Guidance

Protocol between Ofsted and local authorities on sharing information about childcare providers

Updated 22 December 2023

Purpose

This protocol sets out the working relationships between the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) and local authorities by:

• establishing the legal basis for Ofsted’s regulatory responsibilities
• explaining how Ofsted carries out those responsibilities
• explaining the responsibilities of the partner organisations
• explaining how agreed working arrangements can assist both organisations to meet these responsibilities

The role of Ofsted

Ofsted regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. We regulate and inspect early years, childcare and children’s social care, and inspect the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. We assess council children’s services and inspect services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

In relation to early years and childcare providers, we are responsible for regulating and inspecting:

• Ofsted-registered childminders and other childcare providers included on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register that care for children under 8 years old
• Ofsted-registered childminders, home childcarers and other childcare providers included on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register
• childminder agencies included on either the Early Years Register or the Childcare Register, or both, according to whether they are an early years childminder agency or a later years childminder agency, or both

The legal framework under which Ofsted regulates

The legislation under which Ofsted regulates includes the following:

• the Childcare Act 2006
• the Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage
• The Childcare (Early Years Register) Regulations 2008
• The Childcare (General Childcare Register) Regulations 2008

This is together with any subsequent regulations and standards under which Ofsted regulates childcare providers.

Requirements for childminders and childcare providers

Ofsted regulates Ofsted-registered childminders, childcare providers and childminder agencies against the requirements of 2 separate registers. These are:

• the Early Years Register (for those providing care for children aged from birth to the 31 August following the child’s fifth birthday)
• the Childcare Register

The Childcare Register is divided into 2 parts:

• the compulsory part, for those providing care for children from 1 September following the child’s fifth birthday and up to their eighth birthday
• the voluntary part, for those providing care for which registration is not required but that choose to do so

Providers on the Early Years Register must meet both the safeguarding and welfare and the learning and development requirements set out in:

• the Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage
• The Childcare (Early Years Register) Regulations 2008

Providers on the Childcare Register must also meet the requirements set out in the Childcare (General Childcare Register) Regulations 2008.

These requirements are set by the government.

Powers and duties

Ofsted regulates childcare providers against all relevant legislation and requirements.

We are responsible for ensuring that Ofsted-registered childminders, childcare providers and childminder agencies are suitable and that those providers and organisations continue to comply with government standards.

In addition, we are responsible for ensuring that all people aged 16 years or over who live or work on premises where Ofsted-registered childminding takes place are suitable. If a childminder is registered with a childminder agency, these responsibilities sit with the agency.

We have a range of powers to carry out these regulatory responsibilities. We can:

• grant, refuse or cancel registration
• impose, vary or remove conditions of registration
• grant or refuse applications for variations to conditions of registration
• prosecute providers for specific offences under relevant legislation
• suspend registration (childcare providers only)

Inspection and reports

Ofsted has a duty to inspect childcare providers that are registered on the Early Years Register at intervals set out by the Secretary of State for Education. These intervals are set out in published remit letters from the Secretary of State to His Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI).

Following inspections of providers on the Early Years Register, we will report on 4 key judgements:

• quality of education
• behaviour and attitudes
• personal development
• leadership and management

We also have the power to inspect providers that are on the Childcare Register. We will inspect a 10% sample of providers that are only registered on the Childcare Register. This sample will include any providers that we have received a complaint about relating to the requirements for registration.

Following inspections of providers on the Childcare Register, we will produce a letter setting out whether the provider meets the requirements of that register.

Providers may be on one or both registers. If providers are on both registers, we will only report on non-compliance with the early years foundation stage requirements of the Childcare Register in the inspection report.

We inspect childminder agencies against the requirements set out in A guide for childminder agencies, published by the Department for Education.

Organisation of Ofsted’s registration and inspection functions

Ofsted’s registration and inspection functions are covered by the Chief Operating Officer’s directorate. This directorate is responsible for the organisation and delivery of high-quality inspection and regulation according to agreed frameworks.

