Ofsted launches new childcare registration system 'to boost workforce’

A new website replaces the system previously criticised by applicants for its difficult registration process and lack of centralised guidance.

The inspectorate said while the process of registering had not changed, new technology had improved the way in which applicants could register and pay their fees.

Examples of this included a mobile-friendly version of the website with registration guidance appearing on the same webpage rather than a different site, it said.

Applicants would also be asked to pay their fee during the registration process rather than waiting for an invoice to be issued, it added.

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Ofsted said the registration process had been designed to be more “straightforward”, allowing those registering to see when they had completed different stages of their application.

It said feedback from those using the website, rolled out as a pilot before going live, was positive, with between 85 and 95 per cent of users satisfied with the new system.

Online childcare platform Yoopies said the revamped registration system is "key to encouraging childminders to join the early years and childcare register".

"It is equally important to ensure that the UK prevents high-quality childcare providers from falling off the register," Francesca Chong, general manager at Yoopies, added.

She said: "The registration process has been characterised by an absence of clarity with regard to which register to apply for, as well as a serious lack of centralised guidance concerning the documents and training required.

"It is unsurprising that the last 10 years have been marked by fewer childminders joining the profession, with many being put-off by the difficulty of the application process itself. The new accessible system is a positive step forward which invites and guides applicants, rather than scaring them off."

The move comes just days after a new study revealed stress and low pay were among factors forcing “passionate” childcare workers out of the profession.

The latest workforce research, published by the National Centre for Social Research, revealed many workers said they struggled to support a family on current salaries, preventing many from seeing early years work as a long-term career option.

Meanwhile, the most recent government survey of childcare and early years providers showed there were 39,400 childminders in 2019, a drop from 40,900 registered in 2018.

Concerns have also been raised by the sector that underfunding for places under the government’s 30 hours funded childcare scheme is affecting childminders.

A survey in 2018 by the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years found 41 per cent saw their profits drop as a result of offering places through the scheme.

This week the Early Years Alliance called on the government to “seriously consider” the future of its tax-free childcare policy as new figures show less than one in six eligible families using a tax-free childcare account nearly three years after the scheme launched.

The alliance said statistics released by HMRC reveal only 204,950 families were using these accounts up to December 2019, compared with an estimated 1.3 million families believed by the department to be eligible for the scheme.

“At a time when the so-called ‘free’ childcare offers are crying out for increased funding, it beggars belief that the government is continuing to plough money into a scheme that is reporting continually low levels of take-up, and that offers minimal benefit to the families that need the most support," said Neil Leitch, the alliance’s chief executive.

“As such, we urge the government to undertake an urgent review of this policy, and seriously consider whether this is money that would be better spent elsewhere,” he added.