Preparing for Ofsted’s Early Years Inspections Practical steps to feel confident, ready, and inspection-prepared Celebrate – Validate – Highlight Practical Insights: Preparing for Ofsted’s Early Years Inspections 1
Ofsted have confirmed the changes to the education inspection and unveiled new look report cards in their Early Years Toolkit, alongside an operating guide and inspection information publications. KEY CHANGES for Early Years: Report Cards will replace the single overall grade with a new 5 point grading scale across more evaluation areas Live from 10 November 2025 A new planning call to follow on from the notification call Nurseries & childminders will be inspected more frequently Emphasis on inclusion (including SEND & vulnerable children) in inspections Safeguarding has a distinct decision is met or not met, with explicit indicators Inspectors’ approach emphasises professionalism, courtesy, empathy and respect throughout Increased focus on well being and workload of professionals Ofsted are very much looking to improve the way they inspect education. Their responses to the consultation were published in September 2025 and the following actions concerning early years were: 1. Early years routine inspections will shift from every 6 years to every 4 years (from April 2026) 2. Newly registered early years providers will have their first full inspection within 12-18 months of registration (reducing the previous wait time of up to 30 months) 3. an early years provider receives “needs attention” or “urgent improvement” in any evaluation area, If reinspection will happen: within 12 months if “needs attention”, and within 6 months if “urgent improvement” 2 Practical Insights: Preparing for Ofsted’s Early Years Inspections 3
The inspector will want to build a clear picture of your setting before arriving. This is normally via a video call. They will ask about: • The contextual information about your nursery (size, staff, ages, SEND profile, safeguarding issues) • Your current priorities, challenges and improvement actions • Information about children they may case-sample (SEND, disadvantaged, EYPP, known to social care) and your approach to inclusion • Your self-evaluation of where you are on the 5-point scale in each evaluation area How Inspections Will Now Run (so you can prep smart) Notification Call • What your curriculum ambitions are for the children • Your daily timetable in order to plan the inspectors activities and discussions for the day This is your chance to highlight what you’re working on and agree any reasonable adjustments (e.g. if a key staff member is absent) On the Day of Inspection Use regular nursery documents only Inspectors usually arrive early and aim to finish by 5pm, adapting to your routines. You’ll receive a notification call from Ofsted about the inspection by 10am. The day will include: The inspector will confirm: • Observations of teaching, care, interactions, and routines across age groups • The type of provision (nursery, pre-school, childminder, out-of-school) • Discussions with the manager/nominee and staff (reflective, not confrontational) • The scale/length of the inspection (normally one day; very large nurseries may have two inspectors) • Safeguarding checks – staff knowledge, records, culture • The manager/nominee who will lead the inspection on your side Inspectors will check in on leaders and staff wellbeing and show flexibility to minimise stress and disruption. T hey will also agree a time for a planning call later the same day (for nurseries/out-of-school) or can be within 5 working days (for childminders) The Nominee You may select a member of staff to be a nominee. They may support planning, communication and engagement throughout the Inspection. Their involvement should start from the planning call. Training is available to be a nominee, although not a requirement. The role of the nominee is not generally used and often only needed for very large settings. • Sampling of evidence from day-to-day documents Feedback & After the Visit During the day there will be ongoing reflective discussions and a grading discussion. At the end of the day, there’s a final feedback meeting with leaders and any appropriate others. • Inspectors will share indicative judgements (provisional until moderation is complete) • You’ll then receive a full report card with grades for each evaluation area and narrative text, normally within 30 working days • safeguarding is judged “Not Met” or urgent weaknesses are found, Ofsted will explain next If steps immediately (e.g. reinspection or enforcement) 4 Practical Insights: Preparing for Ofsted’s Early Years Inspections 5
Inspections now use a 5-point scale on the report card across evaluation areas (more nuanced than one overall grade). Inspectors will consider both standards (the quality of provision) and expectations (the resulting impact). What Inspectors Will Look At “Inspectors will look for clear evidence that every child—especially those with SEND or known to social care—has their needs identified early and is supported through wellplanned, multi-agency action.” Expect focused evidence against the toolkit’s areas Safeguarding Open culture; vigilant staff; effective referrals; safer recruitment; clear allegation processes. (Graded ‘met/not met’ with precise indicators.) Inclusion Identification & support for SEND/disadvantaged/known to social care, reasonable adjustments, effective multi-agency work Curriculum & Teaching Ambitious, sequenced curriculum; strong communication & language; daily practice seen in action Achievement What children know, can do, and the impact of support on progress/gaps Behaviour, Attitudes & Routines Calm, consistent routines; positive behaviour; independence Children’s Welfare & Well-being Emotionally safe; healthy; thriving