Ofsted’s central point of contact for the public is the Applications, Regulatory and Contact (ARC) team. It is responsible for:

• providing contact between service users and members of the public, colleagues and Ofsted
• giving information to providers and guidance on using our website, including technical help for online applications
• processing inbound mail for the majority of Ofsted and managing high-volume scanning
• generating all relevant suitability checks, including social services checks, references and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, on people who Ofsted has responsibility for
• the registration and regulatory risk assessment of childcare and social care providers to ensure the safety and well-being of children and young people in settings that Ofsted regulates and inspects
• receiving complaints from members of the public and determining whether these complaints qualify within Ofsted’s powers

The ARC team is our first point of contact for all customers. See contact details for the team.

The role of local authorities

Local authorities are responsible for, among other things, assisting children in need and working with other agencies to protect children from abuse.

Ofsted has working relationships with local authorities and other agencies to share information to protect children. We set out working relationships with local authorities and other agencies in respect of these functions through other protocols.

Specific legal context of Ofsted and local authorities in relation to sharing information about childcare

The Childcare Act 2006 places a duty on Ofsted to share information about registered childminders, childcare providers and childminder agencies with local authorities in England, the Secretary of State and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. The Childcare (Supply and Disclosure of Information) (England) Regulations 2007 (as amended) specify the information that Ofsted must share with these organisations. If a childminder is registered with a childminder agency, the agency – rather than Ofsted – has responsibility for sharing information with the local authority.

The Childcare Act 2006 places a duty on English local authorities to provide information, advice and assistance to parents and prospective parents to help or assist them in choosing childcare. The Childcare Act 2006 (Provision of Information to Parents) (England) Regulations 2007 specify the information that local authorities must make available to parents and prospective parents. Local authorities normally discharge this duty through their Family Information Services, which are usually the first point of contact for parents and prospective parents when choosing childcare. However, some local authorities may choose a different design and structure to deliver these services other than through their Family Information Service. Therefore, references in this protocol to ‘Family Information Service’ should be read to include other arrangements.

Working arrangements

What Ofsted will do

We provide local authorities with updated information each day through the Family Information Directory (FID).

The information that we share with local authorities is set out in the Annex to this protocol. It includes:

• unique reference numbers and details of all providers registered on the Early Years and Childcare Registers
• steps that we have taken in relation to that registration

We secure any electronic data that we send through our information gateway.

We encrypt and securely transfer childcare data information directly to local authorities. Each individual local authority has a certificate with its password and login details, and instructions on how to access the system.

We tell parents or prospective parents to contact their local Family Information Service if they require information about the availability of registered childcare services in their local area.

We provide local authorities and their Family Information Services with informative materials about how we regulate and inspect early years and childcare providers.

We will handle and, when possible, will answer queries from Family Information Services within 1 working day about the technical aspects of the data transfer, or about any data issues surrounding individual providers. Any queries that we cannot answer within 1 working day will be acknowledged and answered as soon as possible.

We tell Ofsted-registered childminders and childcare applicants to contact their local authority for information about pre-registration courses, and for advice about training or any other support that the local authority offers.

We also publish a range of information about registered childcare providers on our website. This includes some of the information that we share with local authorities. We do not publish on our website, or otherwise disclose to the public, the names and addresses of Ofsted-registered childminders and home childcarers who have not consented to make their details public. However, we do share this information with local authorities under the legal provisions outlined above.

The ARC team is the first point of contact for local authorities wishing to raise technical queries on the data transfer, data clarification or data quality queries with Ofsted (see Contact us). When the query relates to the technical aspects of the data transfer, the ARC team will pass the query to the Ofsted IS Helpdesk. When the query relates to data clarification or data quality issues, the ARC team will pass this to the most appropriate person within Ofsted, depending on the nature of the query.

What local authorities will do

Local authorities, and their Family Information Services, will direct to Ofsted’s ARC team any parents or others who have a concern about childcare providers or their provision. If the person with the concern will not contact Ofsted directly, the local authority will take details from the caller and send a brief, written summary to us instead. If we require any additional information, we will contact the individual directly, if possible.

