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Early years excluded from Ofsted inquiry as MPs call for alternative to one-word judgments

MPs have called for Ofsted to end one-word judgments following school inspections in a report released today by the Education Select Committee.

The report highlights a number of recommendations for the government to improve trust and relations between schools and Ofsted, following an inquest into the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life after an Ofsted inspection at her school.

Commenting, Conservative MP and Committee chair Robin Walker said: “On the now totemic issue of

single-word judgements, Ofsted and ministers should heed the widespread calls for change.

“We urge the new HMCI and government to consider a more nuanced system that can provide value to both schools and parents, and as a first step we encourage the inspectorate, Department and schools to make more use of the multiple judgements already included in reports.”

However, the cross-party committee’s report failed to mention early years within its call for removing single-word judgments, focusing instead on schools.

While many within the early years sector have welcomed the call for an alternative to one-word inspection judgement, the Committee has been criticised for failing included early years within the scope of the inquiry.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: “While we welcome the Committee’s call for an alternative to one-word judgments, it is both disappointing and incredibly frustrating that the inquiry’s scope only focused on school inspections.

“As the Alliance’s own research has shown, not only are Ofsted inspections the greatest cause of stress in the sector, but more than three-quarters of nurseries, pre-schools and childminders support a move to replace one-word inspection judgements.

“It is absolutely crucial, therefore, that going forward, the needs and concerns of the early years sector are prioritised along those of schools in the ongoing debates around Ofsted reforms. After all, contrary to what many seem to believe, the education system doesn’t begin and end at the school gates.”

Local authorities raise concerns on future phases of early entitlement expansion

Local authorities have raised significant concerns on having enough early years places to meet demand, research from Coram Family and Childcare has shown.

Research from the charity found that while nearly two-thirds (60%) of local authorities based in England are ‘confident’ or ‘very confident’ that there will be enough places to meet the first phase of the expansion in April 2024, this significantly drops for the later stages of the expansion’s roll-out.

Overall, a little over a quarter (27%) of local authorities said they are confident that they will be able to deliver enough places to meet September’s phase of the expansion – which will offer 15 hours to children aged nine months onwards. Just 12% said the same for the final phase of the roll out in September 2025 which will offer a total of 30 hours to children aged nine months and over.

The majority of local authorities (88%) citied the sector’s recruitment and retention challenges as a significant barrier to increasing early years places.

High-quality provision of places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) was also highlighted as a key concern. In total 64% of local authorities said ‘sufficiency’ of places for children with SEND was a barrier to the roll-out. More than half (55%) highlighted funding as a further obstacle.

Concerns were also raised on the impact the expansion will have on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. When asked about the three and four-year-old entitlements around a third (35%) of local authorities said they are anticipating fewer families to be able to take up the expanded hours for free, and 34% expect fewer places will be available for children with SEND.

In terms of the existing disadvantaged two-year-old entitlement, nearly half said they are expecting there to be fewer places available overall without any charges. A third (33%) are anticipating that fewer places will be available to children with SEND.

Commenting, Ellen Broomé, Head of Coram Family and Childcare, said: “The coming months will be a crucial time in the sector as we prepare for the implementation of the government’s welcome extension of childcare support. These new entitlements have huge potential to support more parents – particularly mothers – to return to work and to boost outcomes for more children.”

Current early years policy risks widening attainment gap, charity warns

A political focus on ‘childcare’ over and above high-quality early education risks increasing the learning gaps between the most and least well-off young children, social mobility charity the Sutton Trust has warned.

In a new policy briefing published today, the charity

points out that the new funded hours for young children for working families only is being rolled out at a time when “increasing workforce and capacity pressures for providers could see them prioritising places for the children eligible for the most funded hours, and 'childcare deserts’ are opening up in less affluent areas, placing poorer children at further disadvantage to gain places.”

The charity also notes that just 20% of families in the bottom third of the earnings distribution are eligible for the existing 30 hour offer for three- and four-year-olds, while all parents in full-time education or training are ineligible. Similarly, only 20% of families earning less than £20,000 a year will have access to the planned expansion of funded places, compared to 80% of those with household incomes over £45,000.

The Trust is warning that that eligibility for the expanded offer is likely to further widen the early years attainment gap, which has been widening since before the pandemic. It also notes that while the Labour Party has criticised the government for “neglecting the importance of childcare as education that sets children up for school and for life, particularly affecting children from lower-income backgrounds”, it has not, as yet, any commitments to address this inequality in provision.

The charity calling on both the main parties to commit to tackling these issues by:

rebalancing entitlements so that all young children (aged two - four) have a core education entitlement of at least 20 hours per week, with extra provision needed for childcare paid by parents on a sliding scale of fees by income level.
developing an early years workforce strategy with minimum qualifications specified, and funding to attract graduates.
reviewing the early years pupil premium to match the level provided to schools and improve how it is administered to providers.
improving the wider support to families with young children by re-invigorating a national children’s centre programme.

Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust and Founder of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: "Politicians are failing disadvantaged children. The early years are a crucial stage that can create opportunity or lock in disadvantage. As things stand, government policy treats early years provision as childcare rather than education, and there is no indication as yet that this would change under a Labour government.

"It’s disgraceful that the very children who would benefit most from early years education are being increasingly excluded from it. We need to rebalance government funding or we will continue to see poorer children falling further behind.’

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: "The Sutton Trust is absolutely right to argue that current early years policy is embedding inequalities and widening the gap between the most disadvantaged children and their peers.

"For years, we have warned that the political focus on 'childcare' as a means to get parents back to work over and above 'early education' would lead to the development of poor policy that does not have the needs of the child at its centre – and the new funded offers, which completely exclude many families on the lowest-incomes, is a perfect example of just that.

"In no other part of the education system would we accept that a child's access to learning opportunities could be defined by their parents' income and yet, for some reason, we have decided that this is absolutely fine when it comes to the early years.

"The government constantly talks about the need to close the attainment gap, and yet their approach to the early years is likely to achieve the exact opposite. It's clear that the whole approach to childcare and early education needs a complete rethink – otherwise it is those children who need the most support who will lose out."

Minister insists families will be able to access extended offer, despite concerns

The government has insisted that families hoping to access funded places when the extended scheme for eligible two-year-olds rolls out in April will be able to do so, despite widespread concerns about the viability of the offer.

Speaking in Parliament in response to an Urgent Question on the new scheme tabled by shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson, children and families minister David Johnston said that the government was “confident” that it would “deliver the rollout as planned”.

In response to questions on whether or not there would be enough places to meet demand under the extend offer, the minister said: “We are in monthly contact with local authorities to ensure that they have sufficient places, and only a very small number are reporting any concerns at this point.”

Mr Johnston also dismissed concerns about delays in final funding rates being confirmed, saying: “Given that local authorities have to pass on 95% of the money that we give them, providers have a pretty good idea of what they will receive. However, while the vast majority of authorities will confirm their rates in the coming weeks, a small number leave it until 31 March. We are encouraging them not to do that, and to confirm their rates as early as possible in the same way as the others.”

He later responded to a call to “name and shame” the councils who are slow at publishing their rates by saying: “I reserve the right to do that, but we hope that if we ring them up first and ask them to publish – with the threat of doing that if they do not – they will do so.”

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “The government continues to reassure parents that all children who are eligible for the new funded early years offers will be able to access places – but the harsh reality is that, for many families, this simply won’t be the case.”

DfE announces workaround for parents accessing new two-year-old funding offer

A system is in place to support parents unable to reconfirm their eligibility for the new two-year-old funding offer until late February or March, the Department for Education has announced.

The DfE has now confirmed a workaround where those families needing to wait until late February or March will be sent a separate code by letter

Parents planning to apply for the new funded two-year-old offer who reconfirmed their eligibility for tax-free childcare cat the end of 2023 had raised concerns about the fact that, despite registration for the entitlement offer opening in January, they would need to wait until their eligibility ‘reconfirmation window’ opened in February or March to register eligibility and receive a code.

However, the DfE has now confirmed a workaround where those families needing to wait until late February or March will be sent a separate code by letter that they can use ahead of their reconfirmation window opening.

A DfE spokesperson said: “We are rolling out the single largest expansion in childcare in England’s history, ensuring working parents with 30 hours of free childcare a week, starting at nine months old all the way up to their child starting school. We are pleased that thousands of parents have already applied for the expansion starting in April.

“However, a pre-existing feature in the system, where parents reconfirm their eligibility every three months, is impacting a minority of parents when combined with a small number of providers who are asking for codes much earlier than April.

“Parents who can’t reconfirm online until the second half of February or March will therefore automatically receive a letter with a code from HMRC before the middle of February, without needing to take any action.”

Ofsted responds to Prevention of Future Death report

Ofsted has published its response to the Prevention of Future Death report, issued by the coroner following an inquiry into the death of primary schools headteacher Ruth Perry who died by suicide in January 2023.

In its response, Ofsted apologised for the role it played in the tragic death of Ruth Perry. It has also

committed to carrying out a comprehensive listening exercise – the Big Listen – which will include an independent learning review of Ofsted’s response into Ruth Perry’s death.

In addition, Ofsted’s new chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, said: “The Coroner’s findings focused on inspection of schools, which is reflected in our response, but work is underway across Ofsted to make sure the changes we are making are reflected appropriately across the full suite of remits that we regulate and inspect.”

As part of the Big Listen, Ofsted will also hear directly from parents, leaders and professionals about Ofsted’s current approach, the changes being made, and whether more can be done to protect children, raise standards and improve lives.

Commenting on its response to the Prevention of Future Death report, Ofsted’s chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, said: “As a fellow headteacher, I was shocked and saddened by the death of Ruth Perry. As the new Chief Inspector, I am determined to do everything in my power to prevent such tragedies in the future. We accept the Coroner’s findings and have responded to the recommendations of her report in full.

