Registering with OFSTED
Extract from Coram Family and Childcare Trust report
Childcare providers must be registered with Ofsted before they can start looking after children. This involves an online application and then a registration visit from an Ofsted inspector. This is a check to make sure that all of Ofsted’s requirements have been understood and will be met. A full inspection and grading of the setting will take place at a later date.
Have Directors and staff completed all of the pre-registration requirements?
Before starting the Ofsted registration, your organisation will need to be registered and all your Parent Directors need to complete a DBS check and complete an EY2 form. Then you need to complete a relatively simple online form. As part of the form, you will have to identify the nominated person for the nursery. They are a ‘named person’ who will be the lead contact for Ofsted. This includes leading the registration visit. The nominated person must be one of the Parent Directors. They will work closely with the Nursery Manager but the Nursery Manager cannot be the nominated person.
There can be a wait of up to 25 weeks between completing the registration form and the Ofsted registration visit taking place, but in some cases it might be longer. The nursery will obviously start incurring costs from when the Nursery Manager is first hired meaning it can be difficult to get the timing right to both minimise costs but also to make sure that the visit can go ahead successfully.
Are you prepared for your registration visit?
Your Nursery Manager needs to be in place for the registration visit to take place, but the Ofsted inspector will want to speak primarily with the ‘nominated person’ to decide if the setting can be registered. Each registration visit is different, but as a minimum the inspector will check:
• proof of identity for the named person and address
• training and first aid qualifications for the named person (if you’ll be looking after children)
• that you have included all relevant details in your application
• work history for the named person
• that everyone who needs to fill in an EY2 form has done so
• that you have carried out risk assessments to make sure that your premises and equipment and resources, such as high chairs, cots, buggies and car seats, are safe and suitable for children
• that you and any staff or assistants looking after children have good enough English that they can develop children’s English language skills
What support can you get to prepare for your registration visit?
There are guidance documents online which set out the requirements of a registration visit. Sometimes it is possible to get support from your local authority in advance of your registration visit, such as an informal test visit. You may also be able to get support from other early years settings who may be willing to share their experiences to help you prepare.
What happens during your visit?
Once your setting has been approved at the registration visit, you are able to start providing childcare the next day, so the inspector is likely to want to see that the setting is ready to do this. This could include looking at your policies and procedures, paperwork for supporting care, such as parent registration packs and plans for children’s learning journeys as well as the equipment in place to support children’s learning and development. While the guidance says that you do not need to have the full range of equipment in place at the time of the visit, in practice, we found that it was helpful to have almost all equipment in place for this visit so that we could show how we intended to deliver childcare.
During the visit, the inspector will assess your organisation’s suitability to provide childcare, including following safeguarding and welfare requirements and the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage framework. In practice, this means both having a confident working knowledge of these areas to be able to describe typical days, weeks and terms in the nursery, but also having in place the policies and procedures to underpin these.
The Ofsted checks will include:
The inspector will also check that you have suitable procedures for hiring staff, including:
At the registration visit, it is important to be able to discuss all your policies as well as plans for how the space will be used. Once the registration visit is complete, you will be told whether or not your nursery has been approved as a childcare setting. Once you have received your Ofsted registration number your nursery is then able to start looking after children straight away within Ofsted guidelines.
Summary
The Ofsted registration visit is a significant part of the development of your nursery. There are clear expectations about what is required and consequences if you are not prepared. It is advisable to seek out support from your local authority, early years professionals and other early years settings.
Have Directors and staff completed all of the pre-registration requirements?
Before starting the Ofsted registration, your organisation will need to be registered and all your Parent Directors need to complete a DBS check and complete an EY2 form. Then you need to complete a relatively simple online form. As part of the form, you will have to identify the nominated person for the nursery. They are a ‘named person’ who will be the lead contact for Ofsted. This includes leading the registration visit. The nominated person must be one of the Parent Directors. They will work closely with the Nursery Manager but the Nursery Manager cannot be the nominated person.
There can be a wait of up to 25 weeks between completing the registration form and the Ofsted registration visit taking place, but in some cases it might be longer. The nursery will obviously start incurring costs from when the Nursery Manager is first hired meaning it can be difficult to get the timing right to both minimise costs but also to make sure that the visit can go ahead successfully.
Are you prepared for your registration visit?
Your Nursery Manager needs to be in place for the registration visit to take place, but the Ofsted inspector will want to speak primarily with the ‘nominated person’ to decide if the setting can be registered. Each registration visit is different, but as a minimum the inspector will check:
• proof of identity for the named person and address
• training and first aid qualifications for the named person (if you’ll be looking after children)
• that you have included all relevant details in your application
• work history for the named person
• that everyone who needs to fill in an EY2 form has done so
• that you have carried out risk assessments to make sure that your premises and equipment and resources, such as high chairs, cots, buggies and car seats, are safe and suitable for children
• that you and any staff or assistants looking after children have good enough English that they can develop children’s English language skills
What support can you get to prepare for your registration visit?
There are guidance documents online which set out the requirements of a registration visit. Sometimes it is possible to get support from your local authority in advance of your registration visit, such as an informal test visit. You may also be able to get support from other early years settings who may be willing to share their experiences to help you prepare.
What happens during your visit?
Once your setting has been approved at the registration visit, you are able to start providing childcare the next day, so the inspector is likely to want to see that the setting is ready to do this. This could include looking at your policies and procedures, paperwork for supporting care, such as parent registration packs and plans for children’s learning journeys as well as the equipment in place to support children’s learning and development. While the guidance says that you do not need to have the full range of equipment in place at the time of the visit, in practice, we found that it was helpful to have almost all equipment in place for this visit so that we could show how we intended to deliver childcare.
During the visit, the inspector will assess your organisation’s suitability to provide childcare, including following safeguarding and welfare requirements and the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage framework. In practice, this means both having a confident working knowledge of these areas to be able to describe typical days, weeks and terms in the nursery, but also having in place the policies and procedures to underpin these.
The Ofsted checks will include:
- That you and your staff meet the EYFS qualification requirements for training and understand the childcare ratios
- How much space you have for each child
- That you understand the number and age of children you can care for (childcare ratios)
- How you will organise your space to meet the children’s learning, development and welfare needs
- Your premises’ heating, ventilation, natural light and the general state of repair and cleanliness
- That the children have access to outdoor play (this does not necessarily have to be on the premises), and any necessary arrangements for this
- That there are enough suitable kitchen, toilet and nappy-changing facilities
- That you and your staff will deliver educational programmes to help children learn and develop
The inspector will also check that you have suitable procedures for hiring staff, including:
- Recruitment processes (find out more about recruiting staff here)
- Getting DBS checks
- Obtaining details of employment history, references and any other necessary checks, such as checks on an employee’s physical and mental health
At the registration visit, it is important to be able to discuss all your policies as well as plans for how the space will be used. Once the registration visit is complete, you will be told whether or not your nursery has been approved as a childcare setting. Once you have received your Ofsted registration number your nursery is then able to start looking after children straight away within Ofsted guidelines.
Summary
The Ofsted registration visit is a significant part of the development of your nursery. There are clear expectations about what is required and consequences if you are not prepared. It is advisable to seek out support from your local authority, early years professionals and other early years settings.
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