Childcare organisations have welcomed the u-turn as evidence that theGovernment is listening. But they have warned the move will be an "emptypromise" unless standards on the register are tightened.
Beverley Hughes, the children's minister, announced the change of mindat the Daycare Trust's conference last week. She added that theGovernment was still looking at "light touch" inspections of settings onOfsted's childcare register. "They may be random or sporadic, but therewill be an inspection element," she said.
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, welcomed the move as a"triumph for common sense" that recognised over-fives were stillvulnerable.
But she said that the register needed to "have teeth" if compulsoryregistration was to be effective. "First and foremost this is good news.But we need to ensure the standards against which it's being measuredare meaningful," she said.
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