Guidance

Daycare providers on the compulsory Childcare Register: Ofsted requirements

Requirements you must meet if you are an Ofsted-registered out of school club, nursery or other type of daycare on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

• From: Ofsted
• Published: 9 August 2022
• Last updated: 1 November 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England

This guidance is for daycare providers on the compulsory Childcare Register. If you’re also on the Early Years Register, you need to follow the early years foundation stage (EYFS) framework. Find out more about the Ofsted registers.

Once you’re registered with Ofsted you must meet these ongoing requirements. We will check this if we carry out an inspection.

Child welfare

You must:

• keep the children being cared for safe from harm and make sure that everyone looking after children is alert to any signs of harm
• make sure that enough people are present at all times to ensure children’s safety and welfare – at least one person for every 30 children. At least one of these must be the provider, manager or a member of staff and at least one person must have an appropriate first aid certificate
• make sure that anyone under the age of 17 who looks after children is always supervised by someone aged 18 or over
• make sure that no one smokes or consumes alcohol or drugs on the premises while providing childcare or around any child being cared for, including medication that might affect their ability to look after children
• provide or arrange any training that is necessary to ensure that everyone who looks after children has suitable skills and experience
• make sure that children’s behaviour is managed in a suitable way
• not use corporal punishment, and you must ensure that no-one looking after children, or living or working on the premises, uses corporal punishment on a child

Safeguarding

You must:

• have, and follow, a written policy to safeguard children from abuse or neglect
• provide training to everyone who looks after children on the procedures in your safeguarding policy
• appoint a person (they can be the provider, manager or a staff member) to:
  • be responsible for children’s welfare and safety
  • provide support and guidance on child protection issues to everyone who looks after children
  • attend child protection training
  • liaise with any local safeguarding partnership and any director of children’s services if necessary
• not let children have unsupervised contact with anyone who does not have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with barred lists

Checking suitability

The provider, manager and everyone who looks after children must be suitable to work with children and have good enough English to ensure the children’s welfare and safety.

As the provider, you must

• have an effective system to ensure that the suitability and English language requirements are met
• make sure that everyone who looks after children has obtained an enhanced DBS check

Anyone aged 16 or older who lives on the premises or works there during childcare hours must have an enhanced DBS check with barred lists (see ‘People connected with Ofsted-registered childcare’).

Your premises and equipment

Your premises and equipment must be safe and suitable for childcare.

You must:

• make sure that no child can leave the premises, and no one can enter the premises, without someone who is providing childcare becoming aware
• have enough suitable toilet and handwashing facilities for the children you look after
• provide access to a secure outdoor space, or if this isn’t possible, make reasonable arrangements for outdoor activities
• do everything necessary to minimise any risks to children or staff from the premises (including entrances or exits), equipment or activities

Food and drink

You must make sure that:

• you have a suitable place to prepare food, if you provide it
• any food and drink provided to the children are properly prepared, wholesome and nutritious
• the children have access to drinking water

You must display your registration certificate on the premises. If applicable, you must also display any notice of suspension there for the period of suspension.

Organising your childcare

You must make arrangements with other childcare providers or with parents for occasions when you cannot provide childcare.

You must not refuse to look after a child or treat them less well than another child because of any of the following:

• the child’s race, home language, family background or gender
• the religion or belief of the child or the child’s parents
• any disability or learning difficulty that the child may have – this means that you must follow your legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 (for example, the provisions on reasonable adjustments)

You must have public liability insurance. This covers death, injury, public liability, damage or other loss.

Providers of childcare on domestic premises – working elsewhere

If you are registered to provide childcare on domestic premises, you are also permitted to work some of your time from non-domestic premises, such as a church hall or community centre. Use our guidance to apply to work from non-domestic premises. We will need to approve any non-domestic premises before you can work there.

Dealing with complaints

You must:

• have a written complaints policy and fully investigate each complaint
• keep written records for 3 years of any complaint, the investigation outcome and any action taken
• respond (in writing, if requested) to the parent who made the complaint, setting out the findings of the investigation and any resulting actions – you must do this as soon as reasonably possible but within 28 days of the complaint being made
• provide, if we ask for it, a summary of complaints for the last 12 months and any action taken, or a list of all complaints made during the last 3 years, within a reasonable timeframe that we specify

Keeping records and providing information

You must record the following for each child:

• their name, home address and date of birth
• their parent’s name, home address and telephone number
• days and times when they attend the childcare

You must also record, as soon as reasonably possible:

• any accidents that happen on the premises
• any medicine given to a child, or that a child takes themselves, including the date, circumstances, person who gave it and the parent’s consent
• the name, home address and telephone number of everyone living on the premises or working there during childcare hours

You should keep this information for 2 years from the date it was recorded.

Giving parents information

You must give the following information to parents whose children you look after:

• details of the children’s activities
• copies of your written policies
• information about Ofsted’s role in registering and regulating childcare

Giving Ofsted information

You must tell us about any serious childcare incidents while you are looking after a child. You should do this as soon as possible but within 14 days. Find out what serious incidents you need to report and how to tell Ofsted.

You must also tell us about:

• any changes to your full name, address, telephone number, address where you provide childcare, working hours and number of children you look after
• any changes to the manager
• changes to people responsible for running the childcare
• changes to any people aged 16 or over living on the premises or working there during childcare hours

To tell us about changes to people, please see ‘Report changes to registered people in your nursery or other daycare’.

Add another premises

If you want to work from additional premises under your Ofsted registration, you must apply to add another setting.

Published 9 August 2022
Last updated 1 November 2024 + show all updates

1. 1 November 2024

   Updated the duration for which childcare can be operated from non-domestic premises.

2. 9 August 2022

   First published.