and conversations depend on social relationships and tuned-in adults.

A well-planned language rich environment is important to facilitate good interactions.

Planning and reflecting on the quality and time available for conversations will increase opportunities for learning language and communication skills.

Listening, asking open questions, commenting, repeating, extending, adapting, and valuing non-verbal communication will support children's communication.

Next steps

Consider if you make enough time and space for conversations based on the interests of children.

Make sure your interactions support the children's communication and language.

Make sure that your interactions reflect the individual communication needs of each child.

Consider if the learning environments are set up in a way that enables communication and talk.

Review your curriculum to ensure you cover the requirements in the EYFS for this area of learning.

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Learn more about interactions as part of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) including advice from experts and suggested activities.

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**NEW April 22** NHS-Guidance and information on 'Fabricated or induced illness'

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**NEW April 22** NHS-Guidance and information on 'Fabricated or induced illness'

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Fabricated or induced illness (FII) is a rare form of child abuse. It happens when a parent or carer exaggerates or deliberately causes symptoms of illness in the child.
The parent or carer tries to convince doctors that the child is ill, or that their condition is worse than it really is.

The parent or carer does not necessarily intend to deceive doctors, but their behaviour is likely to harm the child. For example the child may have unnecessary treatment or tests, be made to believe they're ill, or have their education disrupted.

FII used to be known as "Munchausen's syndrome by proxy" (not to be confused with Munchausen's syndrome, where a person pretends to be ill or causes illness or injury to themselves).

Signs of fabricated or induced illness

Fabricated or induced illness (FII) covers a wide range of symptoms and behaviours involving parents or carers seeking healthcare for a child. This ranges from exaggerating or inventing symptoms, to deliberately making the child ill.

Behaviours in FII can include a parent or carer who:

persuades healthcare professionals that their child is ill when they're healthy

exaggerates or lies about their child's symptoms

manipulates test results to suggest the child is ill, for example, by putting glucose in urine samples to suggest the child has diabetes

deliberately induces symptoms of illness, for example, by poisoning their child with unnecessary medicine or other substances

Cases where the parent or carer wrongly reports symptoms are much more common than cases where they induce illness in the child.

Learn more about the signs of fabricated or induced illness.

Why fabricated or induced illness happens

The reasons why FII happens are not fully understood.

The parent or carer will have a need for their child to be treated as if they're ill, or as being more unwell than they really are. Their behaviour is intended to convince doctors that the child is ill.

This may be because the parent or carer gains something, such as attention, support or closeness to the child. Or it may be because they have anxiety or incorrect beliefs about their child's health, and they need these beliefs to be confirmed and acted upon.

The parent or carer is not always fully aware of the reasons for their own behaviour.

A large number of parents or carers involved in FII have borderline personality disorders characterised by emotional instability, impulsiveness and disturbed thinking.

Some parents or carers involved in FII have so-called "somatoform disorders", where they experience multiple, recurrent physical symptoms. A proportion of these parents or carers also have Munchausen's syndrome.

Some parents or carers have unresolved psychological and behavioural problems, such as a history of self-harming, or drug or alcohol misuse. Some have experienced the death of another child.

There have also been several reported cases where illness was fabricated or induced for financial reasons. For example, to claim disability benefits.

Read more about the possible causes of fabricated or induced illness.

What to do if you suspect a child is at risk

FII is a child safeguarding issue and cannot be managed by the NHS alone.

Medical professionals who suspect FII is happening should liaise with social services and the police, and must follow local child safeguarding procedures.

If your job involves working with children, for example, if you're a nursery worker or teacher, tell the person in your organisation who's responsible for child safeguarding issues. If you do not know who this is, your immediate supervisor or manager should be able to tell you.

If you suspect someone you know may be fabricating or inducing illness in their child, do not confront them directly. It's unlikely to make the person admit to wrongdoing, and it may give them the opportunity to dispose of any evidence of abuse.

You can contact your local social services department, or telephone the NSPCC's child protection helpline on 0808 800 5000. It's open from 8am to 10pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Read more about what to do if you suspect fabricated or induced illness.

How a case is managed

The child

The first priority is to protect the child, find out their true state of health and restore them to good health. Health professionals will create a health and education rehabilitation plan for the child.

The local authority children's social care team may also be involved. They may remove the child from the care of the person responsible. If the child is in hospital, the parent or carer may need to be removed from the ward.

The child may need help returning to a normal lifestyle, including going back to school. Younger children and babies who do not understand what was happening often make a good recovery after the abuse stops.

Older children, particularly those who've been abused for many years, may have more problems. For example, many affected children believe they're really ill. They need help and support to develop a more realistic understanding of their health.

It's common for older children to feel loyal to their parent or carer, and a sense of guilt if that person is removed from the family.

The parent or carer

Once the child is safe, it may be possible to treat the parent or carer's underlying psychological problems. This may include a combination of:

intensive psychotherapy

family therapy

The aim of psychotherapy is to uncover and resolve the issues that caused the person to fabricate or induce illness in the child.

Family therapy aims to resolve any tensions within the family, improve parenting skills and attempt to repair the relationship between the parent or carer and the child.

In more severe cases, the parent or carer may be compulsorily detained in a psychiatric ward under the Mental Health Act so their relationship with the child can be closely monitored.

Parents or carers involved in FII are difficult to treat because most do not admit their deceptions and refuse to recognise their abusive behaviour. In some cases, the child is permanently removed from their care.

The best results are achieved in cases where the parent or carer:

understands and acknowledges the harm they've caused

is able to communicate the underlying motivations and needs that led them to fabricate or cause illness

is able to work together with healthcare and other professionals

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Overview - Fabricated or induced illness

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Fabricated or induced illness (FII) is a rare form of child abuse. It happens when a parent or carer exaggerates or deliberately causes symptoms of illness in the child. The parent or carer tries to convince doctors that the child is ill, or that their condition is worse than it really is.

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** NEW April 22** Ofsted report -April 2022- Covid recovery across the sector

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** NEW April 22** Ofsted report -April 2022- Covid recovery across the sector

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A briefing on the continued impact of the pandemic and education recovery, drawing on evidence from spring 2022 inspections.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This briefing draws on inspection evidence gathered in the spring 2022 term and discussions with early years inspectors about the ongoing implications of the pandemic on children.

Thank you for your feedback

Report a problem with this page

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Education recovery in early years providers: spring 2022

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** NEW April 22 **Child Abuse linked to Faith or Belief-Guidance

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** NEW April 22 **Child Abuse linked to Faith or Belief-Guidance

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**NEW April 22 **Public Health Exclusion Table for EY's and childcare settings.

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**NEW April 22 **Public Health Exclusion Table for EY's and childcare settings.

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A practical guide for staff on managing cases of infectious diseases in children and young people settings, including education.

Details

Attending face-to-face education or childcare is hugely important for children and young people's health and their future.

This guidance has been updated to provide a practical guide for staff in children and young people settings, including education, those working in children and young people's social care and across the secure estate, on managing a range of infections, and minimising disruption. This includes advice on managing coronavirus (COVID-19) and other infections. Further and higher education providers should also take note of this guidance.

Within the tools and resources, there is an exclusion table with guidance to indicate the time period an individual should not attend a setting to reduce the risk of transmission during the infectious stage.

While this guidance may be of use to all children and young people settings, it is recognised that there are some differences for residential children's homes and secure settings, which means that aspects of this guidance may not be applicable. This guidance should be used alongside the emergency planning and response for education, childcare, and children's social care settings published in April 2022.

