Ofsted to hold seminars for satisfactory and inadequate settings

Under the seminar programme, Ofsted will work with groups of early years settings that are judged inadequate or satisfactory to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses and what actions they can take to improve.

Settings will also be invited to learn from good and outstanding nurseries in their area.

Following the pilots, Ofsted plans to roll-out the seminars across eight regions- North-West, North-East Yorkshire and Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, South-East, South-West, and London.

Making the announcement at the Pre-School Learning Alliance conference last week, Sue Gregory, director of early childhood at Ofsted (pictured), said that the seminars make up part of the work that the inspectorate is doing to challenge nurseries and pre-schools to achieve higher standards.

In April, Ofsted’s chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw revealed plans to clamp down on satisfactory nurseries, including introducing more frequent inspections for settings that are graded as ‘requiring improvement’, and imposing a four-year time limit for them to reach a good grade.

Ms Gregory told delegates, ‘Only good or better standards of early education are good enough. Too many children aren’t sufficiently ready for school. We have to fix that.’

Also speaking at the conference was the Pre-School learning Alliance’s chief executive Neil Leitch, who said he was incredibly grateful for the support of the sector in opposing the Government’s plans to relax childcare ratios.

He went on to talk about the moment when he received a call from the Deputy Prime Minister telling him that the plans are being dropped.

‘When I eventually got over the shock, my first thought was a selfish one- that’s gone and messed up my speech and what am I going to do with 2,000 Rewind on Ratios balloons?’

He added, ‘In the 12 to 13 years I have been involved with the Alliance, I have never witnessed such universal hostility towards such an ill-considered policy.

‘From a personal perspective, talking the stand that we did is one of the proudest things I have been associated with in years and neither I, my work colleagues or our board or trustees would change a single thing.’