Ofsted inspections are understandably a source of stress and worry for you and your early years practitioners. Your EYFS provision is not designed to tick all of the boxes in a nursery Ofsted inspection. Meeting the needs of the children and their families is your highest priority.
Thorough Ofsted inspection preparation can help to reduce the stress felt on the day and showcase the quality of your childcare provision.
What to find in this article:
This needn’t be the case! Ensure you and your team are confident and prepared in advance to allow the visit to give you opportunities to showcase what you do for your children and families day in, day out.
There are a number of metaphorical ducks you will need to get into rows to be prepared before and on the day of your inspection. Check out our article on everything you need to know when preparing your staff, parents and children prior to a visit from Ofsted.
Early years practitioners and nursery managers mention ‘brain fog’ when it comes to answering Ofsted questions. How many times have you thought of vital points you missed after an interview or important conversation has passed?
This article shares 23 of the top EYFS Ofsted questions you may be asked on the day of the inspection. Having access to nursery Ofsted questions and answers can help your team to feel ready to speak to the Ofsted inspector with confidence.
When creating our 23 top Ofsted questions, we consulted additional industry experts, The Early Years Inspection Handbook (the latest 2019 version), The latest EYFS Framework and the latest Education Inspection Framework.
As Blossom Educational was created by EYFS nursery managers, we also spoke to our nurseries who have celebrated recent Ofsted Inspections in 2024.
From this article, you and your early years team can access 23 potential EYFS Ofsted questions and suggested evidence ideas to support your answers. This can be discussed during staff meetings to ensure confidence when your next Ofsted inspection happens.
Before anything else, preparation is the key to success
How often are nurseries inspected?
Nursery Ofsted inspections will typically follow this timeline:
- New nurseries will be inspected within 30-months of registration
- Currently, the guidance is that nurseries will be inspected at least once every 6-years
- If a nursery is deemed to have one or more key area as ‘requires improvement’, they will be typically be re-inspected within 12-months
- Nurseries who receive one or more key area judgement of ‘inadequate’ will be re-inspected within 6-months (this may differ depending on concern levels)
What is Ofsted’s role?
Since the introduction of school inspections in 1992, Ofsted has been charged with the responsibility to monitor the quality of teaching and learning in all educational settings across England. The EYFS Framework is the statutory document that all maintained and non-maintained schools, as well as nurseries and childminders either from the local authority or privately owned, must follow. This is because the framework:
Sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well
Ensures children are kept healthy and safe
Ensures that children have the knowledge and skills they need to start school
What will happen on the inspection day?
The usual working day before the inspection will take place, during which your setting will be contacted by midday via a phone call. The latest School Inspection Handbook released in September 2024 has altered this routine for schools and maintained nursery schools- they will be contacted by 9:30 am. on a Monday morning.
The Ofsted inspector will ask speak to the manager of the setting and if they are unavailable, they will speak to the next available senior member of the team. Logistical and organisational details are shared during the phone call. A number of questions may be asked during the call.
You can expect the inspector/s to be in the setting for between 4-6 hours on the visit days. Spending their time observing children and staff, undertaking walk and talks, meeting with parents, viewing relevant policies and information, as well as discussing in-depth questions, will be their mission for the day.
What questions will Ofsted ask me and my nursery team?
These non-exhaustive questions have been sectioned into Curriculum (Quality of Education); Behaviour and Attitudes; Personal Development; Leadership and Management; and Safeguarding. To give you some ideas, we have included a few easy examples of demonstrating evidence.
Ofsted questions about the EYFS Curriculum
Your curriculum will be underpinned by the EYFS Statutory Framework, a document all early years settings are required to use when planning their EYFS curriculum. The 3 I’s are covered in the Early Years Inspection Handbook, you will likely be asked about your curriculum’s intent, implementation and impact.
The following questions are designed to demonstrate the types of questions they could ask you and your nursery team in relation to EYFS curriculum.
Intent
1) What do you intend your children to know because of your EYFS curriculum?
- Example of long-term plans showing the learning building across their time at the provision.
- Evidence your curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of the children.
- Know-hows aimed to have met by the end of each year: toileting, scissor use.
- Evidence of a broad and balanced curriculum across all 7 Areas of Learning and Development.
- Evidence of how your curriculum meets the Early Learning Goals (ELG)
2) How do you make sure your EYFS curriculum meets the needs of all children?
- Evidence of striving towards inclusive practice within the curriculum intent.
- Special Educational Needs and Disability data mirroring your provision available- if children are presenting with poor speech and language skills, how can you evidence the steps towards a language-rich environment?
- How diverse is your nursery register? Evidence of how your curriculum celebrates what makes them, them.
3) How does your approach to curriculum planning alter as children progress through the nursery?
- Recognition skills and knowledge are built upon during their time at nursery.
- Increasing opportunities for independence and managed risk-taking (give some examples).
- Depending on your nursery curriculum approach, children may begin to discover more table-top activities to help them transition into reception more easily.
Implementation
4) How do you ensure your staff has access to training for quality knowledge and skill progression?
- A robust record of staff qualifications.