This guidance is not intended to be used as a tool for the diagnosis of infections. The information is designed for use by staff members in children and young people settings (for example teachers, managers, teaching assistants, and cleaners) to prevent and respond to infection, incidents and outbreaks.

For additional information about what infections are and why they can be prevented, access the Preventing and managing infections in childcare and pre-school online course.

To complement the guidance and support its implementation, we recommend educating children and young people on hygiene, germs (microbes), vaccination, and antibiotics. A range of interactive lesson plans for ages 3 to 16 have been developed by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) with teachers and are available for free at e-Bug.eu. These are designed to promote healthy behaviours among students and provide additional support and guidance to educators, to contribute to the prevention of infections in the school setting.

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Health protection in children and young people settings, including education

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Early years qualifications and ratios - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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This guidance was withdrawn on

Applies to England

Qualifications and ratios

All early years providers working with children from birth to 5 years old must follow the regulations on early years foundation stage ( EYFS) staff:child ratios. This is the number of qualified staff, at different qualification levels, an early years setting needs to have in order to meet the needs of all children at different stages of development and ensure their safety. These regulations are set out in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework.

Providers must make sure staff have the appropriate qualifications to count in the ratios, including the need to have at least one staff member trained in  paediatric first aid.

The Department for Education ( DfE) defines the qualifications that staff must hold to count in  EYFS staff:child ratios. Providers can use our  early years qualifications lists  to:

check if a person's qualification meets the approved 'full and relevant' criteria for early years qualifications

confirm if a person counts in the EYFS staff:child ratios

If a person holds a level 2 qualification achieved from 1 September 2019 that meets the level 2 full and relevant criteria, you can count them towards the  EYFS  staff:child ratios at level 2.

If a person holds a level 3 qualification from September 2014 that meets the level 3 full and relevant criteria, you can count them towards the  EYFS  staff:child ratios at level 3.

If a person holds a qualification at level 4 or 5 (completed as part of a level 6 course), unless the level 4 or level 5 qualification is listed as meeting the full and relevant criteria, they cannot be counted in the  EYFS  staff:child ratios at level 3.

Lists of qualifications which meet DfE's criteria can be counted as full and relevant, and enable the holder to count within the staff:child ratios according to the EYFS. Please use the early years qualifications list to check if your qualification is suitable to work in an early years setting.

Paediatric first aid (PFA)

Newly qualified staff with a level 2 or level 3 early years qualification, awarded after 30 June 2016, must also have either a full paediatric first aid ( PFA) or an emergency  PFA certificate within 3 months of starting work. If they do not have this you cannot count them in the  EYFS  staff:child ratios at level 2 or level 3.

Recognition of early years qualifications

If your qualification is shown on the early years qualifications list then it is considered full and relevant. If it is not shown on this list, then the qualification is not considered full and relevant. In both cases there is no need to contact the department to check.

If the answer to your question or query cannot be found above, or your qualification was awarded by an overseas institution, please contact Ecctis. For further information on the services Ecctis provide, please see the Ecctis website.

Please note that if you have contacted the early years workforce team at the DfE prior to 5 September 2022, you only need to contact Ecctis if you are starting a new query.

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[Withdrawn] Early years qualifications and ratios

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Guidance and advice around internet safety in the early years

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Guidance and advice around internet safety in the early years

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Get insights on how screen use impacts young children and how it can benefit them in early years settings.

By Ghislaine Bombusa, Head of Digital, Internet Matters

Ghislaine works closely with online safety experts to develop advice and guidance that helps to educate and inform parents about online safety issues.

What children in the early years are doing online

Children in the early years are now more digitally savvy than ever before. Their use of digital devices is commonplace with apps like YouTube Kids becoming a destination of choice for 72% of children aged 3 to 4 according to a recent Ofcom report.

Research also shows that children are moving away from watching TV, opting for video-on-demand content on video-sharing platforms to watch cartoons, mini movies and songs. However, unlike older children, only a small number of children aged 3 to 4 (23%) play games online.

The impact of device use on children's development in the early years

Screen use can have a number of benefits for children in the early years but also comes with some challenges that staff should be aware of. Ongoing research suggests there are both positive and negative developmental outcomes.

Benefits of screen use include:

opportunities to promote creativity and learning

language development

improvement of numeracy and literacy skills

greater understanding of their world

development of digital skills

Challenges of screen use include:

impact on children's ability to control their emotions

displacement of activities that promote social interactions vital for development

risk of exposure to inappropriate content

Screen time for children in the early years

In the UK, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health published guidance for parents and clinicians, suggesting that 'there are no 'safe' amounts of screen time.' The right amount of screen use will vary between families.

This approach emphasises the need to assess screen time limits based on the needs of the child while ensuring sleep and social activities are not negatively impacted.

Most recognise that the quality of what children consume will have the most impact.

For example, encouraging children to watch or engage with content that helps them learn about the world around them or using apps designed for kids to stay active, are just some of the ways that screen time can help children thrive on and offline.

Therefore, the content and context of screen time becomes central to children getting the most out of their online use.

Advice for early years practitioners

As devices become more commonplace in early years settings, here are some tips on how practitioners can help children use screens safely.

Things you can do to support children's use of technology in your setting include:

outlining how you support children's use of technology in your setting - it can be helpful to combine this with safeguarding policies

using device safety settings to ensure apps and content are age-appropriate

monitoring and supporting children while they use devices

thinking about what you post online and how this may impact your role - this could be ensuring you do not share details about children, parents or other practitioners and adhering to any social media policies which cover staff personal use of social media platforms

getting parental consent before creating or sharing images of children and store them safely

You should teach children about internet safety by:

making them aware of what safe use of technology looks like

choosing educational apps and platforms that help them to develop their skills

having conversations and sharing advice with parents to encourage safe online use in the home

Stay informed about issues that young children face online through online safety training and by keeping up to date with news and research on internet safety.

Further reading

Safeguarding children and protecting professionals in early years settings: online safety guidance for practitioners - UK Council for Internet Safety

Internet safety checklist for pre-school children - Internet Matters

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Get insights on how screen use impacts young children and how it can benefit them in early years settings. By Ghislaine Bombusa, Head of Digital, Internet Matters Ghislaine works closely with online safety experts to develop advice and guidance that helps to educate and inform parents about online safety issues.

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Did you know that if you serve food in your setting you need to register as a Food Business. Please see the attached form.

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You must register your business if you store, prepare, distribute or sell food on premises. Businesses include restaurants; cafes; hotels; shops; canteens; market stalls; mobile catering vans; and food delivery vans.
It is a legal requirement to register your business with the council at least 28 days before opening or taking ownership.
Registration is free of charge. The details will be entered onto our register and certain details, such as type of business, address and telephone number, will be available for public inspection. Other information provided will not be publicly available.

Once you have registered, you will need to notify us if there is a change of ownership or change in the nature of the business.

How to register a food business
Register a food business at GOV.UK
Approving a food business

Some manufacturers handling products of animal origin may need to be approved by us or the Meat Hygiene Service, rather than registered. Contact us if you are uncertain whether your business needs to be approved or registered.

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You must register your business if you store, prepare, distribute or sell food on premises. Businesses include restaurants; cafes; hotels; shops; canteens; market stalls; mobile catering vans; and food delivery vans. It is a legal requirement to register your business with the council at least 28 days before opening or taking ownership.

