Children's Welfare and Wellbeing - Ofsted Evaluation

The 'Children's welfare and wellbeing' evaluation area in the Ofsted early years inspection toolkit focuses on how effectively a setting promotes children's welfare, care, safety, emotional well-being and healthy development so that children thrive.

The Ofsted early years inspection toolkit introduced 'children's welfare and wellbeing' as a new inspection area to be used from November 2025 and it will become more prominent from September 2026 when the remit is extended. Children's welfare and wellbeing is closely linked to the curriculum area personal, social and emotional development (EYFS prime area of learning) because if welfare and wellbeing are not supported and children's welfare and wellbeing are low, they cannot learn.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) states that, 'Children need to build an attachment with their key person for their confidence and wellbeing.'

Attachment is an important part of promoting wellbeing. For example, the EYFS states that all children must have a named key person in the setting and this should be in place from day 1 of the child's time in the setting. One of the key person roles is to provide the child with the best chance to be confident and feel secure, be healthy and stay safe.

Think about the child who arrives in your early years setting screaming. As the day progresses, they might sob or continue crying, unable to engage in play or with activities because they want to be at home. Now think about the child who has left a parent at home who is ill or who is concerned about domestic violence in their home - they are unlikely to be able to tell you how they are feeling, but they will not be happy and might detach from the group. Their wellbeing will be low and their brain will be unable to think clearly, concentrate on what you are saying, pay attention at group times etc.

Childcare.co.uk has a useful recorded webinar brain development and the impact of low wellbeing on children's ability to learn and develop.

When you recognise a concern about a child's wellbeing, you can measure it using different tools, depending on which one makes the most sense to you. Measuring wellbeing over time will help you decide what to do next and to provide you with a framework to support the child.

For example, you can effectively measure children's welfare and wellbeing using Maslow's hierarchy of need. While there are recognised challenges with pyramids and the theory doubtless needs to be updated to include current thinking, Maslow is useful because it talks about meeting children's:

• Physiological needs – basic requirements for survival, including food, water, warmth, and sleep.
• Safety needs – security and protection from physical and emotional harm, including having a secure key person relationship, good health, and a safe home.
• Love and belonging needs – the need for interpersonal relationships, such as friendship, family, and a key person in the setting.
• Esteem needs – the need for self-respect, status, recognition, and a sense of accomplishment.

When these needs are met, children will reach 'self-actualisation' - Maslow's highest level, representing the desire to achieve one's full potential and become the best version of oneself.

Another useful tool which early years providers can use to measure children's wellbeing is the Leuven scales of wellbeing. The Leuven scales help you to monitor how the child is feeling in the setting by grading their behaviour across 5 areas:

• Extremely low – the child is in obvious distress. They are having tantrums, crying, angry, tired and unhappy. When a child's wellbeing is low, they cannot engage, play and learn.
• Low – the child appears uncomfortable and unhappy. They might seem very shy, unwilling to engage, emotionally insecure and unwilling to join in or try new things. You might see them fidgeting, twisting their hands, running away, chewing clothes or sucking their thumb.
• Moderate – the child is neutral, neither happy nor sad. They are engaging but only just. They are often the 'lost' children in the setting, appearing to be involved but unable to fully participate.
• High – the child is clearly happy and content, most of the time. They smile, laugh and engage and are curious, happy to chat and explore. They need less emotional support and are happy to join in.
• Extremely high – the child's mood is stable and they are totally at ease and completely comfortable in their surroundings. They are fully engaged in what they are doing and often sing or chat to themselves as they play.

Childcare.co.uk has a useful recorded webinar Leuven scales of wellbeing and involvement.

You can also use the characteristics of learning to spot a child who is in distress or not fully engaged in what is happening around them. When you are in the room with the children, stand back for a moment and look for the 'lost' child – the one on the periphery of learning and conversations, always seeming ok but never really engaging with any of the toys or games for long. This child is not using their learning characteristics effectively - they are not fully motivated and engaged by what is going on around them. When we look at how the characteristics of learning support the child to concentrate, join in, become independent etc, we recognise that they are not learning.

Childcare.co.uk has a useful recorded webinar about the characteristics of effective learning.

During inspection

Ofsted's expectations for 'children's welfare and wellbeing' include:

Key person - the key person system promotes positive, secure relationships so babies and children feel emotionally secure in the setting. The key person must know their key children's interests, routines, personalities and family circumstances, including whether they are in receipt of early years pupil premium (EYPP). This means that children are happy and settled in the setting and want to play and join in with your activities. In group settings, Ofsted will also look at how well children are transitioned between rooms.

