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Guidance

Early years inspection: toolkit, operating guide and information

Guidance for inspectors and providers on inspecting registered early years settings in England under the renewed education inspection framework.

Updates to this page

From:
Ofsted
Published:
9 September 2025
Last updated:
28 August 2026
Show all updates

  1. See the 'Summary of changes'.

  2. We added new versions of the early years inspection toolkit, the early years inspection operating guide and the early years inspection information that will come into force in September 2026. The summary of changes document lists what has changed.

  3. Updated 'Early years inspection information' to reflect changes to the inspection timescale from April 2026 for providers registered on the Early Years Register. 

  4. First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Early years inspection toolkit

PDF, 3.17 MB, 55 pages

Early years inspection operating guide for inspectors

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Early years inspection information

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Summary of changes

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Details

Find guidance for early years inspections in England:

  • early years inspection toolkit – what inspectors and early years providers use to discuss the quality of provision on inspection
  • early years inspection operating guide – a step-by-step guide for inspectors on how to inspect a registered early years setting
  • information about early years inspections – for staff and leaders, parents and carers and the wider public

Earlier versions of the early years inspection toolkit, operating guide and information are available in The National Archives.

Education inspection framework

The education inspection framework explains why we inspect registered early years settings and other educational provision, including the legal requirements.

This guidance replaced the early years inspection handbook from 10 November 2025.

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