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* NEW Jan 22* Early Years Staff Wellbeing- a resource for managers and teams

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* NEW Jan 22* Early Years Staff Wellbeing- a resource for managers and teams

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Early years staff wellbeing_ a resource for managers and staff

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New Dec 2021-2 YR Progress check example 2

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New Dec 2021-2 YR Progress check example 2

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New -EYFS 2 yr progress check proforma -2

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** New Dec 2021** Committee led Provision Audit Tool and Resource pack

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** New Dec 2021** Committee led Provision Audit Tool and Resource pack

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Oral Health Training for Early Years Practitioners

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** NEW Nov 2021 **EYFS 2 YR PROGRESS CHECK 2021-Example 2

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** NEW Nov 2021 **EYFS 2 YR PROGRESS CHECK 2021-Example 2

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New -EYFS 2 yr progress check proforma -2

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** New Nov 21** Radicalisation and The Prevent Duty-All you need to know- By Parenta

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** New Nov 21** Radicalisation and The Prevent Duty-All you need to know- By Parenta

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Ofsted poster to be displayed with the setting

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Ofsted poster to be displayed with the setting

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Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006

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Statutory guidance for schools about employing staff who have been disqualified from providing childcare.

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** NEW Sept 21** What to expect when- A guide for parents

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** NEW Sept 21** What to expect when- A guide for parents

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Food Standards Agency- EY Food choking hazards poster

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Food Standards Agency- EY Food choking hazards poster

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Food Standards Agency- Advice re choking hazards

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Food Standards Agency- Advice re choking hazards

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**NEW SEPT 2021-EYFS 2 YR Progress Check Proforma

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**NEW SEPT 2021-EYFS 2 YR Progress Check Proforma

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**NEW SEPT 2021-EYFS 2YR Progress Check Proforma

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**NEW SEPT 2021-EYFS 2YR Progress Check Proforma

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Ofsted- Inspecting Safeguarding in Early Years Settings-2019

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Ofsted- Inspecting Safeguarding in Early Years Settings-2019

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All handbooks and frameworks for the remits that Ofsted inspects and/or regulates.

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Safeguarding-Child Abuse linked to faith or belief

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Safeguarding-Child Abuse linked to faith or belief

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Abuse linked to faith or belief is where concerns for a child's welfare have been identified, and could be caused by, a belief in witchcraft, spirit or demonic possession, ritual or satanic abuse features; or when practices linked to faith or belief are harmful to a child.

Any abuse that takes place against those who are branded (or labelled) either as a witch or as having been possessed by an evil spirit is unacceptable. Significant harm (including murder) can occur because of concerted efforts to 'excise' or 'deliver' evil from a child (or vulnerable adult).

From our own experience and in consultation with communities, we know this kind of abuse is under-reported.

Spotting the signs that this abuse exists can prevent escalation from 'subtle' harms that may often go unnoticed by many, to 'extreme' situations where there is loss of life. Witchcraft beliefs are used to blame a person (rather than circumstances) for misfortune that happens in life.

It can take place for some of the following reasons

abuse as a result of a child being accused of being a 'witch'

abuse as a result of a child being accused of being possessed by 'evil spirits'

ritualistic abuse which is prolonged sexual, physical and psychological abuse

satanic abuse which is carried out in the name of 'satan' and may have links to cults

any other harmful practice linked to a belief or faith

The forms of abuse that can occur fall into the four main categories below.

Physical abuse

This can involve ritualistic beating, burning, cutting, stabbing, semi-strangulating, tying up the child, or rubbing chilli peppers or other substances on the child's genitals or eyes.

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse can occur in the form of isolation. A child may not be allowed near or to share a room with family members, and threatened with abandonment. The child may also be convinced that they are possessed.

Neglect

In situations of neglect, the child's family and community may have failed to ensure appropriate medical care, supervision, education, good hygiene, nourishment, clothing or warmth.

Sexual abuse

Children who have been singled out in this way can be particularly vulnerable to sexual abusers within the family, community or faith organisation. These people exploit the belief as a form of control or threat.

Where does it happen?

Child abuse linked to faith or belief is not confined to one faith, nationality or ethnic community. Examples have been recorded worldwide across various religions including Christians, Muslims and Hindus.

The number of known cases suggests that only a small minority of people who believe in witchcraft or spirit possession go on to abuse children and adults.

Abuse may happen anywhere, but it most commonly occurs within the child's home.

Common factors and causes

A range of factors can contribute to the abuse of a child for reasons of faith or belief. Some of the most common ones are below.

Belief in evil spirits

Belief in evil spirits that can 'possess' children is often accompanied by a belief that a possessed child can 'infect' others with the condition. This could be through contact with shared food, or simply being in the presence of the child.

Scapegoating

A child could be singled out as the cause of misfortune within the home, such as financial difficulties, divorce, infidelity, illness or death.

Bad behaviour

Sometimes bad or abnormal behaviour is attributed to spiritual forces. Examples include a child being disobedient, rebellious, overly independent, wetting the bed, having nightmares or falling ill.

Physical and emotional differences

A child could be singled out for having a physical difference or disability. Documented cases included children with learning disabilities, mental health issues, epilepsy, autism, stammers, deafness and LGBTQ+.

Gifts and uncommon characteristics

If a child has a particular skill or talent, this can sometimes be rationalised as the result of possession or witchcraft. This can also be the case if the child is from a multiple or difficult pregnancy.

Complex family structure

Research suggests that a child living with extended family, non biological parents, or foster parents is more at risk. In these situations they are more likely to have been subject to trafficking and made to work in servitude.

What to look out for

Indicators of child abuse linked to faith or belief include the following:

physical injuries, such as bruises or burns (including historical injuries/scaring)

a child reporting that they are or have been accused of being 'evil', and/or that they are having the 'devil beaten out of them'

the child or family may use words such as 'kindoki', 'djin', 'juju' or 'voodoo' - all of which refer to spiritual beliefs

a child becoming noticeably confused, withdrawn, disorientated or isolated and appearing alone amongst other children

a child's personal care deteriorating (eg rapid loss of weight, being hungry, turning up to school without food or lunch money, being unkempt with dirty clothes)

it may be evident that the child's parent or carer does not have a close bond with the child

a child's attendance at school or college becomes irregular or there is a deterioration in a child's performance

a child is taken out of a school altogether without another school place having been arranged

Wearing unusual jewellery/items or in possession of strange ornaments/scripts.

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Abuse linked to faith or belief is where concerns for a child's welfare have been identified, and could be caused by, a belief in witchcraft, spirit or demonic possession, ritual or satanic abuse features; or when practices linked to faith or belief are harmful to a child.