day-to-day Leadership & Governance Integrity; continuous improvement; staff wellbeing; parent partnership Examples of outcomes in the early years Expected standard = you meet toolkit expectations. Strong Standard = you exceed toolkit expectations Exceptional = Your work is of the highest standard. Needs attention = shortfalls without significant risk; actions set. Urgent improvement = significant impact on safety/well-being/learning OR suitability concerns; enforcement may follow. Safeguarding is met when all safeguarding standards are met (minor issues can be rectified during/soon after), ‘not met’ triggers reinspection/enforcement as needed. Exceptional means... Practice is exemplary and significantly exceeds the expected standard. Children flourish across all areas of learning and development and staff model the very best practice. Urgent Improvement means... There are serious weaknesses that put children’s safety, welfare or development at risk. Leaders are either unable or unwilling to secure rapid improvement and enforcement action is likely. Concrete Examples Be ready to explain how your setting would move from ‘Expected’ to ‘Strong’ or ‘Exceptional’— inspectors will ask for concrete examples of sustained impact, not just plans. For example, you might demonstrate strong standards in curriculum planning (well-structured, reflective, consistent), which in turn leads to exceptional expectations being met (children highly-motivated, articulate, confident and making excellent progress). “Outstanding/Good” logos must be removed after your first graded inspection under the new approach. 6 Practical Insights: Preparing for Ofsted’s Early Years Inspections 7
have ready (and what not to create) Having clear, up-to-date documents that are easy to access reflects best practice. Whatever your setting’s context, organised and accessible evidence demonstrates strong leadership and effective preparation for Ofsted. Have accessible (digital or print) Practical Prep Checklists (Leader & Rooms) Demonstrate clear evidence of progress and achievement - show how recent actions have strengthened your provision and outcomes for children over time. Are you ready to shine through: Summarise strengths & priorities clearly Paediatric first-aid records and staff certificates Showing a live improvement plan (Everyday Success Diary) DBS/safer recruitment summary & vetting/employment checks Explaining your ambitious, sequenced curriculum & ensuring teaching is effective EYFS-required policies; records of LADO referrals & outcomes; list of children open to social care/multi-agency plans Live improvement plans and self-evaluation Notes from the planning call to show your priorities and context Arrange time for Explaining how you identify & support SEND/disadvantaged/social-care-known children; how you make reasonable adjustments and agency links and referrals Showcasing safeguarding: your culture, training, safer recruitment, allegations process, referrals, “it could happen here” mindset Meeting with the designated safeguarding lead Discussions on wellbeing: how you manage staff workload; how you’ll request reasonable adjustments if needed during inspection Meeting with the SENCo Children are consistently achieving and prepared for their next steps Meeting with the leadership team Meetings with parents Room teams / Practitioners are they: Do NOT create new folders “for Ofsted”: inspectors only want normal, live documents, proportionate to your setting. Confident on routines, behaviour expectations, and communication & language strategies seen every day Everyday Success Diary Ready to show typical progress with light-touch resources (photos/notes you already use e.g. Everyday Success Diary) The Everyday Success Diary is your ultimate tool for excellence in early years leadership. It helps you elevate daily practice through structured reflection, evidence of impact, and continuous improvement. Designed to align with Ofsted’s focus on purposeful self-evaluation, it turns everyday actions into meaningful evidence of excellence and ongoing development. Scan the QR code and get your Everyday Success Diary 8 Able to articulate that they know who to tell and how for ANY safeguarding concern Clear on how the curriculum supports each child’s progress Be ready to explain... Situations where reflection has led to measurable improvement - evidence how these changes have become embedded in daily practice. Practical Insights: Preparing for Ofsted’s Early Years Inspections 9
Early Years Support Use our services to rehearse the planning call, have an Ofsted Experience Day and measure your on-the-day confidence. Book an MBK inspection-readiness run-through (we’ll simulate notification → planning call → on-site focus) Grab our Everyday Success Diary for daily walkabouts aligned to your self-evaluation and the key-information sheet for the initial phone call. Join Management Mastery Programme for leadership conversations, safeguarding culture and confidence and team dynamics Review our Products to provide staff with key essential knowledge tools Discovery Call Protect your current grading over all 7 evaluation areas. Book your FREE Discovery Call today and get tailored advice on how your team can stay inspection-ready. Spot risks before Ofsted does Get practical solutions, not tick-box fixes Build a confident, capable team Scan the QR code to book your Discovery Call Your Rating Your Reputation Your Responsibility And with MBK Your Readiness A fresh pair of eyes! We are a confident nursery group, but it’s always good to have someone come in with a fresh pair of eyes and to give ideas and feedback where needed. Corrinne Hendrickson, Manager, Busy Little Bees 10 Practical Insights: Preparing for Ofsted’s Early Years Inspections 11
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