Ofsted inspections will be confirmed in September
Ofsted has announced today (Wednesday 11 June) that it will delay publication of the inspection consultation response – expected during the summer term – until September.
According to HMCI Sir Martyn Oliver, this delay is to “allow more time to analyse responses and carry out further testing of proposals to refine and improve the final approach”.
However, it will still be implemented in November as planned, despite the later publication. NDNA is concerned that this will give providers less time to prepare for inspections.
Purnima Tanuku CBE, Executive Chair of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said: “It’s important that Ofsted takes into account all the responses to the consultation and takes sufficient time to respond. These inspection decisions will have a big impact on early years providers and need to be thought through carefully.
“These big changes will be hitting the sector hard at a time when nurseries face many challenges in trying to meet the Government’s expansion plans, with a new Early Years Foundation Stage also about to be published. How do they expect providers to be able to get ready with just two months between announcement and implementation?
“Early years providers need to be fully supported with these changes because they will need to spend additional administrative time and money as a result.”
Ofsted’s inspection consultation received more than 6,500 responses including a submission from NDNA which included feedback from members.
In his letter to the Education Secretary, Sir Martyn Oliver said: “I said from the start that this is a meaningful consultation and that our proposals were not set in stone. We fully intend to make improvements to the proposed inspection framework, based on what we have heard, but we need a little more time to complete our analysis of the responses we have received. I am also convinced that our final approach will be improved by further testing of these refinements before the summer.
“I firmly believe this will result in a better and more effective inspection regime that will help the committed professionals in the education sector to raise standards for children and learners.”
Ofsted has confirmed that routine inspections in schools, early years and further education will resume under the revised framework in November.
- England
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