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Safeguarding-Obtaining a reference for a self employed childminder flow chart

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Safeguarding-Obtaining a reference for a self employed childminder flow chart

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Leadership and Management-Staff personal CPD log

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Leadership and Management-Staff personal CPD log

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Leadership and Management-Reflective Plan for implementing the EYFS reforms

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Leadership and Management-Reflective Plan for implementing the EYFS reforms

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Legislative Requirements- Pre School immunisations guide- 2020

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Legislative Requirements- Pre School immunisations guide- 2020

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Leadership and Management-Request for EYFS Support from EYA Team Form

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Leadership and Management-Request for EYFS Support from EYA Team Form

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Quality of Education- Transition- 'All about Ahmed'

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Quality of Education- Transition- 'All about Ahmed'

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Quality of Education-Transition -'All about Hope' 

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Quality of Education-Transition -'All about Hope' 

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Quality of Education- Transition(SEND) 2021

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Quality of Education- Transition(SEND) 2021

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Quality of Education- Starting School Tips

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Quality of Education- Starting School Tips

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Quality of Education-Seven Features of Effective Practice- Revised version August 2021

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Quality of Education-Seven Features of Effective Practice- Revised version August 2021

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Quality of Education- Making Birth to 5 Matters work for you

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Quality of Education- Making Birth to 5 Matters work for you

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Providing something for everyone is a tough challenge, but Birth to 5 Matters aims to do just that as 'guidance by the sector, for the sector'.It is designed to support everyone implementing the EYFS, from new members of staff with limited experience and background knowledge of child development to their very experienced and highly qualified colleagues. In order to meet such diverse needs, Birth to 5 Matters(Bto5M) includes a range of formats and various levels of information to form a valuable, flexible resource.

So where do you start?Though Bto5M has grown out of previous EYFS guidance, it contains a lot more material than the last Development Matters and engaging with it all could seem like a big project.

And how can you use Bto5M in day-to-day practice? If you follow current advice and move away from using Development Matters statements as a ticklist, how can you use Bto5M to help you to understand children's development and plan to support their progress, day to day and moment to moment?

Where do you start?

Young children's experiences lay the foundations for the rest of their lives, and the privilege of working in the early years centres on the chance to offer children the best opportunities and most supportive relationships to enable them to flourish. The introductory sections of Bto5M outline features of the optimal environments, relationships and interactions that will support all children. Settings can consider how they lay this groundwork so they can have confidence that most children will thrive.

The Statutory EYFS states that four guiding principles should shape practice in early years settings. Bto5M is firmly based on those principles to support your reflection on how they underpin your practice.As well as focussing on central issues such as play, care, and leadership, the beginning sections of Bto5M provide information and guidance organised under the EYFS principles of A Unique Child - including child development, self-regulation, characteristics of effective learning, inclusive practice and equalities - as well as Positive Relat ionships, Ena bling E nvironments, and Learning and Development.

This wide view of principled practice serves as a resource for practitioners at any level to consider the most important foundations of providing the best for children. For a quick overview, you could simply read through the 'Key points' identified in each section.To engage more deeply in any area you could read the full text, and then perhaps go on to explore the extra resources available on the website for more in-depth background, tools, case studies and research.

Just as each child is unique, so is each practitioner and each setting.How you refer to these sections of Bto5M will depend on what is most valuable for your individual professional development, as well as priorities for developing the ethos and practice of your setting.

These sections deal with areas which are fundamental to excellent practice, but they are not likely to be referred to on a daily basis in your ongoing work with children.If you take the time to become familiar with what is available, however, you may now and then find it helpful to look up particular sections and the linked extra resources in response to situations that arise for individual children or families.

Supporting children without ticklists

Beyond the background provision for all children, the detail of understanding, supporting and extending every child's thinking and learning is the marker of excellent early years practice. The Statutory EYFS makes clear that practitioners have responsibility to 'consider the individual needs, interests, and development of each child in their care, and must use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all areas of learning and development.' It also describes 'knowing children's level of achievement and interests, and then shaping teaching and learning experiences for each child reflecting that knowledge.'

This is why the cycle of observation-assessment-planning is at the heart of early years practice.We need to be curious and attentive to notice what each child does and communicates (observation), think about what it might tell us about how the child is thinking, feeling and learning (assessment), and then think what we could do next to support them (planning).

In many settings, this thoughtful cycle had been reduced to a fairly mechanical matter of looking for examples of children's actions to match particular items from Development Matters, ticking them off, and automatically settling on the next statement in the list as a 'next step' to guide planning. It gave the reassuring illusion that we knew where children were in their learning, and where they were going. But it was a false picture because it narrowed our view to one prescribed learning pathway, rather than helping us to see and respond to the infinite variety of ways children are thinking, following their own motivations, and making sense of the world around them.

The government and Ofsted are both clear in their messages that ticklist assessment and the associated heavy workload of recording evidence are not desirable.But this doesn't mean that real observation-assessment-planning is to be thrown out the window - instead, it's an invitation to up our game.

Understanding development with Bto5M

It's important to be very clear that reducing paperwork and stopping checking hundreds of statements against each child does not mean letting go of observation, nor of being aware of each child's learning and development.If we reduce attention to what each child is showing us and just assume that most children will be making good progress within our enabling environments, we risk not making the most of learning moments for each child. So we can't stop observing, assessing and planning for all the children, but need to pay attention to each child in a different way.

The grids in Bto5M look similar to those in Development Matters (2012) but can be used to support you to understand and respond to each child on their own learning pathway, rather than along a pre-set route.

The guidance says the Unique Child trajectories 'illustrate samples of what children may do along that journey. While these present some examples, children will do countless things that do not appear in the grids but are equally valuable for their learning. And as each child winds their individual path through the different areas, they will not necessarily show signs of each of the descriptors, nor in the same order presented.' So it is up to practitioners to notice and reflect on what a child is doing, not to look simply for what we expect.

Similarly, the grids contain ideas for adults but invite you to think for yourself about your children as you plan how to respond: 'Examples of what adults might do or provide should be seen as suggestions or prompts for thinking, suggesting "next steps" adults might take to support children's development and learning. Adults should use their creative and critical thinking to develop their own ideas, decide what to try, and evaluate its effectiveness.'

Using Bto5M in everyday practice

The guidance can be seen as a flexible friend, to be called on to meet your needs when you would like some support. Some very experienced practitioners with a deep understanding of child development may not often refer to the trajectories, while others may find it useful to dip in much more frequently or even use it as a professional development resource for background reading.

The main purpose of the grids is to support meeting children's needs effectively, so the columns for the adult - what you might do in your interactions or what you might provide in terms of experiences and resourcing - are a critical part of the picture.It is of little use to understand children's development unless we go on to respond sensitively and closely with what will support them best. So instead of thinking of 'next steps' as targets for children, it might be more helpful to think of the next steps adults will take to support and extend development and learning.

In a sense, you will be constantly observing the children you work with, and the more you tune in and get to know the children the more information you will pick up.Most of the time you will be assessing and responding in the moment, interacting in ways that depend on the messages you are picking up from the children - what they are interested in, how they feel, what they are attempting, how they are responding to challenges, what they are thinking about. At these times you are not likely to refer to any guidance document.

At other times, you may notice a pattern for a particular child, something new that you hadn't noticed before, or perhaps a similar development for more than one child. In these cases you might decide that a little more reflection about your response would be useful.You might choose to make a record of these occasions, to support your thinking or to share with parents, the child or colleagues.

The Bto5M guidance can be useful at times like this, to help you focus your mind on the learning that you are seeing.You could identify which Characteristics of Effective Learning you see in action, and which Areas of Learning and Development are in evidence.Then you can look within the grids to find a general area that reflects what you have noticed in the child. There are no ages listed in the grids, so the age of the child is not relevant here.Just find the rough area of development that matches what the child is showing you.Then the most important part:Have a look at the prompts for adults that are alongside that broad area of development, and decide whether any of these point you in helpful directions to plan how you can support the child's progress, as in the examples below.

Beyond this everyday attention to supporting children's development and learning, you may at intervals - perhaps two or three times a year - find it useful to sum up children's learning with best-fit judgements about which Ranges best describe their current development.This can be useful to see where children are making good progress, help to identify children who would benefit from additional support, and to identify any areas where the setting could improve practice.

