Today (9 September) Ofsted has confirmed changes to education inspection and reporting in England and published a new education inspection toolkit, operational guide and information. Ofsted has also published the response to “the Big Listen”, its largest ever consultation with parents and education professionals. Coram PACEY worked closely with Ofsted in developing its proposals and we are hopeful that the changes announced today will ensure a more positive inspection experience for our members and the wider education sector. 

New report cards 

Ofsted is introducing new inspection report cards to provide parents with at-a-glance grades as well as short narrative summaries of a provider’s strengths and areas for improvement. These are designed to be accessible on digital devices.   

Early years evaluation areas 

Providers will be inspected against seven evaluation areas which align with the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework. The areas are:  

• Safeguarding (which is at the top of the toolkit to reflect that ensuring that early years settings are safe and suitable for children is Ofsted’s most important priority.) 

• Inclusion (which is a key focus for Ofsted and woven into every part of inspection.) 

• Curriculum and teaching* 

• Achievement* 

• Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 

• Children’s welfare and well-being 

• Leadership and governance 

*These evaluation areas will not apply for out-of-school childcare settings 

The new inspection toolkit outlines how an inspector will consider the evaluation areas in different types of provision type, for example childminders, out-of-school providers and providers with no children on roll.  

5-point grading scale 

Providers will be graded on a 5-point scale for each area, except safeguarding, which is given a ‘met’ or ‘not met’ evaluation with accompanying narrative. The other six areas are given a grade of ‘urgent improvement’, ‘needs attention’, ‘expected standard’, ‘strong standard’, and the new highest grade of ‘exceptional’ with accompanying narrative to give more detail. 

Inspection cycles  

From April 2026, Ofsted has committed to increase the frequency of routine inspections for regulated early years providers to a 4- year inspection window instead of the current 6-year cycle and inspect new early years providers within 12 to 18 months of registering, down from the current wait of up to 30 months.  

New toolkit, guidance and information documents (for use from November 2025) 

• Early years inspection toolkit: inspectors and early years providers use this to discuss the quality of provision on inspection.  

• Operating guide for inspectors: a step-by-step guide for inspectors on how to inspect a registered early years setting. This contains information on how inspectors take into account a provider’s context, for example childminders.  

• Early years inspection information for staff, leaders, parents, carers and the public.  

Wellbeing and consistency 

Ofsted says it is taking concerns about wellbeing and workload seriously and has published a separate report on wellbeing today by Sinéad McBrearty, Chief Executive Officer at Education Support. It also emphasises how it will prioritise consistency and fairness, giving inspectors bespoke training to ensure consistency among different types of settings (including childminders) and ensuring toolkits and new operating guides are reflective of this. Inspectors will also use a new planning call to understand a provider’s context, strengths and areas for improvement. This is a chance to develop a relationship with the inspector and discuss your provision beforehand. 

Coram PACEY’s work with Ofsted 

Coram PACEY has been working closely with Ofsted as it develops the changes to early years inspection, particularly in helping them understand the nuances of childminder inspections and making improvements to childminders’ experiences. 

Ofsted has also today published the response to its 12-week consultation. You can read Coram PACEY’s original consultation response here where we outlined what changes we’d like to see for childminder inspections. We are pleased to see that Ofsted took this feedback on board, reflected in the changes announced today. Thank you to our members who shared your insights to help shape this work.   

What’s next? 

The changes to inspection will take effect from 10 November 2025. Providers can sign up to Ofsted’s webinars to hear more about the changes to inspection.

Coram PACEY will also be updating our own resources to reflect the changes to inspection.

If you have any feedback on the changes announced today, we’d love to hear from you. Please email our Coram PACEY Policy team.