Ofsted Registration Visits

During the registration visit, the inspector will check:

• proof of identity (your face must be clearly visible) and address
• your training and first aid qualifications (if you’ll be looking after children)
• that you have included all relevant details in your application
• your work history
• that everyone who needs to fill in an EY2 form has done so
• that you have carried out a risk assessment to make sure that your premises and equipment and resources, such as high chairs, cots, buggies and car seats, are safe and suitable for children
• that you and any staff or assistants looking after children have good enough English that they can develop children’s English language skills

You don’t need to have a full range of equipment at the time of the visit. However, you must be ready to provide childcare and able to show that you will have enough equipment to meet the needs of the children.

The inspector will also talk to you to assess suitability:

• to provide childcare
• to follow both the safeguarding and welfare requirements and the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage framework (EYFS)

The inspector will also check through certain documents so make sure you have these ready for the visit.  These will include:

If you are registering as a nursery there are some additional checks that they will make.  So, this is if you plan to register as a Childcare on Domestic Premises and Childcare on Non-Domestic Premises.

If you have applied to register as an organisation, the registration visit and interview will take place with the nominated individual. The inspector will check that you (as the nominated individual) fully understand the legal responsibilities of your role.

You will learn more about what a nominated individual is on the full course, so if you are unsure about what this is do make sure that you enrol on the course which can be found here.

You must be accountable for meeting all the requirements in the EYFS. This means showing the inspector how you will make sure that if you plan to hire a manager, you must show how you will ensure the manager is running the setting properly (for example, setting suitable policies about safeguarding and recruitment).

As well as the points above, the inspector will check:

• that you and your staff meet the EYFS qualification requirements for training and understand the childcare ratios
• how much space you have for each child
• that you understand the number and age of children you can care for (childcare ratios)
• how you will organise your space to meet the children’s learning, development and welfare needs
• your premises’ heating, ventilation, natural light and the general state of repair and cleanliness
• that the children have access to outdoor play (this does not necessarily have to be on the premises), and any necessary arrangements for this
• that there are enough suitable kitchen, toilet and nappy-changing facilities
• that you and your staff will deliver educational programmes to help children learn and develop

The inspector will also check that you have suitable procedures for hiring staff, including:

• recruitment processes
• getting DBS checks
• obtaining details of employment history, references and any other necessary checks, such as checks on an employee’s physical and mental health

So, what happens at the end of the visit?

At the end of the registration visit the inspector will let you know whether we will approve your registration or not.

If you are approved you will be sent a registration certificate, together with information about the next steps.

If you cannot show Ofsted that you are suitable to be registered, they may refuse your application. If so, they will send you a ‘notice of intention’ to refuse. If you do not respond to this within 14 working days of the notice date, they will send a ‘notice of decision’ to refuse registration and information on how to appeal.

There are various reasons why they may refuse your registration for example unsuitable building.  Though, refusals are unlikely and I have never worked with anyone that has been refused.

Providing you have been diligent in choosing your building and you have a decent knowledge of the EYFS and safeguarding it is very unlikely they will refuse you.

I must stress that you need all your documents ready and the building ready for when Ofsted do visit.  So, do not allow them to visit if you are not ready.

They will call you ahead of time to let you know they are coming.

If you do not feel you will be ready at the date they wish to come, you can let them know and you can delay them by up to a few weeks.

Preparing for the Ofsted Registration visit

Some things you should do in order to prepare for your visit include:

• Making sure you read through the registration handbook and refresh your knowledge. Go through this document, make sure that your building adheres to the requirements in it.  Ofsted will likely question you about various things and it is important that you show a good understanding of the handbook. For example, they will ask how many children do you expect to have in this room.  You should be able to answer with confidence and be realistic.  If they question any area you should be able to back yourself with your knowledge of the handbook
• You should also read through the EYFS statutory framework to ensure you are familiar with this too as it is likely they will ask questions about this and how you will implement your curriculum
• Go through a building checklist to ensure that your building is safe e.g. making sure you have radiator covers, enough toilets etc. On the course I go through some of the things you should be checking to help you prepare for the visit.  So, if this is one of the things you need support in then enrol by clicking the link here.
• Have all your qualifications.  If you plan to manage the nursery too it is important provide your childcare qualifications and things like your first aid certificate.  It is best to undertake all these trainings before they visit to show them that you are ready to open.  I would also suggest undertake safeguarding training too, even if you do not plan to manage the nursery.  The safeguarding of the nursery, as the registered person, whether you plan to manage the nursery or not is ultimately your responsibility.  Ofsted will not look at your application kindly if you do not realise that whether you hire someone else to do the work for you or not.  That as the registered person, the responsibility of the quality and safety of the nursery lies with you.  If anything goes wrong with the nursery, whether it be down to you or people you hire, it is your responsibility and a big responsibility. 
• You should have supplied your DBS when submitting your application but it is good to have it to hand ready for the inspection too.
• You will also need other documents which I mentioned earlier like your CV, proof of address etc
• Have all your safety tests for the building including fire alarms, fire exits, fire procedure displayed, insurance, pat testing, fire blankets or extinguishers, first aid kits, security features like stair gates and other things.
• You should have risk assessed the building and show how you plan to reduce any risks. If Ofsted identify some risks and you can show that you are aware of it, it will mitigate their concerns and show you are capable.  Though if there are any major risks that haven’t been addressed then it can negatively effect you.
• Before the visit you should also prepare all your policies and procedures. They are unlikely to go through all your policies and procedures, though they may ask to look through them.  Some policies are essential to have so make sure you have these ready.  Again, I go through what policies you will need on the course.
• On the day they will inspect the resources you have to ensure they are age appropriate, safe and in good condition.