“We must carry out our role in a way that is sensitive to the pressures faced by leaders and staff, without losing our focus on children and learners. Our critical work helps make sure that children and learners have the highest quality of education, training and care. We cannot afford to shy away from difficult decisions and challenging conversations where they are needed in the interests of children. I am determined that we get this delicate balance right.

“We know we still need to do more, and we will do more. Nothing is off the table, as we hold our Big Listen. I know how important it is for the sectors we work with, and for parents and carers, to trust the judgements Ofsted makes. To achieve that aim, we must go about our vital work with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect.”

“We know we still need to do more, and we will do more”

A comprehensive listening exercise – the Big Listen – will include an independent learning review of Ofsted’s response.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “We know that for many working in education settings, inspections can be an incredibly daunting and stressful prospect. As such, Ofsted’s commitment to taking a more compassionate approach to visits is to be welcomed.

“That said, while we recognise that the plans announced today were prompted by concerns raised around school inspections, we’re absolutely clear that the early years sector must be central to these reforms, alongside our school and further education peers.

“Recent research conducted by the Alliance found that around eight in 10 early years providers are regularly stressed about inspections, with many providers describing the severe negative impact that Ofsted visits have had on their mental wellbeing.

“There is no question, therefore, that the need for professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect in inspections must apply to all sectors under Ofsted’s remit. The hardworking professionals who support children across all areas of care and education deserve nothing less.”

Early Years Inspection Handbook

Alongside its response, Ofsted has also published an updated version of the Early Years Inspection Handbook which reflects changes to Ofsted practice in light of its response to the Prevention of Future Deaths notice.

The changes include:

a new section providing guidance of when pausing an inspection may be appropriate
a new paragraph including of guidance relating to how the inspector should consider the wellbeing of leaders and staff during the inspection
clarification to explain the actions an Ofsted inspector will take if the inspection’s final feedback is likely to be challenging or raise sensitive issues
updated wording to clarify the re-inspection timeline for providers that are judged as inadequate
updated wording to reflect changes made to the complaints process and the quality assurance of inspection reports
a new paragraph added to the ‘start of the onsite inspection’ section to reflect inspector conduct and the importance of professional dialogue.

“We must go about our vital work with professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect”

Labour reportedly planning to fund new nurseries in primary schools

The Labour party is reportedly considering funding more primary school-based nursery places across England in a bid to increase capacity within the sector.

According to media reports, Labour aims to create thousands more nursery places via existing primary school settings. The party has charged former Ofsted head Sir David Bell with identifying ways of increasing the lack of provision.

Potential plans – arriving amid staffing and affordability concerns – aim to alleviate a widespread shortage of early education places, with more detailed policies slated for nearer the next general election.

Childcare and early education, and particularly the lack of provision and affordability, could become a major battleground at the next election, with Labour set to attack the Conservatives for what it says is a lack of workable solutions.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “Given that more than three-quarters of early years places in this country are delivered by private and voluntary nurseries, pre-schools and childminders, it’s disappointing that Labour continues to place such focus on primary school-based nursery provision.

“If Labour is serious about creating more early years places, its priority should be ensuring that the whole sector is adequately funded, both today and in the future, and tackling the current staffing crisis as a matter of urgency.

“The private and voluntary sector is, and will always be, an essential part of our early years system. Any political party that fails to recognise this is unlikely to be able to deliver the affordable, accessible, quality early years places that children and families need.”

Only one in 10 parents able to secure early entitlement access code, research finds

Just 11% of eligible parents signing up to secure an access code for the government’s extended funding scheme have been granted one, according to charity Pregnant Then Screwed.

The charity surveyed 6,058 parents eligible for the new 15-hour funding scheme for two-year-olds, due to begin 1 April, who describe it as “complete chaos”.

Parents have been able to apply for an access code for the scheme, which is in its first stage, since 2 January 2024, but many have reportedly been left “confused and frustrated” by the process, according to the charity.

Over two-thirds of parents surveyed have not been able to apply for their eligibility code for the new two-year-old scheme because the three-month ‘reconfirmation window’ for their government childcare account has not yet opened, with many warning that this won’t happen until just days before the scheme is due to start.

A further 17% of eligible parents have not yet been able to access their eligibility code because they either “simply don’t understand how it [the scheme] works” or are unable to navigate the system due to technical bugs.

The charity also reports that 34% of parents say their preferred provider is currently unable to confirm whether they will be able to accept the codes. Some settings, meanwhile, are opting out of the government scheme for three and four-year-olds, as well as not enrolling in the new two-year-old scheme due to lack of funding.

Joeli Brearley, CEO and Founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “We have been inundated with messages from frantic parents who don’t understand the system or expect to receive their code too late. Meanwhile, many providers haven’t been given the information they need from their local authority to decipher what their income will be from April onwards. Parents can’t access their codes; providers can’t do their financial forecasting – it’s chaos.”