'Leading to Excellence: A review of childcare and early education provision 2005-08' is the third review of inspections of registered childcare and early education. This year, the report focuses on how well settings - such as nurseries and child-minders - are organised, led and managed to promote positive outcomes for children and ensure they progress well.
From the North West's outstanding nurseries, Janet Lomax-Baker, manager of the Croft House Nursery on Bridge Street in Horwich says: "We re absolutely delighted to have received the outstanding gradings and it is wonderful to have recognition of all the hard work, dedication and commitment of our staff. It is also pleasing that it follows the award of early years professional status to one of our staff members"
Adele Jack, Managing Director of Springfield Montessori Nursery in Aughton, Ormskirk, says: "We are of course absolutely delighted with the outstanding in all areas result of our last Ofsted inspection. It's a tribute to the hard work and dedication of all members of staff and the strong management team who have worked so hard over the past 23 years since Springfield Nursery was first established.
"The Ofsted report confirms the trust our parents have in the first class attention which is offered to every child in our care. Trust is the most important element that parents must feel when they leave their child in a day care setting. Our parents know that we can provide the very best care and education which has been recognised by Ofsted."
Sue Swain, owner manager of the Building Blocks Nursery in Anderton, Northwich, says: "We were delighted to receive our outstanding achievement award in both care and nursery education. Through a strong partnership with parents and highly qualified and committed staff, we have managed to achieve a caring and stimulating environment in which every child is valued."
Stuart and Linda Butterworth, proprietors of The Butterworth Family Childcare and Education Team in Bury say: "Tower View Nursery and Peelers Out of School Club was awarded Outstanding in January 2006 and our other setting, Little Holcombe Nursery, matched this in November 2007.
"We were overjoyed with the reports because it confirmed how far we had come since taking over Little Holcombe in 2001 and because it showed that we could transfer good practice from one context to another. To have one setting deemed to be Outstanding was an achievement in itself but for a different inspector on a separate occasion to make the same judgement of our other nursery confirmed to us, the parents and the community that the first result wasn't 'a flash in the pan' and that there must be something very, very special happening between carers and children in our settings. We owe this success to, in the words of the inspector, our 'exemplary staff'."
The report reveals significant improvements in early years services over the last three years. While less than 80% of registered settings met national standards in 2005, now almost all do (97%) and two thirds (60%) are good or outstanding.
Notably, 91% of parents responding to an Ofsted survey, and using childcare which had recently been inspected, said inspection helped settings to improve.
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert said:
"Good organisation, leadership and management are at the heart of effective provision. We hope this report will serve as a useful tool to help those who are making good progress to carry on their excellent work, to motivate those that are satisfactory to do better and to ensure all children benefit from improved outcomes.
"It's particularly encouraging to note that where we found inadequate provision in previous inspections, these settings have improved significantly. However, there is still more to do to ensure that outcomes for all children are of a consistently high standard and that every child has access to the same quality care, particularly in areas where provision is generally poorer".
Whilst the early years sector is doing well overall in promoting positive outcomes for children, concerns remain about variations in the quality of childcare across the sector. For example, the quality of provision in full day-care settings is better than out-of-school schemes. Also, among childminders inspected, the level of good childcare has fallen and the level of inadequate childminding has also risen over the last three years.
There are also variations across the country. Services are generally of a lower quality in areas where families are experiencing high levels of deprivation. For example, in the 30 most deprived local authority areas, 53% of childminders provide good or better childcare, compared with 60% in the rest of the country.
In the latest cycle (2005-08), 3% of childminders, 4% of day-care settings, and 6% of out-of-school settings are inadequate. However, the vast majority (95%) of inadequate childcare provision has improved following inspection and is now judged to be satisfactory or better, although 5% has not yet done so. Ofsted considers inadequate provision unacceptable and is monitoring this closely.
Ofsted inspections continue to be an important catalyst for improvement. Over the last three years, Ofsted gave 94% of providers inspected at least one recommendation on ways to do better.
The report will also help parents know what quality they should look for in the care of their children. For example, when choosing childcare, parents will want to find out how the new provider will identify and respond to the needs of their child; make sure their child is kept safe throughout the time they are in the setting; record what their child does and the progress the child makes, and tell the parent about this.
Christine Gilbert adds:
"We want England's early years and childcare provision to be the best in the world for the 1.7 million children who use those services. Ofsted wants all providers to use this report for their own self-evaluation to see how they can improve their leadership, management and organisation. "
