Guidance

How Ofsted inspects before- and after-school care and holiday provision (out of school settings)

Updated 20 March 2024

Applies to England

Introduction

This guide is for you if you are a parent of a child who attends before- and after- school and holiday provision registered with Ofsted to provide early years education and care. This provision is also known as ‘out of school settings’.

Why Ofsted inspects out of school settings

We have to inspect some out of school settings that are registered on the Early Years Register (EYR), by law. Which out of school settings we inspect depends on the age of children who attend, the hours of care provided and the types of activities offered.

We inspect out of school settings under our education inspection framework (EIF). These inspections give you information about the quality of the care your child is receiving. They also check that those responsible for the setting remain suitable to care for children and that they are meeting the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage.

How often we inspect out of school settings

We usually inspect new providers within 30 months of registration and then at least once every 6 years. We inspect more often if we receive a concern about a setting and we assess any risks that we know of. How quickly we inspect or visit depends on how serious the concern is.

If we decide that a setting is inadequate, we usually re-inspect within 6 months. If we can, we re-inspect those judged as ‘requires improvement’ within 12 months. See information about the judgements we make.

How long inspections last

An inspection will not normally take longer than 4 hours. Sometimes, such as in larger settings, the inspection may take longer. The inspector will let the provider know as soon as possible if this is going to be the case. The inspector will be mindful that the provider must supervise children and continue to always meet their needs during the inspection.

If the setting is a childminder, the inspector and childminder will agree whether it would be more appropriate to attend the before- or after-school session.

How much notice we give the setting

We ring the setting usually around midday on the working day before the inspection. We ring childminders and group providers that do not operate regularly up to 5 days before the inspection. We give this notice so that we can time the inspection to the days they are caring for children and when children will be present.

There are some situations when we inspect without giving any notice. This is normally when a setting has been judged as ‘not met’ at its last inspection or when we’re inspecting because concerns have been raised that indicate they may not be meeting early years foundation stage (EYFS) requirements.

Your child’s out of school setting must let you know that they are going to be inspected. We’ll also give them a poster to display on the door of the setting while the inspection is taking place.

What an inspection looks like

Inspectors want to know what it is like for your child at their out of school setting. They will spend most of their time observing the daily routines and activities that the setting provides. This helps the inspectors to judge whether the setting is welcoming, safe and stimulating, and is somewhere where children are able to grow in confidence. It also means that they can tell the provider what they are doing well and what they need to improve.

Inspectors will not do anything that disrupts your child’s daily routine. They will work around the adults and children. They’ll reassure the adults that their care for the children must still be their priority.

Some of the things inspectors do on inspection are:

• look at how staff interact with children

• look at how staff create and plan the play environment

• find out how staff get children’s views and involve them in planning activities

• talk with staff about performance management and professional development

• meet with leaders

• where possible, talk to parents

At the end of the inspection, the inspector will tell the provider what the judgement is. They will also go through the findings and tell the provider what their strengths and weaknesses are.

The report is published a few weeks later on our website. The setting should provide you with a copy.

The COVID-19 pandemic

We take into account the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption it has caused. The inspector will ask the setting about any ongoing impact of the pandemic and how they are dealing with the situation. They will consider this in the inspection judgement.

Speaking to the inspector

You may be able to speak to the inspector during the inspection, for example when you drop off or collect your child. Your views will help the inspector to determine how well the setting works with parents to support children’s learning and well-being. Inspectors try to speak to parents without staff present so that you feel comfortable to share your views openly.

The setting may arrange a telephone conversation with the inspector if you are unable to speak to the inspector in person and would like to.

The inspector will want to hear from you about:

• what you think of the setting

• how the setting works with you to support your child’s personal development, their behaviour and attitudes

Inspectors cannot deal with complaints concerning children. Nor can they settle disputes between parents and the setting. If you are worried about your child’s out of school setting, you should start by talking directly to the provider first. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can follow Ofsted’s complaints process.

Information about the judgements we make

Inspectors only judge out of school settings on the ‘Overall effectiveness: quality and standards of the early years provision’. This is because these settings do not need to meet the learning and development requirements of the EYFS.

There are 3 possible outcomes:

• met – the setting is meeting requirements

• not met with actions - if the setting is not meeting EYFS requirements but can fix this quickly, the inspector will tell them what to do to improve

• not met with enforcement - if the setting is not meeting requirements and is risking children’s health, safety and well-being, the inspector will issue a welfare requirements notice. Ofsted will check that the setting has done what it needs to do before the next inspection

How we inspect and report on safeguarding  

Every setting must have an open, positive culture of safeguarding that puts children’s interests first. You can find more information about what this means in our handbook.

Our inspectors will always look at how well the setting helps and protects children so that they are kept safe. Inspectors will consider the safeguarding culture that the setting has established when making a judgement. They will consider a range of evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets out the requirements that providers must meet. If the setting is not meeting one or more of these, inspectors will consider the impact that this is having on children’s safety and well-being when making a judgement about safeguarding.

The safeguarding section of the inspection report will tell you if the arrangements for safeguarding at the setting are effective or not effective. If we judge safeguarding to be ineffective, the main body of the report will explain the weaknesses that we found. The report will include any actions the setting needs to take to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements. If we judge safeguarding to be ineffective, the setting can only be judged inadequate. This means that inspectors will usually return to inspect the setting again within 6 months.

Gathering personal information on inspection

Inspectors need to collect some personal information in order to inspect. The law gives inspectors the right to enter property, gather information or take copies. They record information on Ofsted’s systems but all notes or copies are only kept centrally and securely.

If you want more information, you can read our privacy notice.

Read our other guides for parents