Local authorities and Family Information Services will refer written complaints about registration or compliance issues to Ofsted’s general email address.

When dealing with requests from parents or carers who are looking to change their childcare provider, Family Information Services need to be aware of the reasons for the request and any underlying concerns. If concerns are identified, Family Information Services should refer the details to Ofsted.

If a local authority or Family Information Service has other information about any childcare provider that it considers should be passed to Ofsted, it should do so by contacting the ARC team. See the Annex to this protocol for supplementary guidance on local authority information-sharing with Ofsted.

Local authorities and Family Information Services may issue to parents, or people wishing to start childcare services and other enquirers, any informative material that we produce.

Local authorities and Family Information Services may include appropriate information about Ofsted in their own information or advertising material. They may also tell users about Ofsted’s website.

Family Information Services will tell parents and carers of the need to check a provider’s registration certificate before using the childcare service.

Local authorities and Family Information Services remind providers of their responsibilities and what they need to tell Ofsted.

Local authorities and Family Information Services will tell us when they are aware of any provision operating without registration and any registered providers that are operating outside the requirements for registration. The Family Information Services will send this information to Ofsted’s general email address.

Local authorities and Family Information Services will refer to Ofsted’s ARC team any media enquiries that relate to Ofsted taking enforcement action against a provider. The ARC team will then refer this to Ofsted’s press office.

Local authorities will inform Ofsted about any changes to their contact persons, such as a change in the director of children’s services and those who have regular contact with Ofsted. Some local authorities use a third party – known as a ‘vendor’ – for managing their access to the information. If a local authority changes its vendor, it needs to complete a new ‘code of connectivity’ form. Local authorities should contact us for the connection support pack and to request changes to their external vendor.

What Ofsted cannot disclose to local authorities

Ofsted cannot give local authorities any information gathered during an investigation into a provider’s compliance with the relevant requirements. This information could compromise the regulatory processes or business interests of providers. We will, however, tell the local authority if we decide to suspend or cancel a registration or prosecute a provider if it commits an offence. We will also tell the local authority about other enforcement action we have taken, such as issuing a welfare requirements notice.

The legal duty to share information with local authorities relates only to those providers that we have registered. However, we also give local authorities information about applicants registering as childminders, childcare providers and childminder agencies.

Electronic communication

When possible, Ofsted and local authorities will share information electronically. This will provide a quicker and more effective way to respond to requests for information. Ofsted and local authorities must comply with their respective internal electronic information management policies to manage all electronic communication effectively.

Contact us

General enquiries

Email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk

Contact form https://contact.ofsted...

General enquiries 0300 123 1231

Our helpline is open from 9am to 5pm (Monday to Friday). If you have difficulties hearing or speaking on the phone, you can use the Next Generation Text Service. Are you a provider who wants to tell us about an incident? If so, please use the online notification forms above.

Email address for local authorities to use: extranetqueries@ofsted.gov.uk

Annex – Supplementary guidance on information sharing with Ofsted

Introduction

Ofsted and local authorities already share a great deal of information and have protocols and regulations in place to support this work.

This Annex gives more information about how to share information that is not part of these existing arrangements and, in particular, information arising from local authorities’ duties in relation to registered early years provision.

Information sharing to support local authority duties

Local authorities have particular duties in relation to registered early years provision. These duties include:

• a duty to secure sufficient childcare for working parents
• a duty to provide information, advice and training to childcare providers
• a duty to provide information, advice and assistance to parents or prospective parents
• a duty to secure early years provision free of charge in accordance with regulations

To help local authorities fulfil these duties, we give them:

• a daily download of agreed information about applicants and registered providers as part of our duties set out in the Childcare Act 2006
• copies of inspection reports through the local authority portal and confirmation of provision judged as inadequate ahead of report publication
• presentations to use in pre-registration briefings for applicants on our process for registration

Information not covered by existing protocols

Local authorities often have knowledge about applicants or registered early years settings arising from their particular duties. This may relate to:

• a decline in quality at the setting
• the registered person not accepting or responding positively to local authority support or intervention, such as not turning up to training events, refusing visits from the local authority or not acting on advice that the local authority gives about how to meet requirements
• the applicant or registered person’s understanding of the Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage

When local authorities have a concern about safeguarding and/or the welfare of children at a setting, but that concern falls below their locally agreed threshold for child protection intervention, they must share this information with Ofsted. This will usually be through our normal concerns process set out in our leaflet Information for parents about Ofsted’s role in regulating childcare.

