The first thing checked by parents who are choosing a school or childcare centre is often the OFSTED ratings. OFSTED is the government body for England and Wales which assesses the safety and quality of provision for schools, childminders, nurseries and similar establishments. Their inspectors often arrive unannounced and stay for an extended period, looking at everything from teaching style to filing of paperwork. Every provider is aiming for that “outstanding” rating at the top of the scale. Nobody wants to be branded as “inadequate” by OFSTED. Negative results are often widely reported in the local press, and for someone running a day-care or nursery business, a poor rating can lead to a dramatic loss of custom.
What Makes a Centre Inadequate?
When inspecting nurseries and similar settings, OFSTED inspectors have a long list of criteria which they are assessing against. This includes basic health and safety elements such as risk assessments, and electrical safety, as well as looking at the quality of the staff and how they communicate with the children. Sometimes, OFSTED will find a fault so serious that a centre is rated as inadequate even although everything else in the centre is running well. Usually, it’s a range of factors which contribute to the ranking, and these are clearly explained in the report sent to the centre along with the rating.
Staff, DBS and OFSTED
One of the most common reasons for a poor rating on OFSTED is around staff and record-keeping. The law is clear that all members of staff working in a nursery or school require an enhanced DBS check. This is the most detailed level of checking available, and looks at someone’s entire criminal record, even considering offences or information which can be disregarded in other situations. Until a new staff member has received their certificate, they either cannot work, or must be closely supervised.
Most decent nurseries are well aware of their responsibilities to get new staff DBS checked and look at any information disclosed on the certificate as part of their overall evaluation. It’s a common misconception that anyone with a criminal record is automatically barred from working with young children but this is not the case. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, and a minor criminal record from years in the past is usually not a barrier to childcare work.
One of the main reasons which causes nurseries to fall foul of OFSTED when it comes to staff DBS is poor record keeping. It’s rare that a nursery chooses to ignore the law and fail to check staff. However, it is common to read reports of nursery managers failing to keep accurate records of when staff certificates were received, and the numbers on each. If this information is missing when inspectors look through the paperwork, there is no proof that checks were ever done. Safeguarding of children is right at the top of the OFSTED priority list, so anything which calls this into question will lead to an inadequate rating for the establishment concerned.
