'I Know We Need to Be Regulated, but I Don't Think This Is the Right Way': Early Education Managers' Experiences of Group Setting Inspections in England
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| Title: | 'I Know We Need to Be Regulated, but I Don't Think This Is the Right Way': Early Education Managers' Experiences of Group Setting Inspections in England |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Susana Castro-Kemp (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Early Childhood Research. 2025 23(3):280-293. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 14 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Early Childhood Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Early Childhood Education, Inspection, Educational Quality, Administrators, Administrator Attitudes, Educational Environment, Child Development, Administrative Organization, School Administration, Futures (of Society) |
| Geographic Terms: | United Kingdom (England) |
| DOI: | 10.1177/1476718X251326000 |
| ISSN: | 1476-718X 1741-2927 |
| Abstract: | Early childhood education is regarded as key to help ensure long-term positive outcomes for children, and high-quality provision crucial for long-term developmental outcomes. However, how settings are inspected for the quality of their services varies substantially across countries. In England, the inspection body Ofsted has been heavily criticised for its high-stakes sanction-oriented approach to inspections. This study aimed to understand what makes a high-quality setting from the point of view of early years managers, and how they experience the inspection procedure, including any challenges faced, and ideas for a different inspection framework. Interviews with 21 managers resulted in three main themes: (a) key elements of the learning environment and resources for child development, (b) key organizational aspects, and (c) moving forward. Managers recognize the need for an inspection system but are dissatisfied with the current approach. They suggest a model where more advice and more prolonged engagement with the setting results in a supportive relationship that develops staff, in line with a low stakes, advisory-oriented model. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1481602 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Early childhood education is regarded as key to help ensure long-term positive outcomes for children, and high-quality provision crucial for long-term developmental outcomes. However, how settings are inspected for the quality of their services varies substantially across countries. In England, the inspection body Ofsted has been heavily criticised for its high-stakes sanction-oriented approach to inspections. This study aimed to understand what makes a high-quality setting from the point of view of early years managers, and how they experience the inspection procedure, including any challenges faced, and ideas for a different inspection framework. Interviews with 21 managers resulted in three main themes: (a) key elements of the learning environment and resources for child development, (b) key organizational aspects, and (c) moving forward. Managers recognize the need for an inspection system but are dissatisfied with the current approach. They suggest a model where more advice and more prolonged engagement with the setting results in a supportive relationship that develops staff, in line with a low stakes, advisory-oriented model. |
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| ISSN: | 1476-718X 1741-2927 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/1476718X251326000 |
