Our 2015/16 Annual Report, published last week, pulls together and draws conclusions on the findings of 25,000 inspections from the past year. For the second year, our findings on early years are included in this report, alongside schools and further education and skills.
In the report, Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw congratulates the early years sector for doing particularly well. This year we are able to celebrate 91 per cent of nurseries and childminders in England being rated "good" or "outstanding".
This is the sixth year in a row that the proportion of early years settings rated good or outstanding has risen and the figure is now the highest ever. We should all be incredibly proud of this.
Ofsted places great emphasis on looking at how every setting we inspect serves different groups of children.
One group we are particularly interested in are children from low-income families. We want to see these children learning and developing as well, or even better, than their peers.
Level playing field
Sir Michael points out that the high quality of early years provision around the country means the playing field is being levelled out for children of different income backgrounds.
It is wonderful to be able to say that the proportion of good and outstanding nurseries is nearly the same in the most and least deprived areas. In every local authority area in England this year, at least four out of five childcare places are in settings we rate as good or outstanding.
This is far from the case for primary and secondary schools. It was also far from the case a few years ago in the early years sector. Over the past five years, we have seen a five percentage point drop in the gap between the quality of provision in the least and most deprived areas.
We have rated 15 per cent of settings outstanding during their most recent inspection. Something our inspection findings show is that outstanding providers are constantly mindful that they are supporting disadvantaged children.
A past thematic report found that disadvantaged children need to spend more time interacting with adults than their better-off peers if they are to make the same development progress.
Outstanding providers also generally make effective use of the pupil premium, perhaps using it to fund extra support for disadvantaged children. It is great that, despite a slow start, there has recently been a big uptake of funded early years places for two-year-olds from low-income backgrounds. Between January 2015 and January 2016, the percentage of eligible two-year-olds taking up a funded place rose ten points to 68 per cent.
Concerns raised
While the overall picture painted in the report of the early years sector is one of high-quality provision and improved opportunities for disadvantaged children, we do highlight a number of areas of concern (see below).
The number of children in England is growing, but the number of early years places is not. Since 2009, the number of under-fives in England has increased by 240,000, while the number of early years places has fallen by 50,000.
All children deserve access to high-quality early years education and to the benefits it bestows upon their development.
In our report, we compel the government, local authorities and all of those in the sector to make sure there is enough funding for places for all children.
We need to particularly make sure that families who cannot afford to make up the funding needed to supplement that which they are entitled to from the government can get their children into early years education.
While we can and should celebrate those 91 per cent of good and outstanding early years providers, 6,000 disadvantaged two-year-olds are in "inadequate" nurseries. This is a real disservice to children whose development would truly be benefited by strong early years care.
Concerns raised over 30 hours free childcare capacity
The regulator's annual report raises concerns that a shortage of childcare funding and capacity could mean disadvantaged three- and four-year-olds miss out on 30 hours free childcare when the entitlement is extended next September.
The report states: "The government, local authorities and providers must plan further to ensure that enough funded places are available.
"They need to make sure the children of parents who cannot afford to supplement the funding do not miss out.
"This extended provision has the potential to further narrow the gap for disadvantaged children, providing there is capacity in the system to deliver it."
National Day Nurseries Association chief executive Purnima Tanuku, says the government must take note of the warning. "Having been the chief inspector for five years, Sir Michael Wilshaw is well placed to understand the pressures the nursery sector is under at the moment," she says. "These include chronic underfunding of the ‘free' childcare entitlement.
"The government must respond to these issues, ahead of the free entitlement increasing from 15 to 30 hours per week in September 2017. Nurseries will deliver more ‘free' hours only if they can remain sustainable.
Our members tell us that funding rates will not cover their costs."
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said: "At a time when the need for childcare places is at its highest, we continue to see providers - and particularly childminders - exit the sector.
"If this continues, it is likely that many families across the country will find it increasingly difficult to find and secure childcare places."
Gill Jones is early education deputy director at Ofsted
