Ofsted accused of disregarding childcare sector after refusing to bring inspections back in-house

The childcare sector has expressed its disappointment about Ofsted’s decision to bring inspections back in-house for schools and further education providers, but not for early years institutions.

The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) announced from September 2015 it will no longer contract with Inspection Service Providers (ISP) and instead allow the current contracts from CfBT, Serco and Tribal to expire when their contracts end in August 2014.

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, expressed his commitment to change the way inspections are run for schools and FE providers and said: “Inspection, as far as I’m concerned, is just too important for Ofsted to simply have oversight of third-party arrangements.”

Commenting on the decision, Ofsted’s director of corporate services, Nick Jackson said: “For the last five years our Inspection Service Providers have delivered a successful and professional inspection programme for Ofsted. With the conclusion of these contracts the time was right to look again at how Ofsted can best deliver a service that is both efficient and flexible. We are confident that this is the right model.”

However, Ofsted said existing contractual arrangements for the delivery of early years inspections will continue to be outsourced.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre School Learning Alliance criticised the decision, saying it shows Ofsted has disregarded sector feedback about inspection services.

He said: “We are extremely disappointed that Ofsted has disregarded sector feedback and chosen not to bring early years inspections back in-house. It’s clear that there has been a steady decline in the quality of inspections since the outsourcing of this service in 2010; we have heard far too many reports of providers being visited by inspectors who possess little understanding of early years provision – and in some cases being unfairly graded as a result.

“That Ofsted has chosen to maintain the current flawed system of early years inspection, while at the same time bringing schools and further education inspections in-house, is particularly galling.

“Sir Michael has said that: ‘Inspection … is just too important for Ofsted to simply have oversight of third-party arrangements.’ Why, then, does this not apply to the early years? If outsourced inspections aren’t good enough for schools and further education institutions, then they aren’t good enough for early years providers. As such, we would urge Ofsted to reconsider its decision.”

Liz Bayram, PACEY chief executive, similarly expressed her disappointment in the decision announced yesterday by Ofsted. She said :“Given on-going concerns about the poor quality of Ofsted's inspection of many childcare settings and Ofsted's commitment to becoming the sole arbiter of quality, it is a missed opportunity not to bring in-house the inspection of childcare settings at the same time as Ofsted does this for schools and FE colleges.

"This decision also contradicts Sir Michael's comments in his first Annual Early Years report where he made clear his priority was to improve the quality of care for our most disadvantaged young children. PACEY will be raising its concern about this decision at the next Ofsted Consultative Forum its attends.”

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association called for Ofsted to improve quality of inspections, regardless of how and where inspectors are sourced from.

Ms Tanuku said: “Ofsted inspections have been a real issue for the sector since the new framework came into force. NDNA has been working hard to raise these concerns through face-to-face meetings with Ofsted and ministers as well as supporting sector campaign Ofsted Big Conversation.

“A move to bring early years inspections in-house would show these concerns around the consistency and quality of outsourced inspection staff have been listened to and acted on.

“It is to be hoped this is just the beginning of an inspection overhaul and through its engagement with Ofsted NDNA would see this as a first step toward implementing paid for inspections and a national strategy group. Having a strategic group with representative organisations and providers to consult on any changes and ensure the QA process would be the right way to move things forward.”