You can access further information in the early years enforcement policy.

Local authorities should also share any information with us that raises concerns about the applicant’s or registered person’s ability to provide a good-quality service in line with the requirements for registration. This includes their ability to meet both the learning and development and the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’. This is information that Ofsted, as the regulator, should know.

The information may:

• have accumulated over a period of time
• relate to a one-off incident
• cover a more obvious lack of knowledge and experience about the requirements for registration

Having this type of information provides an opportunity for us to assess the information from the local authority alongside the information we already hold about a provider or setting. If there is information to suggest that a provider is not meeting requirements, we will normally carry out a full inspection and publish an inspection report. However, sometimes we may need to look into very serious concerns ahead of an inspection.

Many local authorities operate a system that categorises settings in their area and leads to a package of support. We encourage local authorities to share information about settings categorised for intensive support and to provide details of the help package that the local authority has offered. This information helps us to identify deteriorating settings early and supports proportionate planning for inspections.

How to contact Ofsted

There are 3 ways in which local authorities can contact us:

• by sharing this information through any local authority meetings that take place with regional directors or early years Senior His Majesty’s Inspectors
• through the ARC team using the contact details
• if the information relates to a specific concern about compliance with requirements for registration, see information for parents about Ofsted’s role in regulating childcare.

How Ofsted will use the information provided by a local authority

If the information relates to concerns about a provider, we will use it to decide on the appropriate next steps. These may be:

• in most cases, carrying out a full inspection
• referring minor concerns to the provider to look into (at its next inspection, the provider will be asked what it did to deal with the concern)
• in some cases, carrying out a regulatory visit

List of information that Ofsted provides to local authorities – childcare providers

Ofsted provides the following information:

• childcare provider’s name
• setting name
• unique reference number (URN)
• provider address
• provider telephone number (if available)
• provider fax number (if available)
• provider email address (if available)
• the address where childcare is provided (unless in the child’s own home), if different from the provider’s address
• setting telephone number
• setting email address (if available)
• date of registration
• date of notice of intention to cancel
• if registration is cancelled and date of cancellation
• if registration is suspended and date of suspension
• if registration is resigned and date of resignation
• provision type
• second provision type (if applicable)
• type of premises (person’s home, child’s home, other domestic premises or non-domestic premises)
• the time and duration of the provision of childcare
• conditions of registration
• the number and ages of children that childcare is being provided for (if applicable) or the maximum numbers of children to be looked after (when the no numbers and ages condition is set)
• information connected with any enforcement action taken against the provider (notices of intention, notices of decision or welfare requirements notices)
• name of the local authority where the childcare premises are located
• date of the most recent inspection
• the overall effectiveness judgement for the most recent Ofsted inspection
• whether the person is on the Early Years Register, compulsory part of the Childcare Register and/or voluntary part of the Childcare Register
• providers whose details cannot be made public (for example, Women’s Refuges)

List of information that Ofsted provides to local authorities – childminder agencies

Ofsted provides the following information:

• childminder agency name
• nominated individual name
• any URN or other identifier
• childminder agency address or, if the childminder agency operates from more than one site, the address of each site
• date of registration
• whether the childminder agency is registered under Chapter 2A (Early Years Register) or Chapter 3A (General Childcare Register) of Part 3 of the Act, or both
• date of registration
• date of notice of intention to cancel
• if registration is cancelled and date of cancellation
• if registration is suspended and date of suspension
• if registration is resigned and date of resignation
• if a person is removed from the register at that person’s request and date of removal
• any telephone number, fax number or email address of the childminder agency
• any conditions attached to the childminder agency’s registration and the date on which they were imposed
• information concerned with any enforcement action taken