Inspections of Children's Centres

21 July 2009 Early Years

Since 2004, children's centres have been set up by local authorities to provide services for children under the age of five and their families. The government's target is to have a children's centre in every community by April 2010. As part of this ongoing development, Ofsted has been asked to inspect all children's centres.

The consultation proposes that these inspections will evaluate the effectiveness of children's centres in improving outcomes for everyone who is served by them. Ofsted will consider whether the services provided meet local requirements and how well the services are integrated and managed. It also proposes that little or no notice will be given before these inspections are carried out.

Each centre will be graded using the common Ofsted scale: outstanding; good; satisfactory; or inadequate. A report featuring recommended actions for improvement will be produced after each inspection.

Closing date: 18 September

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