Curriculum - you need to plan a curriculum that is PSED rich and focused on teaching skills such as executive function, confidence, taking turns, sharing and resilience. Your curriculum needs to be broad and well-balanced to teach children about, for example, similarities and differences, equality and diversity, special events in the community etc.

Physical health – you need to establish healthy eating and eating habits, regular physical activity, less screen time (online safety) and an understanding of risky play and focus on children's self-care and oral health. Note that inspectors will be looking closely at safer eating, weaning and safe sleeping during inspection from September 2026.

Ofsted will include a link to their Ofsted: explore an area website in the updated inspection toolkit. They want you to use this link to find out the context of your local area and to recognise health challenges that you can help parents and children overcome in relation to, for example, oral health and obesity.

High wellbeing - the inspector needs to see consistently high levels of wellbeing from all the children. Inspectors do not want to see any 'lost' children in the setting and will comment if a child gets up and wanders away from a group activity.

Personal care practices - when strong, your practices ensure children are safe, comfortable and ready to play and learn and they lead to children developing independence. An inspector commented that Ofsted do not want to see practitioners doing anything for a child that they can be reasonably expected to do for themselves. Staff must be able to explain children's medical and dietary needs to the inspector, especially if there are accommodations in place. Good hygiene practices must be embedded into daily practice - for example, handwashing.

Outings - be ready to talk to the inspector about your outings into the local community and how they are carefully planned to link to children's current interests and meet intended learning outcomes. Community outings help children to build a sense of belonging and cohesion with their local area.

Safety - the inspector will want to see how you keep children safe from harm - ensuring the safeguarding and welfare requirements in the EYFS are securely in place and implemented effectively. Risks must be identified and managed effectively - inspectors talk about seeing chaotic environments where children are at risk of harm. With a safeguarding focus, children must be protected from neglect and abuse and inspectors will look at documentation relating to people on the premises to ensure they have necessary checks. Unsafe practices must be challenged and the childminder / all staff must know how to raise a whistleblowing concern.

Outside learning - you need to show that you include daily planned outside play and learning opportunities for all children in your daily routines. Children can move and explore in different ways outside which benefits the internal senses of proprioception and the vestibular sense - movement and fresh air benefit all children. Staff understand age-appropriate physical development milestones and are always encouraging children to take the next step. The outside area should complement rather than duplicate inside, offering different types of learning experiences for the children.

Safer sleeping - there will be a new focus on your arrangements for safer sleep from September 2026, including inspectors checking all staff have been trained on, understand and are following the new requirements. There must be clear monitoring arrangements - you can use sleep monitors for babies over 6m (under 6m must be in the room with an adult) as well as regular checks for temperature, breathing and wellbeing. Ofsted will also look at how well safe sleep practices are implemented by leaders in group settings.

Safer eating and weaning - there will be a new focus on safer eating and weaning from September 2026, which means that inspectors will look at and comment more explicitly on how well the setting implements safe weaning practices, safe food preparation (Safer Food Better Business), supervision (sitting with the children when eating), drinking water (not juice), prevention of choking risks (cutting up circular food), children's supervision and staff knowledge and implementation of DfE 'Early years nutrition' statutory guidance relating to eating and weaning etc. Be mindful of times when children are playing with food as part of their sensory learning and ensure the same level of supervision.

Behaviour - your expectations must be clear and consistent and in group settings this must follow through the rooms. In your setting, positive behaviour must be recognised and encouraged and you should ensure you always explain why if you have stopped a child from doing something dangerous. Your strategies to support behaviour must be developmentally appropriate and you should teach children to play together, feel a sense of belonging and resolve conflicts.

Inclusion is part of every inspection outcome. In relation to children's welfare and wellbeing, inclusion means ensuring children's individual care needs are identified quickly and putting appropriate support plans in place, including making reasonable adjustments to comply with the Equality Act 2010. However, note that Ofsted has not provided any adjustments in relation to safer sleep - if a child needs a buggy for sleep at home, for example, you must ensure they are in a cot in your setting.

All of these areas of practice, when viewed together, help you to create an inclusive environment where children are welcomed and valued, practitioners have high expectations for every child's welfare and development and children's differing needs and backgrounds are recognised and supported.

