Daycare providers on the voluntary Childcare Register: Ofsted requirements
Requirements you must meet if you are an Ofsted-registered daycare provider on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register.
Applies to England
This guidance is for daycare providers on the voluntary part of the 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
- make sure that enough people are present at all times to ensure the children’s safety and welfare – at least one person must be the provider, manager or employee
- make sure that anyone under the age of 17 is always supervised by someone aged 18 or over
- make sure that no-one smokes or consumes/is under the influence of alcohol or drugs on the premises while childcare is being provided or around any child being cared for, including medication that might affect their ability to look after children
- manage the children’s behaviour in a suitable manner
- not use corporal punishment, and you must ensure that no-one providing the childcare, or living or working on the childcare premises, uses corporal punishment on a child
Safeguarding
You must:
- have, and follow, a written policy to safeguard children from abuse or neglect
- not let children have unsupervised contact with anyone who does not have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with barred lists
Checking suitability
The provider, manager and everyone who provides childcare must be suitable to work with children.
As the provider, you must:
- have an effective system in place to make sure that everyone providing childcare is suitable
- make sure that everyone providing childcare has obtained an enhanced DBS check with barred lists
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’).
Qualifications and training
At least one person looking after the children must have:
- either a minimum level 2 qualification in an area of work relevant to the childcare provided or training in the common core skills
- an appropriate first aid qualification
Your premises and equipment
Your premises must be safe and suitable for childcare.
You must:
- make sure that no child can leave the premises without someone who is providing childcare being aware, unless the child is not a young child and you have agreed with the parent that they can leave by themselves or the provision is open access childcare; a child is a young child up until 1st September following their 5th birthday; providers and parents can use their discretion in agreeing a higher age restriction for allowing children to leave unsupervised
- make sure that no one can enter the premises without someone who is providing childcare becoming aware
- do everything necessary to minimise any risks to children and staff from the premises, equipment and activities
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 later years 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.
You can provide childcare on non-domestic premises where this is permitted by your registration and can seek approval of these non-domestic premises if you wish to do so. However, you must always let us know the address of your new non-domestic premises so we can add this to your Ofsted registration.
Complaints
You must:
- have a written complaints policy and investigate each complaint fully
- keep written records for 3 years of every 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 Ofsted requests it, a summary of complaints made in the last 12 months and any action taken, or a list of all complaints made in the last 3 years, within a reasonable timeframe that Ofsted specifies
Keeping records and providing information
You must record the following for each child:
- name, home address and date of birth
- their parents’ names, home address and telephone number
- the days and times 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 provide the following to parents whose children you look after:
- information about 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 Ofsted 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, home 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 when the childcare takes place on domestic premises
To tell us about changes to people, please see ‘Report changes to registered people in your nursery or other daycare’.
Add another setting
If you want to work from additional premises under your Ofsted registration, you may wish to apply to add another setting.
Updates to this page
Last updated 1 November 2024 + show all updates
-
Updated the duration for which childcare can be operated from non-domestic premises.
-
We have confirmed that the requirement regarding the age of children leaving the premises unsupervised is in line with the legislation. We have worked with the Department for Education to agree additional wording, so that providers and parents can use their discretion in agreeing a higher age restriction for allowing children to leave unsupervised.
-
First published.