The main things you should be doing whilst waiting for the registration visit and call is preparing your building and preparing yourself.

When you do receive that call you should ask them what documents they may want to see and what topics they may be likely to ask about.  Though, we will go through some of the common questions they ask below.

Some questions Ofsted may ask

It is important to be prepared for some of the questions they may ask you:

Some topics they are likely to ask include:

• Recruitment – staff qualifications
• Safeguarding – reporting concerns
• Curriculum – how you will implement the EYFS
• Safety
• Food
• They will question things they see in the house, so if for example you have coat pegs, they may ask what children may gain from hanging their coats up themselves. They will ask questions as they go around to determine your understanding of the EYFS, how children develop and how you may manage risks.  So, in the bathroom if you have a step under the sink they may ask what risk this poses.  They like to ask questions around the issue and hope you can gauge what they are getting at.  So with the step in the bathroom example, they may simply ask about how you will manage risks in the bathroom and expect you to mention that the step may pose a hazard and how you will reduce this risk.

I will now go through a list of questions that you should be thinking about.

It’s useful to write them down and then make notes around the area.  If you would like a list of these questions then click the link here where you can download it and make notes.

There questions will be based around the following areas:

• Safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare
• Suitable people – how you will ensure people in the premises whether that be workers or visitors are suitable
• Suitable premises, environment and equipment
• Organisation
• Documentation
• The Early Learning Goals
• The educational programmes
• The assessment arrangements

So firstly in relation to safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare.

You will need to show that have taken necessary steps to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the setting.

In order for them to determine whether you have they may ask questions like

1. What does safeguarding children mean?
2. What information will you need to gain from parents before you start caring for a child? How will you ensure that information remains confidential?
3. How will you keep children safe indoors, outdoors and on outings? How will you enable children to become independent and still keep themselves safe?
4. What are the possible signs/symptoms of child abuse or neglect? What would you do if you suspected a child was being abused? Who should you contact/share this information with?
5. What will be in your complaints policy? What would you do if an allegation was made against you personally, a member of your household, or your service? How will you share your complaints policy and other policies and procedures with parents and carers?

You will also need to show that you will promote the good health of the children, take necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection and take appropriate action when they are ill.

Some questions they may ask are

1. Have you completed a paediatric first aid course? What would you do if a child arrived with an injury or an infection? How will you store and administer medication
2. What food and drink do you intend to provide? How will you manage this? How will you support children with allergies and/or specific dietary requirements? How will you know what these are?
3. How will you develop children’s understanding about healthy eating and the importance of exercise and fresh air?
4. If you have visitors to your setting or members of your family who wish to smoke when children are present, how will you ensure you maintain a smoke-free environment? What messages about smoking do you need to give to children?

Children’s behaviour must be managed effectively and in a manner appropriate for their stage of development and particular individual needs. To determine whether you are capable of doing this they will ask questions like

1. How will you manage children’s behaviour? How will this be agreed with parents? Is a written policy needed for this?
2. How will you encourage children to make good relationships with adults and their peers? How will you enable children to learn about valuing each other and understanding and respecting other cultures and beliefs?
3. How will you support a child for whom English is an additional language, but who has a good understanding of English and speaks English well?
4. How will you support a child and their family who have very little understanding of spoken English? How will you communicate with the child and their parents?
5. What do you regard as a significant event about which you would need to inform Ofsted? How would you contact us?

The next area they will discuss with you is about suitable people.

