Two new research reports by Ofsted, published today, find that
current legislation does not reflect the level of influence that
early years multiple providers and social care groups have on
individual nurseries and children’s homes, respectively.
Read How groups of children’s
homes work and How early years multiple
providers work.
Early years multiple providers are Ofsted-registered providers
that own 2 or more childcare settings, such as nurseries and
pre-schools. Social care groups are providers that own more than
one children’s home.
These providers exert a great deal of influence over their
settings, but Ofsted is currently only able to inspect individual
nurseries, pre-schools and children’s homes. Today’s reports call
for stronger regulatory powers to make sure multiple providers
and groups are having a positive impact on children.
Early years multiple providers
Ofsted’s early years research looks at how multiple providers
influence the education and care given at their nurseries.
Researchers found that this happens in several ways, including
through:
- setting the curriculum intent and influencing its
implementation and impact
- developing, reviewing and controlling policies
- regular visits to nurseries to monitor and inspect practice
and the implementation of policies
- monitoring and oversight of ongoing incidents in individual
nurseries
- deploying staff between nurseries to observe perceived good
practice.
The report recommends that Ofsted’s oversight of multiple
providers should evolve in a similar way to that of multi-academy
trusts (MATs) in the
schools sector, where summary evaluations look at the extent to
which a MAT is
delivering high-quality education and improving outcomes for
pupils.
Social care groups
Ofsted’s social care research finds that social care groups have
some influence and control over the day-to-day running of their
children’s homes:
- models of care and policies in children’s homes are generally
decided by groups and standardised across their homes
- groups often influence the admissions process, sifting
referrals before sending them on to their children’s home
managers
- social care groups often play a significant role when
considering whether to end a child’s placement.
Current inspection practice reflects the legal responsibility of
children’s home managers, who are registered to individual homes,
not social care groups. Inspections and judgements are based on a
model where managers have autonomy over the day-to-day running of
children’s homes, which does not reflect how the sector has
evolved to have a significant proportion of children’s homes
under a small number of companies.
For inspection and regulation to have the greatest impact,
Ofsted’s report recommends that regulatory oversight is needed at
group level, as well as at the individual children’s home level.
Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s National Director for Regulation and
Social Care, said:
Stronger oversight of large providers is vital if we are to make
sure children are getting the best deal. Current legislation is
outdated and doesn’t reflect the early years and social care
sectors as they operate today. The upcoming review into
children’s social care could be a real opportunity to reform this
legislation.
Our research shows that these large providers have a significant
impact on their individual nurseries and children’s homes, and
ultimately the education and care that children receive. As
Ofsted can only inspect individual settings, we are missing an
important part of the picture.
