Inspectors issue warning on early years standards

Latest Ofsted statistics show that nearly one in four were judged to be satisfactory at best by inspectors.

The data reveals that as of the end of October last year, more than a fifth were rated as “satisfactory” and a further two per cent were considered to be “inadequate”.

It means that overall, around 15,300 nurseries and childminders were judged as less than “good” at their last inspection. Two thirds were found to be “good” while 12 per cent were “outstanding”.

Figures for the year before show that up to August 2012, 25 per cent of those providing early years care were classed as “satisfactory” and a further one per cent were “inadequate”. A breakdown of the latest statistics shows that overall, more childminders were given lower ratings than nurseries.

In total, a quarter of childminders – around 10,800 – were found to be no better than satisfactory, and of these, one per cent were “inadequate”.