Firstly, you will need to ensure that adults looking after children, or having unsupervised access to them, are suitable to do so. To determine this, some questions they will ask are:

1. What vetting procedures will you use when recruiting staff/assistants to work with children to make sure they are suitable to do so? (If applicable)
2. How will you ensure children are never left alone with adults who have not been cleared/vetted, such as visitors to your setting/home?
3. Consider who lives or works on premises where childcare will take place. Have they all had a Criminal Records Bureau check if they need one? Do you need to keep a list of these people?
4. What events, if any, do you need to inform us about and how would you do this?

They will also want to check qualifications as adults looking after children must have appropriate qualifications, training, skills and knowledge. They will ask:

1. what experience and qualifications, if applicable, do or will you and/or your staff have in relation to care and learning for children, especially in relation to children in the EYFS age range?

They will want to know about your staffing arrangements.  Your staffing arrangements must be organised to ensure safety and to meet the needs of the children. You will need to know:

2. What adult:child ratios apply to the service you are applying to be registered for? How will you ensure these ratios are maintained?
3. Will you be offering overnight care or an outdoor nursery? If so, how will you organise this?
4. They may also ask about staff wellbeing and how you may manage the pressures on staff e.g. in terms of workload and paperwork

Next, they will check the premises. 

1. Do you have a suitable premises, environment and equipment? Are outdoor and indoor spaces, furniture, equipment and toys must be safe and suitable for their purpose.
2. How will you meet the requirement to complete and maintain a risk assessment for your setting? How would this differ if you were going on an outing? What should be covered in the risk assessment? Should the risk assessment be recorded, if so how do you intend doing this?
3. What resources and equipment do you know you will need to meet the individual needs of children?
4. What is your understanding of what you need to do in respect of notifying us about changes to your premises?
5. How do you aim to prevent a fire on your premises? What plans will you put in place to ensure children’s safety in the event of a fire, or any other situation that requires the immediate evacuation of the premises?
6. How will you make sure you meet the space requirements? How will you take into account the needs of children with special needs, such as a physical disability?

Moving onto organisation. You must plan and organise your systems to ensure that every child receives an enjoyable and challenging learning and development experience that is tailored to meet their individual needs. This is closely linked to the learning and development of the children.  So, your answers may be similar to that section.

They may ask:

1. How will you find out about individual children’s needs?
2. What will you consider when planning a suitable environment for children?
3. What might a typical day be like? How will you plan activities to ensure you meet the needs of the children if they are different ages, such as a baby under 12 months, a two-year-old and a four-year-old?
4. How will you observe and make records of children’s development? How will you use these records for the benefit of children? What will you share with parents?
5. How will you work in partnership with parents/carers, other providers and agencies involved in each child’s life? For example, a child who goes to a nursery and a childminder; or a child who goes to a childminder and a pre-school and is also receiving speech and language therapy?

Next think about the documentation you will need. You must maintain records, policies and procedures required for the safe and efficient management of the settings and to meet the needs of the children. They may ask

1. What documents will you need to have in place? Why are they important? Have you prepared any of these yourself?

The next main area of discussions you will have with Ofsted on the visit is around the Learning and development requirements. It is important to remember in this section that each of the seven areas of learning is a requirement: you will need to explain to the inspector how you are going to meet these requirements in a way that reflects the needs of each child in your care and that is appropriate to the setting. The EYFS statutory framework set out the learning and development requirements. The guidance provides information and advice to help you understand these requirements and put them into practice.

The learning and development requirement includes the Early Learning Goals The knowledge, skills and understanding that young children should have acquired by the end of the academic year in which they reach five. Please note each area of learning is a requirement.

It also includes the educational programmes The matters, skills and processes that are required to be taught to young children as stated under each of the areas of learning.

1. They main ask you to name the areas of learning. For each area of learning, can you give an example of a play activity for a very young child and a four-year-old that would support their learning and development?
2. How will you ensure all the children continue to be challenged, interested and excited about the activities you plan?
3. What can children gain from outdoor activities and how will this feature in your routine?
4. What will you do to promote children’s enjoyment of books?

A discussion will be had around The assessment arrangements.  This is The arrangements for assessing young children to ascertain their achievements.

1. How will you evaluate the success of the activities you plan for the children?
2. What sources of evidence might you have to record children’s progress and be able to show parents what their child has achieved during their time with you?
3. How will you know that children are progressing in their learning and development and how will you use this knowledge to plan for their further development?

This list isn’t exhaustive, though you can download all these questions in a document which enables you to print out and take notes.  This is available for a nominal fee and can be downloaded by clicking here.