{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/childcare-miscellaneous-amendments-inspection-outcomes-england-regulations-2025/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/childcare-miscellaneous-amendments-inspection-outcomes-england-regulations-2025/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2025/1261",
  "legislation_title": "The Childcare (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Inspection Outcomes) (England) Regulations 2025",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/childcare-miscellaneous-amendments-inspection-outcomes-england-regulations-2025",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations amend four instruments relating to childcare and early years provision in England. The changes are made in consequence of changes to inspection grades made by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (‘Ofsted’), and to make provision for inspections of independent schools by an independent inspectorate approved under section 106 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 (c. 25).\nRegulation 2 amends the Early Years Foundation Stage (Welfare Requirements) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/938) to give effect to a revised version, dated 3rd December 2025, of the Early Years Qualifications Requirements and Standards Document (the ‘Qualifications Document’), which sets out qualifications requirements applicable to early years providers other than early years childminders. The Qualifications Document provides for the ‘experience-based route’ for early years practitioners to work at level 3 in staff:child ratios where the provider has achieved specified grades at its most recent Ofsted inspection. These grades are updated in light of changes to Ofsted grades and to provide for independent schools inspected by an independent inspectorate. The Qualifications Document is available on the gov.uk website at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-qualification-requirements-and-standards.\nRegulation 3 amends the Local Authority (Duty to Secure Early Years Provision Free of Charge) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/2147) (the ‘2014 Regulations’), which require local authorities to make arrangements for free early years provision for eligible children in their area. Local authorities are not required to make or continue arrangements with early years providers that achieve specified inspection grades at their most recent inspection. The specified grades differ depending on whether the provision is made for eligible 2 year olds or 3-4 year olds (see regulation 3(2) and 3(3) of the 2014 Regulations), with additional higher grades specified for the provision for eligible 2 year olds. Paragraph (2) removes redundant definitions. Paragraph (3) updates references to Ofsted inspection grades and provides for independent schools, and paragraphs (4) to (5) make further consequential changes. Paragraph (6) inserts a new Schedule to the 2014 Regulations which sets out the specified grades. The third column of the table in the Schedule contains the grades applicable to provision for eligible 2 year-olds, and the fourth column contains the grades applicable to provision for 3-4 year olds. By regulation 8(1)(c)(viii) of the 2014 Regulations (amended by paragraph (5)), local authorities may impose training or quality improvement requirements on an early years provider with whom it makes arrangements where the provider achieves a specified grade at its most recent inspection. For these purposes, the specified grades are those in the third column of the table (irrespective of whether the provision is for an eligible 2 year-old or 3-4 year old).\nRegulation 4 amends the Childcare Providers (Information, Advice and Training) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/2319) which require local authorities to secure the provision of information, advice and training on prescribed subjects to registered early years providers that achieve specified inspection grades at their most recent inspection. Paragraph (2) omits a redundant definition. Paragraph (3) updates the references to inspection grades for registered early years providers.\nRegulation 5 amends the Childcare (Free of Charge for Working Parents) (England) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1134), which require local authorities to make arrangements for free childcare for qualifying children of working parents in their area. As with the 2014 Regulations, local authorities are not required to make or continue arrangements with providers that achieve specified grades at their most recent inspection. Paragraph (3) removes a redundant definition. Paragraph (4) removes redundant transitional provision. Paragraphs (5) to (7) update the references to Ofsted grades and provide for independent schools inspected by an independent inspectorate.\nA full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.",
  "extent": "E+W",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/1261/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T21:08:55.717725+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}