Evidence you might provide

Think about what evidence you can share with your inspector during inspection that will help you to show you have thought about the 'Children's welfare and wellbeing' section of inspection and recognise it as having equal importance to safeguarding, leadership, curriculum and teaching etc, for example:

• Culture of wellbeing - you have a strong culture of wellbeing that runs through the setting, and the inspector can see it – from key person to emotional support to quality environment and resources that reflect children's interests.
• Happy children - children are happy in the setting and parents tell the inspector they are happy - because practitioners respond warmly towards them and recognise their interests as well as their individual care and learning needs. The inspector can see that they are confident, resilient, feel safe and healthy.
• Safeguarding procedures are securely in place – you (and any staff / assistants) know what to do if you are concerned about a child.
• Parent partnerships - you work closely with parents who have written letters / notes to say how happy they and their children are with the setting.
• Community engagement - children are regularly engaged in events in the local community, so they develop a strong sense of belonging and inclusion.
• Emotional awareness - focus activities teach children about their emotions; when children need emotional support in the setting, staff model how to take a breath and be calm.
• Sense of self - planned activities teach children about themselves, their families and the wider world including equality and diversity – for example, children have access to resources sourced from around the world and recognise their place in a diverse society.
• Behaviour - children learn to manage their feelings and behaviour appropriately and if there are behaviour issues, they are quickly tackled because expectations are clear and consistent. This practice is consistent across the setting and helps to minimise the impact on the child and other children in the setting, so everyone can get back to their play and learning. Alongside understanding and supporting behaviour, practitioners help children develop positive relationships and social skills.
• Self-regulation is part of executive function and an important skill that will receive more focus in inspection from September 2026. You and any staff must help children recognise their own and other children's emotions, so they are learning to manage feelings appropriately. You should model calm and respectful interactions. You should be able to talk to your inspector about how, over time, children show increasing independence and self-control.
• Inclusion - all children must feel safe, secure and welcomed in the setting - their cultures, languages and backgrounds respected - note that you must teach them in English. Resources in the setting should reflect diversity positively so children develop a sense of belonging.

Parent partnerships - questions inspectors might ask parents

As part of the 'children's welfare and wellbeing' inspection evaluation area, inspectors might ask parents about:

• Setting in procedures - were they effective and supportive?
• Menus and healthy eating - do you share regular information about healthy foods?
• Lunch bags - if children bring them, inspectors will want to ensure they are healthy and that you have shared information with parents to promote this.
• Children's wellbeing - do you inform parents about how their child is getting on in the setting?
• Concerns about welfare or wellbeing - are concerns shared promptly and sensitively?
• Care routines - are they discussed during induction and regularly reviewed?
• Oral health - do you share information with parents about the importance of regular dental checks?
• Safety - do parents understand key policies and practices in relation to safety?
• Ongoing conversations - how does feedback from families inform practice improvements?

Staff knowledge - questions inspectors might ask staff

Staff should be able to answer confidently:

Wellbeing - how do you monitor children's wellbeing? How do you help children form secure attachments? How do you support a child who is upset or anxious?

Safe sleep - how do you ensure babies sleep safely? What checks do you carry out while children are sleeping? What would you do if a parent requested a sleep arrangement that was not considered safe?

Safe eating and weaning - how do you minimise choking risks? How do you protect children from allergic reactions? Do you know what to do if a child chokes / eats something they shouldn't eat? How do you support children who are weaning?

Safeguarding - what would you do if you were worried about a child? Who is the Designated Safeguarding Lead? What are the signs that a child may be at risk? How do you whistleblow?

Inclusion - how do you adapt practice for children with additional needs? How has EYPP been spent to support the child? How do you ensure every child feels included?

Signs of strong practice

In a setting graded 'expected standard' inspectors want to see:

• Secure transitions including settling in procedures.
• Calm, nurturing interactions.
• Children who appear secure, confident and engaged.
• Staff who know every child well and can talk about them confidently.
• Consistently safe sleep and mealtime practices.
• Strong awareness of safeguarding responsibilities.
• Good behaviour and a developing understanding of emotional wellbeing.
• Children developing independence, self-regulation and healthy habits.
• Inclusive provision that meets individual needs.
• Leaders who regularly monitor welfare practice and can explain how improvements are made.

If you would like more guidance on the 'Children's welfare and wellbeing' section of inspection, you will find a recorded webinar Welfare, Wellbeing and Ofsted and an information guide to help you prepare for inspection.