For each child, who is constantly learning in the present moment, the important assessment and response is the sensitive, timely support from an adult who is fascinated to understand more about the child and to help them along their own pathway.

Case Study 1

Kim is the key person for Tommy, who has recently joined the nursery at 7 months, and she is keen to build a close, trusting relationship with him. She notices that at nappy changing time he sometimes seems tense, turns his head away and cries. To help her understand Tommy better (her assessment) and decide how to support him (her planning) Kim looks in PSED (Making Relationships) and finds in Range 1:

Distinguishes between people, recognising the look, sound and smell of their close carer

They will usually calm, smile or reduce crying when they hear their carers'/parent's voice, or smell their clothing, for example

Holds up arms to be picked up and cuddled and is soothed by physical touch such as being held, cuddled and stroked

Begins to display attachment behaviours such as wanting to stay near their close carer and becoming upset when left with an unfamiliar person

She also notices that in CL (Speaking), Range 1 includes:

Lifts arms in anticipation of being picked up

She reflects that Tommy is communicating that he still sees her as an unfamiliar person and is expressing his feelings (her assessment). For guidance in how she might respond, Kim finds in the Positive Relationships and Enabling Environments a number of suggestions for building a trusting relationship, including the following:

Offer warm, loving and consistent care in your interactions with babies and young children, making good eye contact and handling children gently and respectfully.

Respond sensitively and quickly to babies and young children's needs, holding and comforting each child as they need.

Learn from parents regarding caring practices at home so you can establish predictable and familiar patterns within your own interactions allowing the child to feel safe with you.

Tune in to the meaning of babies and young children's communications of crying, babbling, pointing or pulling and respond with interest, watching and understanding the cues they offer so they feel acknowledged and known by you.

Spend plenty of time with your key children playing interactive games, finger plays and singing familiar songs that engage you both in mirroring movement and sounds, follow the child's lead.

Use care events to build a close relationship with babies and young children through respectful interactions and taking it slowly. Always explain what is going to happen and invite their participation.

Kim decides the next steps for her are to focus on spending relaxed time with Tommy, to build a rapport and trust. She will be sure to slow down and respond to Tommy's signals, including picking him up only once she has established contact and invited interaction by holding out her own hands, and waited for his response. She will also discuss with parents Tommy's nappy changing routines at home to make the process as familiar to him as possible.

Case Study 2

The nursery has a bed for growing vegetables, and the children have enjoyed pulling up the potatoes that are ready for harvesting. In the process, a few worms emerged and Sara and Elijah were fascinated to watch them moving. Both children picked them up and looked closely. 'Have they got any eyes?' Elijah asked. They remained engrossed in the worms for an extended time. The practitioner, Sam, would like to build on their interest and support their learning about the natural world. In UW (The World), Sam finds in Ranges 3, 4 and 5:

Is curious and interested to explore new and familiar experiences in nature: grass, mud, puddles, plants, animal life

Can talk about some of the things they have observed such as plants, animals, natural and found objects

Comments and asks questions about aspects of their familiar world such as the place where they live or the natural world

Suggestions for adult support include

Use conversation with children to extend their vocabulary to help them talk about their observations and to ask questions.

Make use of outdoor areas to give opportunities for investigations of the natural world.

Provide story and information books about places, such as a zoo or the beach, to remind children of visits to real places.

Provide opportunities to observe things closely through a variety of means, e.g. magnifiers and photographs, phone apps to listen to and recognise birds.

Sam decides to enhance conversation opportunities by taking pictures of the worms that can be shared and discussed. In discussion, the staff decide to leave the empty potato bed as a digging place with magnifying glasses on hand, with a challenge to see if the children can find what lives there. Information books will be brought into the nursery, and online images shared.

Beyond this, Sam wants to build on the children's Characteristics of Effective Learning. She recognises that the children have shown:

Playing and Exploring

Finding out and exploring
Showing curiosity about objects, events and people
Using senses to explore the world around them

Active Learning

Being involved and concentrating
Showing a deep drive to know more about people and their world
Maintaining focus on their activity for a period of time
Showing high levels of involvement, energy, fascination
Not easily distracted
Paying attention to details

Sam would like to support the children in the third Characteristic, Thinking Creatively and Critically, particularly in:

Making links (building theories)
Making links and noticing patterns in their experience

Working with ideas (critical thinking)
Planning, making decisions about how to approach a task, solve a problem and reach a goal

The guidance in Bto5M suggests:

Use the language of thinking and learning: think, know, remember, forget, idea, makes sense, plan, learn, find out, confused, figure out, trying to do.

Model being a thinker, showing that you don't always know, are curious and sometimes puzzled, and can think and find out. I wonder?

Give children time to talk and think. Make time to actively listen to children's ideas.

Encourage open-ended thinking, generating more alternative ideas or solutions, by not settling on the first suggestions: What else is possible?

Always respect children's efforts and ideas, so they feel safe to take a risk with a new idea and feel comfortable with mistakes.

Sustained shared thinking helps children to explore ideas and make links. Follow children's lead in conversation, and think about things together.

Encourage children to choose personally meaningful ways to represent and clarify their thinking through graphics.

Take an interest in what the children say about their marks and signs, talk to them about their meanings and value what they do and say.

Represent thinking visually, such as mind-maps to represent thinking together, finding out what children know and want to know.

Sam decides to support the children to be more aware of their own learning through conversation about what they know about worms, and what they would like to find out. They will be invited to draw what they already know, and then together they can talk about the drawings and how they learned these things. They will share ideas about how they could learn what they want to know, plan what to do next and illustrate these plans on a mind map.

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Providing something for everyone is a tough challenge, but Birth to 5 Matters aims to do just that as 'guidance by the sector, for the sector'. It is designed to support everyone implementing the EYFS, from new members of staff with limited experience and background knowledge of child development...

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Using social media safely with children and young people

There are lots of benefits for children and young people when using social media. This includes staying connected with friends and family, enabling innovative ways of learning and creating new ways for them to express themselves.

It can also have many benefits to organisations, for example:

staying in contact with children outside of face-to-face meetings, activities and events

providing specialist support to children, such as counselling and therapy

promoting events

livestreaming activities and running online sessions.

creating online groups, forums and communities.

But there are risks when you're using social media to communicate with children.

Online risks

Children may be exposed to upsetting or inappropriate content online, particularly if the platform you're using doesn't have robust privacy and security settings or if you're not checking posts. This content might be sexually explicit or it might be harmful in other ways, such as radicalisation, bullying, or content that's upsetting.

Children may be at risk of being groomed if they have an online profile that means they can be contacted privately.

Children's posts or profile information may expose personal information and put them at risk. For example, they may talk about their home life, feelings, or thoughts they've been having. There may be information that makes them identifiable such as locations of events they are taking part in or visual clues in photographs. Perpetrators may use this information to groom, abuse or exploit children.

Perpetrators of abuse may create fake profiles to try to contact children and young people through the platform you're using, for example an adult posing as a child. They may also create anonymous accounts and engage in cyberbullying or trolling. People known to a child can also perpetrate abuse.

On many platforms, children can be contacted anywhere and at any time through private messaging or notification alerts. This means it's harder for them to escape from abusive messages or upsetting content that they are tagged in.
> Read about protecting children from grooming > Find out more about cyberbullying > Find out more about protecting children from online abuse
Putting measures in place

It's important for organisations and groups to put safeguarding measures in place if they are communicating with children online.

