Speaking at the launch of proposals to reform early years inspections today, the watchdog's chief inspector Michael Wilshaw said it would wait for the government to confirm plans for childminder agencies before reforming childminder inspections.
Ofsted figures from August 2012 showed that up to 243,000 children were attending early years provision that was not judged to be “good”.
Of these, 176,200 were in non-domestic settings, suggesting 67,000 depended on childminder care.
Ofsted's annual report for 2011/12, published in November, also said that the quality gap between non-domestic settings and childminders has grown since the introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
But Wilshaw said it was “financially impossible” for Ofsted’s more rigorous inspections to include childminders from September.
“There are about 65,000 childminders,” said Wilshaw. “To do what we are doing in domestic settings would be an impossible job.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
