What Parents Need to Know About Ofsted’s New Nursery Inspections 2025

Ofsted’s approach to nursery inspections is evolving. In this blog, we explore what’s changing and how it could affect your child’s early years setting.

From November 2025, Ofsted is introducing a new Education Inspection Framework that changes how nurseries across England are reviewed, rated, and supported.

Here’s a simple breakdown of what’s changing, and what it means for your child.

What is Ofsted and why do they visit nurseries?

Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) inspects nurseries and childcare settings to make sure children are safe, happy, and learning well. Inspections help parents understand quality, and they give nursery teams valuable feedback to keep improving.

What’s changing from November 2025?

The biggest change is how nurseries are graded.

• The familiar ‘Outstanding’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires Improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’ ratings will disappear.
• Instead, nurseries will receive a separate grade for each key area of practice, such as safeguarding, inclusion, and teaching.
• Each area will be graded on a five-point scale: ‘Exceptional’, ‘Strong Standard’, ‘Expected Standard’, ‘Needs Attention’, or ‘Urgent Improvement’.
• The aim is to make inspection reports more detailed, fair, and focused on what really matters to families – the quality of care and learning your child experiences every day.

Nurseries will now be inspected more regularly, typically every 4 years instead of every 6. More frequent inspections – which could be within 12 months if there are areas to strengthen – are part of a fairer, more transparent system designed to keep families better informed about their nursery’s ongoing progress.

What does ‘Expected Standard’ mean?

This is one of the most important new terms. ‘Expected Standard’ means that a nursery is fully meeting Ofsted’s requirements and providing consistently high-quality education and care. It’s the benchmark Ofsted expects all nurseries to achieve, and it actually represents a stronger position than the old ‘Good’ rating.

Why this change matters for parents

For families, these changes mean:

• More regular inspections help identify and acknowledge improvements sooner
• More transparency, keeping everyone better informed of ongoing progress
• You’ll get clearer, more detailed feedback about what your nursery does well
• Reports will show how each area performs, not just a single grade
• There’s a greater focus on inclusion, well-being, and engagement, ensuring every child, whatever their needs, feels valued and supported

How we’re preparing for the new framework

Some of our nurseries have already taken part in Ofsted’s pilot and mock inspections, giving us early insight into how the new system works. The learning from these experiences has been shared across our entire nursery group, ensuring every setting benefits. Please note, we will not be receiving a report for the Ofsted pilot and mock inspections. Further guidance around the new inspection framework has also been provided to all of our nurseries, to ensure we continue to meet (and exceed) the new Expected Standard.

The Ofsted framework may be changing, but our commitment to your children isn’t. We’ll continue to provide a safe, inspiring, and inclusive environment where every child can thrive.

To learn more about Ofsted’s new Education Inspection Framework (effective from November 2025), visit the official government website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-inspection-framework/education-inspection-framework-for-use-from-november-2025