EnglandInspectionGood to know

Ofsted publishes first official statistics on new early years grades

Between 89% and 94% of full inspections found the expected standard or better in each area, with leadership and governance most likely to be graded lower.

A practitioner wearing a lanyard makes notes on a tablet in a colourful nursery room. — Stock photo, for illustration

Hubba TrainingOfficial sources

Published 9 July 20262 min read

At a glance

full inspections in the first official figures

Ofsted has published the first official statistics on early years inspections under its renewed inspection framework.
Between 89% and 94% of full inspections found the expected standard or better in each area.
Leadership and governance had the highest share graded 'urgent improvement' or 'needs attention', at 11%.

Ofsted has published the first official statistics on early years inspections in England under its renewed inspection framework.

The renewed framework came into effect on 10 November 2025. It introduced new evaluation areas and a new 5-point grading scale.

Inspection outcomes

Of 1,720 full Early Years Register inspections between 10 November 2025 and 31 March 2026, the share graded 'expected standard' or better was:

93% for inclusion
90% for curriculum and teaching
91% for achievement
94% for behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines
94% for children's welfare and wellbeing
89% for leadership and governance

Less than 1% of inspections had an 'exceptional' grade. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines had the highest share of 'strong standard' grades, at 45%.

Leadership and governance had the highest share graded 'urgent improvement' or 'needs attention', at 11%.

Ofsted said this is because settings with a history of not meeting statutory early years foundation stage (EYFS) requirements are graded below 'expected standard' in this area.

Safeguarding standards were graded 'not met' in 2% of the 1,910 inspections that included a safeguarding evaluation. Of 760 inspections where actions were issued, 71% had actions relating to safeguarding and welfare requirements.

Ofsted said outcomes in any single academic year are unlikely to be representative of all early years provision, as it has only inspected a small proportion so far.

Providers and places

On 31 March 2026, 59,700 childcare providers were registered with Ofsted, down 720 (1%) on a year earlier. Most of the fall was in childminders, down 630 (2%) to 24,700.

Places offered by providers on the Early Years Register rose by 26,500 (2%) to 1.31 million. Ofsted said this was mostly due to more places at settings such as nurseries and pre-schools.

Ofsted also carried out 7,270 regulatory events between 1 September 2025 and 31 March 2026, a 42% increase on the same period a year earlier.

For your setting

What this means for your setting

0 of 4 done

If any area is graded 'needs attention', Ofsted says settings will usually be inspected again within 12 months, or within 6 months for 'urgent improvement'.
Most inspections that led to actions had actions on safeguarding and welfare requirements, so you may want to review these parts of your practice first.
A history of not meeting EYFS requirements leads to a lower leadership and governance grade, so you may want to make sure any past actions are fully resolved.
Ofsted says these early figures are not representative of all settings, so you may want to treat them as a first look rather than the full national picture.

Tick things off as you go. Your ticks are kept in this browser only.

Does this apply in Scotland? These figures cover Ofsted-registered childcare in England only.

Useful for your team?Share it with your staff, or print it for the staff room.

One email with the week's news for your nation and a short list of things to do.

Sources

Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will put it right.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Licence.

At a glance

full inspections in the first official figures

Ofsted has published the first official statistics on early years inspections under its renewed inspection framework.
Between 89% and 94% of full inspections found the expected standard or better in each area.
Leadership and governance had the highest share graded 'urgent improvement' or 'needs attention', at 11%.