We want to make sure children have the best start in life. As part of this, we regulate early years providers to make sure they’re providing safe and secure environments for children to develop and learn in. This means making sure that they meet the requirements for registration, as set out in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework. Sometimes, we need to take action to make sure a provider is meeting those requirements. If we receive a concern or notification about a setting, we will risk assess that information to determine our next steps. We may carry out a regulatory visit or set up a telephone call with the setting. Sometimes, we record the information to discuss at the next visit. Following this, we or the provider may need to take action in order for the provider to meet requirements. ## **What is an outcome summary and when do we publish one?     ** We’ll always publish an outcome summary if we looked into a concern or notification and we or the provider then took action due to a breach of requirements. This applies to all providers registered on the Early Years Register. An outcome summary contains: * details of the requirement(s) not met by the provider * details of enforcement action taken by Ofsted * actions required by the provider (with completion date) * a link to the legal requirements of the EYFS We will update an existing outcome summary if we take additional enforcement action at a later date. We will also do so to show when a provider has met the actions raised. In some situations, providers can object to, or appeal, the action taken against them. In these cases, we still publish an outcome summary and this will state that the provider has the right to challenge our decision. We publish outcome summaries on a provider’s page on our reports website. We keep them there for 5 years, so that current and prospective parents can read about the concerns raised about a setting and the action we’ve taken to rectify them. ## **When we will not publish an outcome summary** There are some situations in which we will not publish an outcome summary. These include when: * we review the provider’s registration, for example if we have received a concern and decide to carry out an inspection; the inspection report will include the relevant information * we suspend a provider’s registration but do not take any other enforcement action; when we do this, we write to parents to inform them * the provider is registered on the Childcare Register only; if we need to follow up any concerns about these providers, we will always do this through inspection ## **Raising a concern about an outcome summary** If you have a concern about us publishing an outcome summary or want to raise a complaint, you can do this by following our complaints procedure. To make sure parents continue to receive up-to-date information, we will not delay publishing an outcome summary if some action is still in progress. However, if the outcome changes once we have completed our work, we will update the existing outcome summary. ## **Where you can find out more** You can read our guidance on outcome summaries, which sets out more detail on the principles for publishing an outcome summary. You can also find out more about the enforcement action we can take in the early years and childcare enforcement policy.

If you’re a nanny, you can look after children from any number of families, but you can only care for the children of 2 families at any one time. This is a requirement set by the Department for Education (DfE). The DfE has recently asked us to clarify how this works, so in this blog I’ll explain what it means in practice and what you need to do to make sure you’re properly registered. We’ve worked with the DfE to set out some examples of the childcare you can provide as an unregistered or registered nanny. ## What is a nanny? The law, set by the DfE, defines a nanny as a person providing childcare for a child or children from up to 2 families, and that childcare must be carried out wholly or mainly in either of the parents’ homes. The law says that this type of childcare taking place in a child’s own home is exempt from registering with Ofsted. This means nannies have a choice whether to register voluntarily on the Childcare Register. ## Caring for children from multiple families We know that the way nannies work has become more agile and flexible in recent years. Some nannies provide childcare for several sets of parents on different days. But it’s important that you continue to work in line with the requirements set by the DfE. Nannying is classed as ‘exempt childcare’. This means if you’re working as a nanny, you don’t **need** to register. However, you must make sure you continue to work in line with the legal exemptions. As explained above, although you can work with as many families as you like, you must only care for children from 2 families at any one time. For example, you can care for 2 children who are not related on Monday, and then 2 different unrelated children on Tuesday. You could also care for different children in the morning and the afternoon, but they still must be from only 2 families and in one of their homes. If you want to care for children from more than 2 different families at once, you can’t do this as a nanny and must legally register as a childminder (either with us or with a childminding agency). If you start doing it **without** registering as a childminder, you’re running unregistered childcare. This is an offence. ## Choosing to register as a nanny If you’re a nanny, you don’t have to register with us, but you may choose to. The Childcare Register has 2 parts: * the compulsory part, for those types of providers who **must** register * the voluntary part, for those that **choose** to register Nannies can only register on the voluntary part. We inspect and regulate registered nannies to make sure that childcare is safe and suitable for children. We inspect 10% of all providers on the Childcare Register each year. You can read our guidance about Childcare Register compliance inspections to find out more. Our most recent official statistics from March 2025 say that 7,362 nannies have chosen to register. Many do this so that parents who use them are able to claim tax-free childcare entitlements. The Childcare Choices website explains everything about this. If you choose to register, you have to meet all the requirements of your registration at all times. This includes having appropriate insurance and relevant first aid training, even when you’re not caring for children. ## Letting Ofsted know where you’re working If you’re a nanny registered with Ofsted, you’re required by law to keep your contact information and care arrangements up to date, including the addresses of **all** the