- Continued Professional Development record and projected plan based on developing needs.
- An open and supportive culture around progression.
- Use of evidence-based research from Education Endowment Foundation, National Literacy Trust, ICAN and Early Intervention Foundation.
5) How are Literacy and Language promoted through your setting?
- Evidence you are a language-rich nursery through plans, regular storytime and back and forth interaction observations.
- Evidence and observations across all 7 Areas of Learning and Development.
- The 'why' explained, audit evidence of story choices, the continual provision choices and resource choice.
Impact
6) How do you monitor progress across your setting?
- An easy-to-use system where all important monitoring information is in one central place.
- Evidence of feedback from parents, pupils and observations.
- Regular pupil progress meetings with clear focuses for each meeting.
- Ability to record group and individual observations to save practitioner time but keep progress records up to date.
Want to see how our software seamlessly integrates with several EYFS frameworks?
7) How is independence increased across your setting?
- An explanation of areas you aim to increase independence in first across the 7 Areas of Learning and Development.
- Baseline assessments of skills children are secure with, to help know when they can increase independence in different areas.
- Feedback from parents via strong communication links.
- Choice of resources available, chosen to encourage independent, free play.
Find out if your EYFS tracking system is Ofsted-ready.
Ofsted questions about Behaviour and Attitudes
8) What are your expectations of behaviour in your setting?
- Explanation of realistic expectations for age range, consistent nursery-wide.
- Promotion of self-regulatory behaviours and understanding of self from an early age.
- Behaviour logged on the central system for all to recognise and unpick, understanding that all behaviour stems from a reason.
- Clear parent communication about expected behaviours from parents and practitioners.
We share advice on how to manage upset or angry parents.
9) How is self-regulation promoted throughout the nursery?
- Evidence of encouragement for the development of mentally healthy habits from a young age.
- Common recognition of signs when a child is under or overstimulated, strategies regularly promoted to develop a balance.
- Evidence of continued communication with parents for developing strategies at home.
- Evidence of planned PSED activities.
- Central communication record to highlight any areas of concern for early support with managing emotions.
- Modelling of mindfulness and how to regulate their nervous systems.
Building positive home-nursery relationships can help to continue self-regulation practice at home.
10) How effective are the home-nursery links for attendance and behaviour?
- Evidence of high standards through good practice to ensure high levels of parent engagement.
- A recognition and response to the resources and support your families and community need from you and your team (this will be area and community-specific).
- Explain strong links through the home-nursery communication portal your nursery uses.
- A trauma-informed approach implemented throughout your setting, supporting parents and children through challenging times.
Find out more about trauma-informed approaches to building parent relationships.
Ofsted questions on Personal Development
Personal development is an area most nurseries do well naturally. Due to the age of the children, they are learning all about their world and the people around them. Most nurseries foster that natural curiosity for difference and use them as learning opportunities.
We have collated some questions to consider in the area of personal development.
11) How do you teach children to respect and celebrate people and their differences?
- Regular visit evidence and timetable of visits from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences.
- Strong evidence of underpinning British Values for early years throughout the curriculum.
- Evidence of a wide range of representation in literary texts is visible as well as shown around the nursery displays.
Evaluate how you explore race and diversity in your nursery setting.
12) How do you provide cultural capital for disadvantaged children in your setting?
- Describe the needs of your disadvantaged children and how you plan additional visits and visitors, and tailor the curriculum to fill these gaps.
- Highlight thought processes behind giving children similar life experiences outside of the nursery walls.
- Set high expectations and ambitions for all children.
- Give all children, especially those in receipt of Early Years Pupil Premium funding (EYPP), the opportunity to learn a musical instrument.
13) How does your level of support for your children change throughout the year?
- Timetable or plan for the potentially challenging times of the year for your children (festive holidays, settling in, moving on).
- Recognition that children may need support at different times in the year with the key social challenges: making and maintaining friendships, keeping healthy, moving on.
- Working hard as a team to ensure smooth transitions (from nursery to school, and all the small changes like room moves, key worker change etc.)
Check out our nursery manager’s guide to a smooth EYFS transition.
Ofsted questions on Nursery Leadership and Management
A number of parents make the decision to convert to customers after positive interactions with nursery leadership. A nursery that is ran effectively will have a strong leadership team at the helm.
Here are some leadership and management questions for you to think on ahead of your upcoming Ofsted inspection.
14) How is your provision organised?
- Policy evidence and choice behind the policies, to fit the needs of your setting.
- Aims and rationale are apparent throughout practice and are individual to meet the needs of your children and families.
- Recruitment and retention are a priority.
- Staff are encouraged for professional contribution and a culture of support and progression promoted.
With career progression in mind, we question when to know you are ready for the next career step.
15) What are the main stresses of your team and how do you support them?
- Knowledge and awareness of current industry strain within your nursery and nationally (maintaining ratio with isolations and the recruitment of apprentices as examples).
- An active approach to reducing the workload to avoid staff being away from interaction with the children.
- It is important to share how you are supported as a manager (via the owners or school leadership if you’re a part of a maintained nursery).