This page provides information on:

safeguarding policies and procedures

appropriate language and behaviour

privacy and consent

setting up and managing online forums and communities safely

livestreaming safely

recording live online sessions.

Social media in schools

If you work or volunteer in a school, we've provided specific information about how you should safely use social media.
> Find out more about e-safety for schools

Reporting concerns

Concerns about online abuse or inappropriate behaviour should be reported to the person responsible for safeguarding issues within your organisation.

You can also call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000, report your concern online or email us at help@nspcc.org.uk.
> Find out more about recognising and responding to abuse

Creating a safe environment

Creating a safe environment

Policies and procedures

If you work with children and young people you should have online safety policies and procedures.
> Use our online safety policy statement and agreement templates to make sure you're including everything you need to
Using social media appropriately

Think about whether your organisation needs to use social media to engage with or contact children and young people. If you do, you should consider how to make sure this is done safely and appropriately.
Online behaviour and codes of conduct
Set out the behavioural standards you expect from adults working or volunteering online with children, and from the children and young people themselves.

Your code of conduct for adults should remind them to always:

use accounts that have been authorised by your organisation to communicate with children and young people (never use personal accounts)

turn on privacy settings on accounts that are used to interact with children and young people

use an organisational device to communicate with young people (if this isn't possible, senior managers should authorise individual staff and volunteers to use a personal device on a case-by-case basis and keep a record of this authorisation and who can see the communication)

ensure all communications are relevant to the work of the project and organisation

use age-appropriate language.

> Use our behaviour code templates for adults and for children to set clear rules about online behaviour
Staff and volunteers should also be aware of their digital footprint. Children, young people and families may look up the personal social media accounts of people who are working with them so these should be free of inappropriate or harmful content and not provide any personal information such as personal email addresses or phone numbers.

It's best practice for staff and volunteers not to accept friend requests on their personal accounts from children and families they work with.
> Find out more about how staff and volunteers can manage their online presence by listening to our podcast on enhancing online safety for children
Safer recruitment

Anyone working with children, online and offline, must follow safe recruitment practices, which help make sure your staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children.
> Find out more about safer recruitment
Privacy and consent

If you're planning to use the internet to provide or host activities that involves direct interaction with children online, you will need written consent for children to be involved. You should get this from parents, carers and the children themselves as appropriate.

Explain exactly what the activity is, why it needs to happen online and what the benefits and risks are.
> Tailor our example consent form to meet your needs
You should consider when and whether it is appropriate to allow children to share pictures or videos of themselves. If it is appropriate for the activity, then you should get permission from children and their parents.
> Find out more about photography and sharing images
Responding to concerns

Your policies and procedures should set out what to do if there are any concerns about a child's safety online, or if a child says anything online that raises concerns about their wellbeing.
> Find out more about recognising and responding to abuse
We've provided more specific information about responding to concerns about:

Online communities

Online communities

Online communities can give your organisation wider reach and enable you to connect with more children and young people.

Communities can be hosted on online forums, websites or social media. Different platforms and apps enable different benefits, such as instant messaging, personal profiles and facilities for hosting and sharing online events. But there are also risks.

You may set up a social media page for your group without the intention of establishing a community. However, once people start interacting with your page, it becomes an online community and you have a responsibility to take steps to keep everyone who uses it safe.

Make sure the children, young people, staff and volunteers in your online community know who to talk to if they see or hear anything upsetting or inappropriate.

As well as following your safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures, there are specific safeguarding measures that you need to consider if you run an online community.

Things to consider when setting up an online community
Who can join the community?
Set an age range and consider how you will check that community members are the right age.
Where will the community be hosted?
Consider which platform will best keep children safe from abuse and keep their interactions private. Make sure the platform you're using is appropriate for the age group you're targeting and that your organisation has the capacity to maintain it properly.
> Visit Net Aware, created in partnership with O2, for information and advice on the latest apps, games and social media sites children are using What information can be shared?
Setting up your community as an online site or forum may allow you to have more control over the level of personal information that is visible to others.

Encourage parents, carers and children to turn on privacy and security settings on all online accounts.
How will the community be moderated?
To make sure children are not exposed to harmful or inappropriate content you will need to moderate your community. This means checking and reviewing what people are posting to assess whether children may be at risk.

Make sure the staff or volunteers who run and moderate your community are safe to do so. Anyone who works with children, online or offline, should be subject to safer recruitment practices.
> Find out about safer recruitment policies, procedures and questions
To moderate effectively, you should:

publish clear guidance on what is and is not allowed to be posted

establish when posts will be moderated, for instance whether they are reviewed before or after they go live

decide when children will be able to post and submit content

familiarise yourself with the language children use so that you understand whether the language may be inappropriate or harmful.

> For more information, listen to our podcast for information on enhancing online safety for children
Our online training course on managing online communities will help you make sure your online environment is safe for all children and young people. It can help you to:

manage your online presence

moderate and respond to concerns

effectively deploy staff and resources.

> Learn more about the course content and who it is for

Livestreaming

Livestreaming

Livestreaming can be used to broadcast events or activities to children and young people in real time, from anywhere and at any time. Children may be able to participate in the stream or choose to watch. Some livestreams can also be saved and kept on social media platforms to view later.

To create a safe environment for children in any livestream, you must take safety considerations into account., as well as following your safeguarding policies and procedures.

Joining a livestream

If children are joining a livestream that you aren't hosting, they will still be able to participate through posting audio, written comments or liking and sharing the stream.

Familiarise yourself with the type of content to be used in the stream and check it's appropriate and relevant.

Find out how the stream will be used by the host in future. Will it be kept for archive purposes and will it be broadcast as a recorded event?

Before any livestream, remind children of the following, whether they are watching or participating.

Live streaming is live, in real time. Any comments children make will be seen by others, and they may not be able to delete or edit what's been said. It can become part of their digital footprint.

Children shouldn't share any personal information during a livestream. Remind them what personal information is and not to respond to contact requests from people they don't know.

Some livestreams request donations from the audience. Explain to children and young people that they don't have to contribute.

Make sure they know who to tell if they see or hear anything upsetting or inappropriate.

Familiarise yourself with the privacy settings of the platform you're using and how to report any offensive or abusive content.
> Visit Net Aware, created in partnership with O2, for more information about privacy and security settings on different apps, games and social media
If children are participating in the livestream, make sure the activity is observed by appropriate adults.

Hosting a livestream

Hosting a livestream means any situation where you instigate, publish and are responsible for streaming online content.

Even if a participating child can't be seen in your stream there may still be identifying information such as their name, email address or a link to their social media account. Never reveal the full identity of individual participants and keep any identifying information private. Be particularly sensitive to the needs of those who may have child protection concerns.

Consider how to make sure your livestream only includes the people you've invited. For example, you might be able to ask your audience to register to watch the stream and issue a log in and password. Or you could look into using a custom platform if you regularly livestream.

Consider which platform to use. Some free platforms such as YouTube or Facebook Live do not allow you to restrict the audience.

Be sensitive to the needs of individual children, for example those who may be sensitive to particular topics or issues that may arise during the livestream.

Make sure the platform you're using is accessible to d/Deaf and disabled children. For example, you could use screen readers or subtitling.

If you're appearing in the livestream, make sure your surroundings and environment are appropriate.

Recording a live session

Recording a live session

Most digital streaming platforms allow the host to record a live stream.

