A consultation on the proposed inspection framework for childminder agencies, launched today, reveals that individual childminders will have the choice of registering with Ofsted from September.
The regulatory body will continue to inspect childminders who are already registered or those who choose to sign up, but responsibility for monitoring the work of childminders will lie with the agencies themselves.
Ofsted will only be legally bound to judge the quality of an agency as a whole, rating each one on the same four-point scale it uses when inspecting other types of childcare providers.
It also wants to judge the overall effectiveness of agencies by assessing the quality of the services they provide to both childminders and parents, and proposes that a self-evaluation forms part of the inspection evidence.
Explaining Ofsted's approach, Lorna Fitzjohn, director of childminding at the inspectorate, said: “As the inspectorate and regulator, we will have a big role in helping childminder agencies in improving the quality of early years provision.
“Our inspectors will work with agencies to help drive improvements and give young children at least a good start in life.”
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