Childcare and early years
Finding childcare, running a childcare business, financial support, data collection, local authority obligations.
Services
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Find an Ofsted inspection report
Search for Ofsted inspection reports for childminders and childcare providers, schools, colleges, further education providers, children and families services
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Find free early education and childcare
Check if your council offers free early education and childcare
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Complain about a school
Complain about a school - complaints process, when to complain to the Department for Education, the Education Funding Agency or Ofsted.
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Find a nursery school place
Apply for a place in a nursery school for children under 5 through your local council
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Unpaid parental leave
Employer and employee guide to unpaid parental leave - eligibility, how much leave can be taken and notice periods
Guidance and regulation
- Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework
- Progress check at age 2
- Development Matters
- Education inspection framework (EIF)
- Early years qualifications achieved in England
News and communications
- More than 500,000 families used Tax-Free Childcare in the last year
- Every child deserves the best start in life
- HMCI commentary: Ofsted's strategy 2022 to 2027
- Strong signs of recovery across education, but challenges remain
- Infants, children and families to benefit from boost in support
Research and statistics
- Exploring Ofsted inspection data with Data View
- Providers’ finances: survey of childcare and EY providers 2019
- Providers' finances: survey of childcare and EY providers 2018
- The early years workforce: recruitment, retention, and business planning
- Providers’ finances: survey of childcare and EY providers 2021
Policy papers and consultations
- Publication of statistics on childcare providers and inspections
- Early years childcare fees regulations
- Childminder agencies (CMAs)
- Early years register providers inspection requirements for Ofsted
- Childminder agency (CMA) inspection requirements for Ofsted
Transparency and freedom of information releases
- Ofsted Inspectors: lists
- Consented addresses for childminders and domestic childcare
- Reported COVID-19 notifications by registered early years and childcare settings
- Ofsted Annual Report 2020/21: education, children’s services and skills
- Joiners and leavers in the childcare sector