Ofsted: Quality of childcare

Leading to Excellence from Ofsted based on evidence from 90,000 inspections of 84,000 early years and childcare settings during the three years to March 2008. The report shows how well the whole sector is doing to promote positive outcomes for children. It focuses on how early years and childcare settings are organised, led and managed so children make good progress.

Key points:
- Almost all settings (97%) provide at least satisfactory childcare, and approaching two thirds are good or outstanding. Of the small minority of settings (3%) judged inadequate most improve quickly although a few have not yet done so. We have set stringent actions for these settings and continue to monitor them closely.
- The quality of childcare varies across the sector. The proportion of good or outstanding provision ranges from 47% in out-of-school schemes to 65% in full day-care settings.
- Well-established provision is generally of a higher quality than recently registered provision. There is also variation across the country with provision in socio-economically deprived areas generally below that elsewhere. There are, though, deprived areas that buck this general trend.
- The proportion of day-care group providers inspected with good or outstanding childcare has risen from 53% in 2005–06 to 64% in 2007–08, though the proportion of childminders judged good or outstanding has fallen from 65% to 59%.
- The quality of organisation, leadership and management is key to ensuring provision supports positive outcomes for children. The best settings place children at the heart of all that happens, and how the best providers are continually working to improve their already excellent practice.
- Almost all registered early years and childcare settings (97%) are satisfactory or better in the way they are organised to promote positive outcomes for children. Over half the settings (54%) are good or outstanding.