places where you provide childcare. You can email us at any time to update us. We need to know this information so that we can contact you to let you know about an inspection, or to discuss the details of your registration. ## Existing childminders can also work as nannies If you’re already registered as a childminder with Ofsted, you can also operate as a nanny using your current registration. All you need to do is contact us to let us know that you want to start providing this type of care. We’ll then send you an updated certificate. You can email us from the email address we have on record. As of March 2025, nearly 2,000 registered childminders had done this. ## More information Did you know that, as a nanny, you: * must have appropriate insurance in place at all times, even when you’re not caring for children * don’t need written policy or procedures for safeguarding, but you must know the procedures to follow to safeguard children from abuse or neglect * must make sure that you always have a valid and appropriate first aid qualification (or someone working with you to provide the childcare does); appropriate means a qualification relevant for the age of the children being cared for * don’t have to follow the early years statutory framework (EYFS) requirements (because you can only register on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register) but you must meet the ongoing requirements for registration at all times We have a collection of guidance pages for Ofsted-registered nannies. We’ve done this so that everything is easier to understand and all available in one place. You can also read all of the legal requirements for registered nannies – remember, once registered, you need to meet these requirements at all times.

Whether you’re thinking about registering with Ofsted or are in the process of submitting your application, this blog post aims to help you understand the registration process and the actions you need to take. Before you begin your application, you need to determine the type of childcare you intend to provide. You need to register with Ofsted unless you’re exempt from registration or you’re going to register with a childminder agency. Below is a useful flowchart to help you determine what type of provider you should apply to register as. You can contact your local authority early years team if you want advice: ## Which register should I join? To understand which register you should join, first consider the ages of the children you plan to care for. It is completely up to you whether you join one or more registers, depending on what type of childcare you want to provide. If you plan to care for children aged from birth to the 31 August after their fifth birthday, you’ll need to register on the Early Years Register and meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework. If you plan to care for children from 1 September after the child’s fifth birthday up until their eighth birthday, you’ll need to register on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. If you plan to provide care for children that does not require registration, for example if you’re becoming a nanny, then you can register on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register. If you’re registering on the Childcare Register, whether that’s the compulsory or voluntary parts, you’ll need to follow the relevant requirements for the type of care you intend to provide. Our registration manual, Childminders and childcare providers: register with Ofsted, gives some examples of different types of care and register combinations. ## **Which registration form should I complete?** It’s important to use the correct form to complete your application. Which registration service you use will depend on the provider type you are applying to register as. To apply to operate as: * a childminder or nanny: Become a childminder or nanny (England) service * a childminder without domestic premises: Register as a childminder without domestic premises * a nursery or daycare organisation (group provision): if you are registering on the Early Years Register, apply to register your nursery or other daycare organisation (EYO) or apply to join the Childcare Register (CR1) if you want to apply to register on the compulsory or voluntary parts of the Childcare Register Each form contains links to further guidance to help you with your application. ## **What information will I need to complete the form?** You need to supply us with information to help us process your application and determine how suitable you are to provide childcare. It’s important to supply this information as early as possible to avoid delays to your application. As an example, if you’re applying to register as a childminder you’ll need: a valid DBS certificate for yourself and anyone living or working with you; first aid training for the age group you intend to look after; a completed health declaration form; and contact details of 2 references (one of which must be from your most recent childcare employer). We also need details of the setting, your address history and any previous registrations you have held with Ofsted or a childminder agency. If you’re applying to register a nursery or other daycare, we’ll send you an invoice with details of your application fee. Please pay the fee as quickly as possible to avoid delays. You can find more details on the information we require at the point of application for your type of child care at: Early years and childcare registration. ## **How long will it take to process my application?** If you're applying to register on the Early Years Register, once you’ve submitted your application form we’ll contact you to let you know whether we can accept it. We will usually phone you but we may try by email if we are unable to reach you. During this call, we’ll confirm that you understand the type of service you are registering and outline what to expect. Where applicable, we’ll also schedule a registration visit with you. This will usually be 8 weeks after we’ve accepted your application. Once we’ve confirmed that your form has been accepted, we will give you a unique reference number (URN) and start to carry out suitability checks. If you’re already known to us, for example if you’ve been registered before, we may not need to schedule a registration visit during the initial call. This is because we have already carried out suitability checks on you and therefore it’s likely a registration visit can be organised earlier than 8 weeks. We will contact you to confirm this. We aim to complete applications within: * 12 weeks for childminders and group providers wishing to register on the Early Years and Childcare Register(s) * 10 weeks for nannies These timescales apply from the point at which we confirm your application has been accepted. If we need to carry out further checks, we’ll contact you to request these – and it may result in a longer timescale. ## **Will I receive updates on my application?