What grades does Ofsted use?

We use a straightforward four-point grading scale to make a judgement on how well your provision meets each of the outcomes. We also use the scale to make an overall judgement on the quality of the childcare and, where applicable, on the quality of the nursery education. The grades are:

Grade 1: Outstanding – given to exceptional settings that have excellent outcomes for children

Grade 2: Good – given to strong settings that are effective in promoting outcomes for children

Grade 3: Satisfactory – given to settings that have acceptable outcomes for children but which have scope for improvement

Grade 4: Inadequate – given to weak settings that have unacceptable outcomes for children

If your childcare or nursery education is judged as satisfactory or good, the report will include recommendations to help you improve your provision further. We will check whether you have acted on these recommendations when you are next inspected.

Outcomes for children

What do inspectors look for?

To help us come to judgements about the overall quality of your care and, where applicable, nursery education our inspections will ask what is it like for a child here? To answer this important question they will judge how well you meet a series of outcomes for children that are set out in law*. These are how you:

• help children to be healthy
• protect them from harm or neglect and help them stay safe
• help them enjoy and achieve
• help them to make a positive contribution to your provision and the wider community.

* The outcomes were first set out in the Green Paper Every Child Matters and are now in the Children Act 2004.

Outcome	Inspection of care	Inspection of nursery education
	Inspectors will check	Inspectors will check
Helping children to be healthy	Standard 7: health Standard 8: food and drink Birth to three matters: a healthy child	The quality of the provision for children’s physical development
Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe	Standard 4: physical environment Standard 5: equipment Standard 6: safety Standard 13: child protection Birth to three matters: a healthy child
Helping children enjoy and achieve	Standard 3: care, learning and play Birth to three matters: a skilful communicator; a competent learner	The quality of children’s learning The quality of teaching
Helping children make a positive contribution to the provision and the wider community	Standard 9: equal opportunities Standard 10: special needs (including special educational needs and disabilities) Standard 11: behaviour Standard 12: working in partnership with parents and carers Birth to three matters: a strong child	The effectiveness of the partnership with parents and carers in promoting children’s learning   Whether the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered
Organisation	Standard 1: suitable person Standard 2: organisation Standard 14: documentation	How well the setting is led and managed

How will inspectors make judgements?

Here are some general indicators of the sort of practice inspectors may expect to see.

Grade
Grade 1 Outstanding	This applies to exceptional settings which are way above the norm. They are highly effective at making sure that outcomes for children are excellent. The childcare practice is exemplary. If nursery education is provided, it is of such a high quality that 3 and 4-year-olds are making very rapid progress towards the early learning goals Overall, the practice is worth disseminating beyond the setting The inspector will not make any recommendations for improvement
Grade 2 Good	This applies to strong settings which are successful at making sure that outcomes for children are acceptable. The childcare practice is very effective. If nursery education is provided, 3 and 4-years-olds are making good progress towards the early learning goals Overall, the practice is worth reinforcing and developing The inspector will make recommendations for further improvement
Grade 3 Satisfactory	This applies to settings which work steadily to make sure that outcomes for children are acceptable. The childcare practice is effective. If nursery education is provided, 3 and 4-year-olds are making sound progress towards the early learning goals Overall, the practice has scope for improvement The inspector will make recommendations for further improvement Note: where there are no children in receipt of funding for nursery education on roll or present, the quality and standards of nursery education are very unlikely to be judged as better than satisfactory