Sometimes it can be helpful to record live online sessions. For example, you might want to make sure people who weren't able to attend a live event can watch it later. Or you might want to use a recording as a reflective tool for teaching and learning.

If your video or audio recording will include people other than yourself, there are several things you need to consider and put in place before you start recording.

Deciding if you need to make a recording

Video and audio recordings of an identifiable person constitute personal data under the Data Protection Act 2018.

Under the legislation, you need to make sure any recordings you make are:

adequate for your stated purpose

relevant for your purpose

limited to what is necessary.

You need to be clear about why you want to record online sessions, particularly if you would not normally record face-to-face sessions. You must have a specified, explicit and legitimate purpose for making a recording and only use it for that purpose.

Consider whether there are any other measures you can take to fulfil your needs. For example, if you work in an organisation where senior staff regularly observe face-to-face sessions, you could set up a system where they are invited to join video calls.
> Find out more about how data protection affects children
Safeguarding and child protection

Recording an online session should never take the place of other safeguarding and child protection measures. You need to think about any potential risks associated with working online with children and ensure you've put appropriate safeguards in place.

Consider what measures need to be in place to help children feel safe and build mutual trust.

If you're worried about the welfare of a child you're working with you should follow your safeguarding and child protection procedures and share your concerns as soon as possible.

If a child is suffering or at risk of suffering significant harm, you can share information with appropriate agencies or professionals without the child's or their parent's consent
> Find out more about recognising and responding to abuse > Find out what safeguarding measures need to be in place if you're teaching children remotely > Find out more about safeguarding and child protection for tutors
Policies and procedures

If you decide you need to record sessions, you should have a written policy which explains:

what you will do with the recordings

how you will store them securely and how long for

how you will dispose of them securely

who will be able to access them and how.

You also need to get written consent from parents, carers and children to make the recording.

Staff and volunteers should also give their permission for a recording to be made and organisations that employ contract workers (such as tutoring organisations) should also get written consent.

Make sure all parties understand why the recording is necessary and what you're going to do with it.

Check before each session that the children you're working with are comfortable being recorded. Will they still feel able to engage with the session?

Make it clear that any party can withdraw consent at any time. If someone withdraws consent after a recording has been made make sure you dispose of the recording securely in line with your policy and procedures.

If you're an organisation, your policy should explain who is responsible for making, storing and disposing of recordings. This should be done centrally by your organisation rather than by individual employees or volunteers.

Parents, carers and children recording sessions

Some children, parents or carers might want to record sessions themselves. They might do this through the video call platform, or using a separate camera. They will be able to refer back to their recording whenever they want, but you won't have any control over what happens to it. You might want to discuss this with them and make a written agreement about what they will use the recording for and how long they will keep it for.

Legislation and guidance

Legislation and guidance

Across the UK, criminal and civil legislation aims to prevent a range of abusive activities online.

Find out more about the legislation and guidance on:

Keep up to date with new legislation and guidance by signing up to CASPAR, our current awareness service for policy, practice and research.

Using social media safely with children and young people

There are lots of benefits for children and young people when using social media. This includes staying connected with friends and family, enabling innovative ways of learning and creating new ways for them to express themselves.

It can also have many benefits to organisations, for example:

staying in contact with children outside of face-to-face meetings, activities and events

providing specialist support to children, such as counselling and therapy

promoting events

livestreaming activities and running online sessions.

creating online groups, forums and communities.

But there are risks when you're using social media to communicate with children.

Online risks

Children may be exposed to upsetting or inappropriate content online, particularly if the platform you're using doesn't have robust privacy and security settings or if you're not checking posts. This content might be sexually explicit or it might be harmful in other ways, such as radicalisation, bullying, or content that's upsetting.

Children may be at risk of being groomed if they have an online profile that means they can be contacted privately.

Children's posts or profile information may expose personal information and put them at risk. For example, they may talk about their home life, feelings, or thoughts they've been having. There may be information that makes them identifiable such as locations of events they are taking part in or visual clues in photographs. Perpetrators may use this information to groom, abuse or exploit children.

Perpetrators of abuse may create fake profiles to try to contact children and young people through the platform you're using, for example an adult posing as a child. They may also create anonymous accounts and engage in cyberbullying or trolling. People known to a child can also perpetrate abuse.

On many platforms, children can be contacted anywhere and at any time through private messaging or notification alerts. This means it's harder for them to escape from abusive messages or upsetting content that they are tagged in.
> Read about protecting children from grooming > Find out more about cyberbullying > Find out more about protecting children from online abuse
Putting measures in place

It's important for organisations and groups to put safeguarding measures in place if they are communicating with children online.

This page provides information on:

safeguarding policies and procedures

appropriate language and behaviour

privacy and consent

setting up and managing online forums and communities safely

livestreaming safely

recording live online sessions.

Social media in schools

If you work or volunteer in a school, we've provided specific information about how you should safely use social media.
> Find out more about e-safety for schools

Reporting concerns

Concerns about online abuse or inappropriate behaviour should be reported to the person responsible for safeguarding issues within your organisation.

You can also call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000, report your concern online or email us at help@nspcc.org.uk.
> Find out more about recognising and responding to abuse

Creating a safe environment

Creating a safe environment

Policies and procedures

If you work with children and young people you should have online safety policies and procedures.
> Use our online safety policy statement and agreement templates to make sure you're including everything you need to
Using social media appropriately

Think about whether your organisation needs to use social media to engage with or contact children and young people. If you do, you should consider how to make sure this is done safely and appropriately.
Online behaviour and codes of conduct
Set out the behavioural standards you expect from adults working or volunteering online with children, and from the children and young people themselves.

Your code of conduct for adults should remind them to always:

use accounts that have been authorised by your organisation to communicate with children and young people (never use personal accounts)

turn on privacy settings on accounts that are used to interact with children and young people

use an organisational device to communicate with young people (if this isn't possible, senior managers should authorise individual staff and volunteers to use a personal device on a case-by-case basis and keep a record of this authorisation and who can see the communication)

ensure all communications are relevant to the work of the project and organisation

use age-appropriate language.

> Use our behaviour code templates for adults and for children to set clear rules about online behaviour
Staff and volunteers should also be aware of their digital footprint. Children, young people and families may look up the personal social media accounts of people who are working with them so these should be free of inappropriate or harmful content and not provide any personal information such as personal email addresses or phone numbers.

It's best practice for staff and volunteers not to accept friend requests on their personal accounts from children and families they work with.
> Find out more about how staff and volunteers can manage their online presence by listening to our podcast on enhancing online safety for children
Safer recruitment

Anyone working with children, online and offline, must follow safe recruitment practices, which help make sure your staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children.
> Find out more about safer recruitment
Privacy and consent

If you're planning to use the internet to provide or host activities that involves direct interaction with children online, you will need written consent for children to be involved. You should get this from parents, carers and the children themselves as appropriate.

Explain exactly what the activity is, why it needs to happen online and what the benefits and risks are.
> Tailor our example consent form to meet your needs
You should consider when and whether it is appropriate to allow children to share pictures or videos of themselves. If it is appropriate for the activity, then you should get permission from children and their parents.
> Find out more about photography and sharing images
Responding to concerns

Your policies and procedures should set out what to do if there are any concerns about a child's safety online, or if a child says anything online that raises concerns about their wellbeing.
> Find out more about recognising and responding to abuse
We've provided more specific information about responding to concerns about:

Online communities

Online communities

Online communities can give your organisation wider reach and enable you to connect with more children and young people.