** We’ll keep in touch with you throughout the process. You do not need to contact us to chase your application. Please only contact us by email to make a change to your application or to send us any information we’ve requested. You can do this via [email protected] from the email address you have registered with us. Our guidance Childcare: application review provides further details on what to expect while your application is under review. ## **What to look out for when submitting your application** It’s important to have the required information ready when you begin your application. If we receive an incomplete form, we’ll return it to you and this may cause delays to your application. To avoid delays, here are some key points to consider when submitting your application: * Access the supporting guidance for your provider type to help you understand the registration requirements. * Get a DBS check before you submit the application form. DBS checks can take around 6 weeks to complete. * Read the application form carefully to make sure you’ve supplied the correct details about both yourself and your setting. * Allow as much time as possible and make sure you factor in the timescales set out above into your planning. For example, if you intend to begin operating in September, you should allow 4 months to register as a minimum. Applications with Ofsted take on average 12 weeks and you may need more time to apply for a new DBS certificate. * If you’re applying to work on domestic premises, for example as a childminder or childcare on domestic premises provider, you must include everyone who lives and/or works on the premises on your application form. ## **Adding a setting to your registration** If you’re already registered with Ofsted and want to add an additional setting to your registration, you must apply to register the new premises. You can do this through our service: Add another setting to your nursey or other daycare organisation (EYS). We need to approve any additional setting before you can begin operating from it. We may need to complete an approval visit at the new premises or do an inspection at one of your existing settings before we can make an approval decision. You’ll also need to pay an approval and annual fee for each setting.

The Department for Education (DfE) recently published guidance for local authorities on the use of EYPP. The Education Endowment Fund (EEF) has also published guidance for early years providers. This blog will discuss how we look at the use of this vital funding when inspecting early years providers. As we frequently say, we are tasked with finding out what it is like to be a child at their early years setting. In practice, this means that we must consider what it is _typically_ like. And we give particular consideration to disadvantaged children and those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This always includes children eligible for EYPP. **During an inspection****** During the notification call, we will ask you if any children who attend your setting receive additional funding. This includes two-year-old funding for disadvantage, Disability Access Funding (DAF) and EYPP. We will probably want to track the experiences of these children throughout the whole inspection. As our Chief Inspector says: > ‘If you get it right for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable, you get it right for everyone.’ We know that if you are getting it right for children eligible for EYPP, then all children will be benefitting from high-quality education and care. We will use our inspection methodology to have discussions with leaders, staff and parents. These discussions will focus on what it is like at the setting for children eligible for EYPP. We might ask questions such as: * How are parents supported to access this crucial funding to improve the education their children receive? * How do leaders decide what to use any funding for? * What impact does this have on the children who receive funding? * How do leaders and staff monitor this? * How does the setting work in partnership with those children’s parents to support the children’s regular attendance and learning at home? We will spend most of our time observing the interactions between practitioners and children, particularly those who are disadvantaged. This will help us to evaluate the quality of education and care they receive. We will consider the decisions of leaders and how well funding is used. Where good decisions are made, and disadvantaged children receive high-quality education, it is likely that all children in those settings are benefitting from high-quality provision. This might mean that the funding is used to provide targeted interventions for eligible children. Or it could be used for professional development for practitioners which improves the quality of education they provide. Strong settings will use their knowledge of effective strategies and high-quality education and care throughout their practice. They will do this every day, with all children, and particularly with disadvantaged children. This is vital in improving outcomes for disadvantaged children and helping them to catch up and keep up with their peers. **Settings without EYPP** If you do not have any children who are in receipt of EYPP, we may want to know why this is. We may look into questions such as: * How well do leaders know their community and the children and families it serves? * How well do staff know the children in their setting? * Are parents aware that there is funding available that their children could be entitled to? * Do parents know that funding could support the setting to improve the education their children receive? **Further reading** We would encourage all providers to read the EEF guidance. We also recommend reading our Best Start in Life research review, which aims to support you and examines the factors that contribute to high-quality early education. Our inspectors are trained in how to consider these factors. We know that early education has a positive effect on the life chances of disadvantaged children. And we know that these children, on average, need more opportunities to develop the wider habits and capacities for learning that they will need for later success. Many disadvantaged children need more chances to develop their language and communication and to learn the knowledge they need. This is why it is vital that EYPP funding is used effectively. All of us in early years have a crucial role in making sure these children get what they need to be as successful as their peers.

