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Ofsted inspections in the early years: 23 key questions you may be asked

16 min of reading
29 July 2022

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?

    2) How do you make sure your EYFS curriculum meets the needs of all children?

    3) How does your approach to curriculum planning alter as children progress through the nursery?

    Implementation

    4) How do you ensure your staff has access to training for quality knowledge and skill progression?

    5) How are Literacy and Language promoted through your setting?

    Impact

    6) How do you monitor progress across your setting?

    Want to see how our software seamlessly integrates with several EYFS frameworks?

    7) How is independence increased across your setting?

    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?

    9) How is self-regulation promoted throughout the nursery?

    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?

    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?

    Evaluate how you explore race and diversity in your nursery setting.

    12) How do you provide cultural capital for disadvantaged children in your setting?

    13) How does your level of support for your children change throughout the year?

    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?

    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?

    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?

    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? 

    18) Explain the provision in place for children with SEND who are also disadvantaged?

    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?

    Find out all you need to know about paediatric first aid training for nurseries.

    20) What is your visitor procedure?

    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.)

    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.

    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?

    And one for luck: What is the support like from your leadership and management?

    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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