The report, Firm Foundations, is based on evidence from inspections carried out under the previous inspection framework and praises providers for delivering quality care. Just one per cent of the settings inspected were judged to be unsatisfactory.
Inspectors found that good provision was most evident in full and sessional daycare, where 63 per cent and 58 per cent of settings respectively were judged good. In comparison, 45 per cent of childminders and 41 per cent of out-of-school providers were good.
All inspections identified aspects for improvement and about a third of settings were issued with actions because they did not meet one or more of the national standards. The table (right) shows clear variations in performance for each standard.
About two-thirds of settings were judged to be good in meeting the standards relating to managing behaviour, offering play that promotes children's development, ensuring a safe and stimulating environment and working in partnership with parents.
More than half were also good at introducing children to a variety of foods and encouraging physical play. None were judged as unsatisfactory in these areas.
However, settings did not perform as highly on documentation, child protection and special needs awareness standards: six per cent were judged unsatisfactory in maintaining adequate records and seven per cent in employing suitable people.
The report aims to disseminate best practice across the sector and includes case studies to help providers improve quality of care. To coincide with its launch, each local authority has been issued with an Early Years Profile comparing quality of care in its area with the rest of England.
North West England performed best and had the highest percentage of childminders, sessional daycare providers and out-of-school providers judged good in the country.
In contrast, South West England had the fewest full daycare, sessional daycare and out-of-school settings judged good. Inner London had the most full daycare settings judged unsatisfactory - 2.5 per cent compared with a national average of 0.7 per cent.
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, David Bell, admitted some local authorities 'had further to go than others to achieve better results' but said parents could be assured most childcare providers were doing a good job.
He said, 'There is some truly inspirational work going on in nurseries and in the homes of childminders. It is particularly encouraging that the increase in the quantity of childcare over the past few years has not come at the expense of quality.
'There is still work to be done and figures show that providers need to improve their special needs awareness in particular. It is important for Ofsted to share examples of best practice and we have included these in the report.
The report and profiles can be seen at www.ofsted.gov.uk.