We know that keeping children safe and happy is the biggest priority for all of you in the early years and childcare sector. Caring for young children in a safe environment helps them to develop the skills they need as they grow. The early years foundation stage (EYFS) sets out the requirements you must meet for learning, development and care. It is a statutory requirement that you notify Ofsted or your childminder agency of: * any changes to your registration * a failure to meet the EYFS requirements * any significant events and/or serious childcare incidents. Last year we received 11,100 notifications from 7,850 providers. We have found that we are often notified about incidents we don’t necessarily need to know about. We know that notifying us takes time and can add to the pressure you are working under. So being sure whether you do need to notify us could save you time and relieve pressure. This blog will set out the types of information we need to know about to help you understand when it is appropriate to notify us. **What you must tell us about** If you are an Ofsted-registered provider, you must notify us of any serious childcare incident within 14 days. This includes: * a child’s serious accident, injury or illness while being looked after * the death of a child while in your care * any significant event that may affect someone’s suitability to look after or be in regular contact with children * any allegations of serious harm and abuse by anyone living, working or looking after children on the premises Our guidance gives more detail on the types of incidents you must tell us about and how to report them. You do not need to tell us about minor injuries such as animal and insect bites, or cuts and grazes. This is true even when hospital treatment is required, unless the child is admitted to hospital for more than 24 hours. **What is a significant event?** A significant event is any change or incident that affects the suitability of the registered person, or anyone connected with your registration, to care for or be in regular contact with children. We do not need to know about everything, and you will need to use your judgement to determine whether to notify us. The greater the risk posed to children, the more likely it is you should tell us about it. To help you make this decision, we have listed some examples in our published guidance. **Changes to health** A significant event may include a change to the health of the registered provider or those connected to your registration. We only need to know about changes that could impact on a person’s ability to care for or be in regular contact with children. This includes any long-term condition that affects their ability to walk, balance, bend, kneel or lift a child. You don’t need to tell us about changes to the health of managers or staff at an early years setting, as that is the provider’s responsibility. However, if a provider wishes to employ someone who is disqualified, or a member of staff becomes disqualified, that person must apply to us to waive disqualification.  They cannot work at the setting until a decision has been made. This is also the case if you, as a provider, become disqualified. Again, you need to tell us about changes to health or any other significant event as soon as reasonably practical and always within 14 days. **What we do when we receive a notification** We know things can happen, despite all appropriate measures in place to keep children safe. Notifying us will not necessarily affect your registration. However, failure to notify us of a significant event without reasonable excuse is an offence. When we receive a notification, we will risk assess the information alongside the details we already hold about your registration. This helps us to decide what action, if any, we need to take. For example, we may contact you to discuss the notification, or carry out a regulatory visit or inspection. **Changes to your registration** We also need to know about any changes to your registration details. This includes informing us of changes to your name, address or telephone number, the address where childcare is provided, working hours and the number of children you look after. You also need to contact us regarding any change to the legal entity of your registered body. You can do this by emailing [email protected] from the email address you have registered with us and giving your URN. You must also let us know about changes to people connected to your childcare. If you are registered on the Early Years Register, the relevant EYFS sets out the full list of changes that you must notify us about. Providers registered on the Childcare Register must follow the relevant Childcare Register requirements. * * * The Ofsted early years team will be at the Childcare & Education Expo in Olympia, London, on 28 February and 1 March 2025. If you have any questions, please come and speak to them.