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Early years sector backs call to reform Ofsted judgments

2 mins read Early Years Ofsted
Early years providers have called for single-word Ofsted judgments to be scrapped, after a survey found that inspections are the biggest cause of regular stress for providers.
A majority of early years professionals said they would support the removal of one-word Ofsted gradings. Picture: Phil Adams
A majority of early years professionals said they would support the removal of one-word Ofsted gradings. Picture: Phil Adams

A majority of early years educators who took part in the research by the Early Years Alliance (EYA) said they would support the removal of the single-word Ofsted grading, with almost one in five saying they would strongly support it.

Eight in ten nurseries, preschools and childminders surveyed said they were stressed about Ofsted inspections "fairly or very often", and almost half of respondents said they have had a negative experience with Ofsted.

More than half added they had received "unfair" inspection judgments, with 21 per cent saying the had filed a formal complaint to Ofsted.

One respondent said that the Ofsted inspection system was a “harsh way of doing things”, adding: "If the end goal is to provide a high level of care, then surely this can be done in a way that does not cause mental strain on those providing the care and education.”

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