Unpick what it takes to be a strong female leader in the EYFS space with our expert interview.
Ofsted questions about SEND and inclusion
16) How do you identify and support speech and language needs in nursery?
- SENDCo involved in the early identification procedures (including staff training to spot signs of language disorders and Speech, Language and Communication Needs).
- Staff confident in modelling language use and the use of introductory phonics.
- Evidence of communication and language activities planned regularly.
- Increased speech and language interventions for children causing concern.
- Strong working relationships with speech and language professionals outside of the nursery setting.
Recognise the difference between language disorder and delayed speech acquisition through exploring available free resources.
17) What is the graduated approach and how do you use it to support children?
- Explain how the graduated approach (assess, plan, do, review) is used to identify potential SEND needs as early as possible.
- Share CPD and training plans that address emerging needs found in practitioner observations.
- Detail the external services used to gather as much assessment data as possible to identify and address needs early-on.
Check out our article on supporting SEND needs without additional funding.
18) Explain the provision in place for children with SEND who are also disadvantaged?
- Detail your efforts for early identification when not achieving expected milestones and how this process supports SEND children and those in vulnerable groups.
- Tie in your plans for developing cultural capital across disadvantaged groups and SEND children.
- Demonstrate CPD and training plans for key workers with additional support from the early years SENDCo.
Share tips with your early years practitioners so they can support their key worker children best.
Ofsted questions on Safeguarding
19) What safeguarding procedures are in place?
- Training (including first aid), DBS records, and policies up to date in an easy-to-find system.
- Culture of communication and sharing of information with others.
- Evidence of referrals and their outcomes on a central system.
- Evidence of all staff exploring Keeping Children Safe in Education (Part 1).
Find out all you need to know about paediatric first aid training for nurseries.
20) What is your visitor procedure?
- An in-depth check of the visitor’s credentials (you can contact Ofsted for them to confirm the inspector’s information as well).
- A robust sign-in and out system is in use with all visitors identified clearly with a lanyard or badge.
- Nursery-wide knowledge of the close supervision of any visitor without a full DBS check.
- Confidence from practitioners on what the procedure is if the nursery manager was unavailable.
21) How do you keep children safe in your setting?
All leadership and practitioners must be confident to know the procedure in place, the early signs to spot, who to contact in the setting, who to share concerns with if the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is unavailable and what to do in an emergency across the following safeguarding situations.
- County Lines concerns
- Signs of abuse and neglect
- Prevent Duty
- Reporting concerns
- Concerns of parent wellbeing (including if a parent is under the influence)
- First aid
- Special Guardianship Orders (SGO)
- Child Protection (including Child Protection Plans)
- An emergency situation where the safety of the premises has been breached (unwanted visitor etc.)
Explore more free safeguarding and health and safety advice on our blog.
22) How are you prepared to manage a critical incident? (DSL-specific)
This may be detailing a physical injury to a staff member or child and the First Response team cannot be contacted. Or if an incident were to occur that is unexpected, like a child choking or having an allergic reaction.
- Have risk assessment processes in place for all possible eventualities.
- A strong network with other nursery managers to encourage sharing of good practice.
- Suitable training (like paediatric first aid)
- Communication policy to detail when phones should be taken when off-site. Walkie talkie communication plans if your site is large and staff members need immediate assistance with a child.
- Regular safeguarding scenarios ran through during staff meetings.
Scenario run-throughs are one of the most effective approaches to building practitioner confidence with high-pressure responsibilities like safeguarding.
Ofsted questions for early years practitioners
Nursery Ofsted inspectors speak to management, practitioners and parents on drop-off and pick-up. It is important for all members of the team to be prepared for questions they may be asked.
Not to rehearse the answers, they must be authentic and how your setting currently runs. But to remove the additional panic that can be experienced when placed on the spot.
Remember, your first priority is the children. If a child follows a specific routine and you are asked to speak to an Ofsted inspector at that time, you can explain the importance the routine has on their wellbeing and can complete that task first.
Here are some practitioner-specific questions and answers to consider.
23) What are your key worker responsibilities?
- Explain your role when the children first join the nursery all the way through to them leaving to go to primary school.
- Detail how you support the parents, identify changes in skill strength, independence and the importance of observations (remember your focus should always be the child, not time-consuming amounts of paperwork).
- You may detail your day-to-day responsibilities alongside the larger picture duties like planning the curriculum and activities to meet their interests and needs.
- The use of parent communication tools to build strong relationships with parents.
And one for luck: What is the support like from your leadership and management?
- You may want to detail how welfare is supported and recognised.
- The thoughtful choices you have noticed from your management (succinct meetings when necessary, flexible rota reschedules if necessary, good communication).
- Progression is important in all career fields. You may share the progression plans you have seen in place in your setting- especially if you are on additional training to help you reach a career goal.
- Share the types of CPD training you participate in and how it is helpful to building your knowledge and confidence.
Ofsted inspections should not invoke fear or extreme panic. The inspectors are not there to trick you and your team, they are looking to see good practice and give guidance on areas that don’t meet the high standards all nurseries should have.
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