Communities can be hosted on online forums, websites or social media. Different platforms and apps enable different benefits, such as instant messaging, personal profiles and facilities for hosting and sharing online events. But there are also risks.

You may set up a social media page for your group without the intention of establishing a community. However, once people start interacting with your page, it becomes an online community and you have a responsibility to take steps to keep everyone who uses it safe.

Make sure the children, young people, staff and volunteers in your online community know who to talk to if they see or hear anything upsetting or inappropriate.

As well as following your safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures, there are specific safeguarding measures that you need to consider if you run an online community.

Things to consider when setting up an online community
Who can join the community?
Set an age range and consider how you will check that community members are the right age.
Where will the community be hosted?
Consider which platform will best keep children safe from abuse and keep their interactions private. Make sure the platform you're using is appropriate for the age group you're targeting and that your organisation has the capacity to maintain it properly.
> Visit Net Aware, created in partnership with O2, for information and advice on the latest apps, games and social media sites children are using What information can be shared?
Setting up your community as an online site or forum may allow you to have more control over the level of personal information that is visible to others.

Encourage parents, carers and children to turn on privacy and security settings on all online accounts.
How will the community be moderated?
To make sure children are not exposed to harmful or inappropriate content you will need to moderate your community. This means checking and reviewing what people are posting to assess whether children may be at risk.

Make sure the staff or volunteers who run and moderate your community are safe to do so. Anyone who works with children, online or offline, should be subject to safer recruitment practices.
> Find out about safer recruitment policies, procedures and questions
To moderate effectively, you should:

publish clear guidance on what is and is not allowed to be posted

establish when posts will be moderated, for instance whether they are reviewed before or after they go live

decide when children will be able to post and submit content

familiarise yourself with the language children use so that you understand whether the language may be inappropriate or harmful.

> For more information, listen to our podcast for information on enhancing online safety for children
Our online training course on managing online communities will help you make sure your online environment is safe for all children and young people. It can help you to:

manage your online presence

moderate and respond to concerns

effectively deploy staff and resources.

> Learn more about the course content and who it is for

Livestreaming

Livestreaming

Livestreaming can be used to broadcast events or activities to children and young people in real time, from anywhere and at any time. Children may be able to participate in the stream or choose to watch. Some livestreams can also be saved and kept on social media platforms to view later.

To create a safe environment for children in any livestream, you must take safety considerations into account., as well as following your safeguarding policies and procedures.

Joining a livestream

If children are joining a livestream that you aren't hosting, they will still be able to participate through posting audio, written comments or liking and sharing the stream.

Familiarise yourself with the type of content to be used in the stream and check it's appropriate and relevant.

Find out how the stream will be used by the host in future. Will it be kept for archive purposes and will it be broadcast as a recorded event?

Before any livestream, remind children of the following, whether they are watching or participating.

Live streaming is live, in real time. Any comments children make will be seen by others, and they may not be able to delete or edit what's been said. It can become part of their digital footprint.

Children shouldn't share any personal information during a livestream. Remind them what personal information is and not to respond to contact requests from people they don't know.

Some livestreams request donations from the audience. Explain to children and young people that they don't have to contribute.

Make sure they know who to tell if they see or hear anything upsetting or inappropriate.

Familiarise yourself with the privacy settings of the platform you're using and how to report any offensive or abusive content.
> Visit Net Aware, created in partnership with O2, for more information about privacy and security settings on different apps, games and social media
If children are participating in the livestream, make sure the activity is observed by appropriate adults.

Hosting a livestream

Hosting a livestream means any situation where you instigate, publish and are responsible for streaming online content.

Even if a participating child can't be seen in your stream there may still be identifying information such as their name, email address or a link to their social media account. Never reveal the full identity of individual participants and keep any identifying information private. Be particularly sensitive to the needs of those who may have child protection concerns.

Consider how to make sure your livestream only includes the people you've invited. For example, you might be able to ask your audience to register to watch the stream and issue a log in and password. Or you could look into using a custom platform if you regularly livestream.

Consider which platform to use. Some free platforms such as YouTube or Facebook Live do not allow you to restrict the audience.

Be sensitive to the needs of individual children, for example those who may be sensitive to particular topics or issues that may arise during the livestream.

Make sure the platform you're using is accessible to d/Deaf and disabled children. For example, you could use screen readers or subtitling.

If you're appearing in the livestream, make sure your surroundings and environment are appropriate.

Recording a live session

Recording a live session

Most digital streaming platforms allow the host to record a live stream.

Sometimes it can be helpful to record live online sessions. For example, you might want to make sure people who weren't able to attend a live event can watch it later. Or you might want to use a recording as a reflective tool for teaching and learning.

If your video or audio recording will include people other than yourself, there are several things you need to consider and put in place before you start recording.

Deciding if you need to make a recording

Video and audio recordings of an identifiable person constitute personal data under the Data Protection Act 2018.

Under the legislation, you need to make sure any recordings you make are:

adequate for your stated purpose

relevant for your purpose

limited to what is necessary.

You need to be clear about why you want to record online sessions, particularly if you would not normally record face-to-face sessions. You must have a specified, explicit and legitimate purpose for making a recording and only use it for that purpose.

Consider whether there are any other measures you can take to fulfil your needs. For example, if you work in an organisation where senior staff regularly observe face-to-face sessions, you could set up a system where they are invited to join video calls.
> Find out more about how data protection affects children
Safeguarding and child protection

Recording an online session should never take the place of other safeguarding and child protection measures. You need to think about any potential risks associated with working online with children and ensure you've put appropriate safeguards in place.

Consider what measures need to be in place to help children feel safe and build mutual trust.

If you're worried about the welfare of a child you're working with you should follow your safeguarding and child protection procedures and share your concerns as soon as possible.

If a child is suffering or at risk of suffering significant harm, you can share information with appropriate agencies or professionals without the child's or their parent's consent
> Find out more about recognising and responding to abuse > Find out what safeguarding measures need to be in place if you're teaching children remotely > Find out more about safeguarding and child protection for tutors
Policies and procedures

If you decide you need to record sessions, you should have a written policy which explains:

what you will do with the recordings

how you will store them securely and how long for

how you will dispose of them securely

who will be able to access them and how.

You also need to get written consent from parents, carers and children to make the recording.

Staff and volunteers should also give their permission for a recording to be made and organisations that employ contract workers (such as tutoring organisations) should also get written consent.

Make sure all parties understand why the recording is necessary and what you're going to do with it.

Check before each session that the children you're working with are comfortable being recorded. Will they still feel able to engage with the session?

Make it clear that any party can withdraw consent at any time. If someone withdraws consent after a recording has been made make sure you dispose of the recording securely in line with your policy and procedures.

If you're an organisation, your policy should explain who is responsible for making, storing and disposing of recordings. This should be done centrally by your organisation rather than by individual employees or volunteers.

Parents, carers and children recording sessions

Some children, parents or carers might want to record sessions themselves. They might do this through the video call platform, or using a separate camera. They will be able to refer back to their recording whenever they want, but you won't have any control over what happens to it. You might want to discuss this with them and make a written agreement about what they will use the recording for and how long they will keep it for.

Legislation and guidance

Legislation and guidance

Across the UK, criminal and civil legislation aims to prevent a range of abusive activities online.

Find out more about the legislation and guidance on:

Keep up to date with new legislation and guidance by signing up to CASPAR, our current awareness service for policy, practice and research.

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