July 2021 Parenta magazine

EYFS and resumed Ofsted
inspections
The so-called ‘freedom day’ of June 21st may have recently been postponed until July 19th, but one
thing that nurseries and pre-schools should be aware of is that there are no more postponements
of graded Ofsted inspections, which restarted again on May 4th 2021. During the various stages of
lockdown, Ofsted had visited a few settings but the grading system was suspended in favour of
‘assurance inspections’ which were designed to find out the experiences of children attending the
setting, and to provide assurance that providers were meeting the registration requirements of either
the Early Years Register or the Childcare Register, and settings were only judged on whether they met
the requirements or not.
Since May 4th however, Ofsted have
been carrying out full, graded inspections
on-site after undertaking preliminary
field work to ensure that visits can be
carried out safely and with agreed safety
measures in place. These include Ofsted
Inspectors taking a lateral flow test before
arriving and ensuring that interactions
between Inspectors, practitioners and
parents are socially distanced where
possible. In some instances, videocalls
are deemed acceptable for speaking to
parents/carers or leaders who are unable
to attend the setting.
Since Ofsted are now behind with their
usual schedule of inspections, they are
prioritising providers who:
• were judged less than good at their
last inspection (including those who
received an interim visit in the autumn
term)
• registered recently but have not been
inspected
• have an overdue first inspection
• were not inspected in the last
inspection cycle due to the pause in
routine inspections
Urgent inspections will be carried out if
there are significant concerns about a
provider but if your setting has cases of
COVID-19 at the time of the inspection, you
will be able to request a deferral.
During lockdown, Ofsted changed from
their usual 4-year cycle, to what they call
an “inspection window” – providers have
a 6-year window for inspections, but even
this depends on when their last inspection
was, the grading at that time, and what
Ofsted know about the setting.
Having piloted some changes to the 2019
education inspection framework (EIF), they
have published an updated handbook
which they urge all settings to read. The
changes take into account some of the
difficulties and challenges faced due to
coronavirus. However, the amendments
are only ‘minor’ and the document
remains substantially unchanged for most
things. The 2 main changes are:
1. inspectors will agree safety protocols
to ensure the inspection is completed
in a COVID-secure way; and
2. inspection remit handbooks have
been updated to reflect the COVID-19
context that settings are operating in,
and the disruption the pandemic has
caused to them
You can read the main changes here.
Settings will again receive a judgement
of either ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘requires
improvement’ or ‘inadequate’, but Ofsted
says there will be “flexibility in recognition
of current contexts”.
The initial call
In the initial phone call, Inspectors will now
be asking questions about the specific
impact of the pandemic on the setting,
and how the provision has responded. In
April 2020, the government temporarily
modified and disapplied some elements
of the EYFS especially under the “learning
and development” heading, to account
for the fact that some settings were
closed, and children may not have been
attending. Staff qualifications and ratios
were adjusted, as was the progress check
at age 2, and the validity of paediatric
first aid certifications. Given that, the initial
conversation will now cover questions on
these areas, and Ofsted have said that it
may take longer or be split into 2 different
calls as mutually agreed. At this stage,
the Inspectors will also agree any specific
safety protocols with the provider.
The handbook explicitly states that
“Inspectors will always seek to understand
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
on providers and will take this into
account when reaching final inspection
judgements.” Therefore, it is in your
interests to have already gathered as
much evidence as you can about the
way the pandemic has impacted your
business. You might want to think about
the effect on:
• staffing levels
• opening hours
• attendance rates
• how you supported learning and
development – e.g. what did you do
instead if you couldn’t use certain
toys?
• curriculum areas
• assessments
• any disapplication you made
• how you supported vulnerable
children
• how you ensured your commitment to
safeguarding
A few things to bear in mind
• Even if you were not able to stay open
at times, settings should have been
working flexibly with other agencies
and the local authority to ensure
the safety of children as part of their
responsibility to safeguarding
• The extension to the paediatric first
aid (PFA) certificate was only until
March 31st 2021, so providers must
have a valid PFA certificate now
• If you have any confirmed cases of
COVID-19 in the setting (either child
or staff), or if your setting has been
advised to close as a result, you
should report this to Ofsted as soon
as reasonably practical, and in any
case within 14 days
• Think about how you have supported
your staff and their own mental health
and wellbeing during the pandemic.
One of the new additions to the latest
EIF was a greater emphasis on staff
mental health, so remember this in
your preparations
Which EYFS document are you
using?
If you are inspected before September
2021, it is likely you will be using the
older version of the EYFS, unless you are
an early adopter of the new version.
After September 1st 2021, all settings are
expected to use the new final version that
was published on 31st March 2021.
What did Ofsted say in the
recent Parenta webinar?
If you missed the recent Parenta “Ask
Ofsted” webinar, held on May 14th, you can
access a recording here. It was full of lots of
useful advice including:
• The main thing Inspectors want to
know is - what is it like to be a child in
your setting?
• Be prepared – read the inspection
handbook
• Don’t be nervous about an inspection -
do what you normally do
• They are more interested in what’s
happened to children in your setting
during the pandemic than paperwork
– and what you are doing to help
children you are concerned about
• Don’t be afraid of talking about things
you want to be better at – it shows
reflective practice and a desire to
improve
Between now and September 1st, they
will not judge your preparations for
implementing the new EYFS
Click here to download the
poster below to make sure
you’re prepared for inspections
and the new academic year
approaching.
26 July 2021 | parenta.com
parenta.com | July 2021 27