Early Years News November 2025
Welcome to the November newsletter from Childcare.co.uk.
The aim of this monthly newsletter is to keep early years providers informed about latest information from the sector.
Here are some of the latest updates:
The Ofsted inspection toolkit
The new Ofsted inspection toolkit will be introduced from 10th November.
Ofsted are pushing ahead with the changes and training their inspectors. They have also published an article which sets out their justification for the changes – Improving the way Ofsted inspects
Childcare.co.uk support for the changes
Childcare.co.uk Ofsted inspection guidance has been updated to support gold members with the inspection changes.
Childcare.co.uk has also commissioned a series of webinars – some of which have already been presented and recorded – they are available on the Childcare.co.uk webinar player.
Teaching – focus on a slow pedagogy
Introduction to the Ofsted inspection toolkit
More webinar training is planned and will be presented over the coming months –
11.25 – Inclusion and curriculum.
12.25 – Ofsted inspection evaluation areas.
12.25 – Action planning for 2026.
01.26 – Curriculum confidence.
01.26 – Ofsted and welfare and wellbeing.
01.26 – Ofsted and behaviour, attitudes and routines.
02.25 – Ofsted and achievement.
Don’t forget to sign up early to secure you space.
https://www.childcare.co.uk/webinars
Webinars are free on the night they are presented and then recorded for gold Childcare.co.uk members to watch again.
https://www.childcare.co.uk/gold-membership-benefits
Safeguarding refresher training
The requirement in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) for providers in England is to complete a ‘basic’ and DSL training course every 2 years, which covers the criteria set out in Annex C. There is an additional expectation to ‘undertake annual refresher training’ in safeguarding to ensure you remain up to date or ‘as a result of any safeguarding concerns that occur in the setting.’
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2
Childcare.co.uk is planning regular safeguarding refresher training opportunities to help you stay up to date with the safeguarding requirements.
https://www.childcare.co.uk/webinars
There is also training available for gold members on the online training page of the website.
https://www.childcare.co.uk/training
It is also important to note the Ofsted early years inspection toolkit sets out safeguarding as a ‘met’ or ‘not met’ evaluation and your future business sustainability is likely to be determined by your knowledge of safeguarding, having a robust Safeguarding Policy, being able to answer the inspectors questions etc.
https://www.childcare.co.uk/childminderpolicies
https://www.childcare.co.uk/childminders/safeguarding-q-and-a
Inclusion question
Members asked - what will happen under the new Ofsted inspection framework if you want to access support for a child, but parents refuse permission?
Childcare.co.uk put the question to Ofsted for you.
Ofsted answer - 'When grading this evaluation area, we will consider what the setting has done to seek advice from external partners. Whether parents agree to referrals to specialists or not, leaders need to seek and implement advice from external partners and specialists and take a graduated approach in order to meet children’s needs.
If settings have been proactive in considering the child’s needs, working with parents to seek external advice, and implementing this, they will meet the relevant standard and could still be graded ‘expected standard’ in the inclusion evaluation area.'
You will find more about the new inspection framework and the graduated approach here –
https://www.childcare.co.uk/ofstedinspection
Allergy advice from Allergy UK
In your role as an early years provider, you and any assistants / staff in your setting must be familiar with the types of food and environments that can commonly cause allergy. You need to know the signs and symptoms of allergic reactions and how to manage them.
Allergy UK has some updated guidance for early years providers which you can also share with your families.
https://www.allergyuk.org/for-industry-and-education/schools-early-years/
There are also some useful downloads to share with parents on the Gov.uk food website.
https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/download-your-allergen-icons-and-posters
Update for Scottish early years providers
Providers in Scotland have a new quality improvement framework to use in their settings.
Education Scotland states, ‘This self-evaluation framework supports quality improvement in early learning and childcare (ELC) settings. It can be used by all ELC services. This includes childminders and school age childcare providers.’
Paying your assistants / staff
If you have assistants (childminders) or staff (group settings) you must pay them at least minimum wage. This includes, for example, ensuring they are paid overtime for training hours out of normal working hours.
The Government has announced a ‘crack down on employers underpaying staff’. This means that you must check your are paying the correct amount, so you are not investigated and required to pay penalties or fines.
If you are unsure what wage to pay your assistants / staff, you should check latest rates for different ages ranges including young staff, apprentices and those over the age of 21 years on the Gov.uk website. Also note that the national minimum wage increases every year.
https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
Oral health update
From 10th November 2025, when Ofsted introduce the new inspection framework, they have said in the operating guide that they will take the ‘context’ of the setting into account. One piece of information they inspectors will have access to and use is your local oral health statistics. You might find it useful to ask your Local Authority for more information about this.
DfE have recently sent out over 2 million toothbrushes and toothpastes in major dental health drive to support ‘hundreds and thousands of 3 to 5-year-olds in deprived areas of England’. If you are one of the recipients, you will be expected to share information with parents and support children with toothbrushing.
Childcare.co.uk has a series of quality oral health resources including information sharing with parents and support for including oral health in the curriculum, available for gold members.
https://www.childcare.co.uk/oral-health
While we are talking about context
What is your setting and local context? Do you know? Ofsted will be looking at your context (unique circumstances) when they inspect early years settings including childminders from 10th November 2025.
Ofsted talk about ‘context’ in relation to SEND / EYPP in your setting and local information – for example, local deprivation, obesity and oral health statistics. They also state that we should share information with parents about private fostering and the local authority SEND local offer.
You might want to ask your Local Authority for more information about –
- Local deprivation figures.
- Childhood obesity levels.
- Oral health statistics (as above).
- Your SEND local offer link, leaflet or information to share with parents.
Ofsted has said in their ‘Ofsted confirms changes to education inspection’ blog that they are going to publish a new ‘online insights platform’ before they start using the new inspection toolkit from 10th November which we have been advised should include the latest data which the inspector will be using.
Feedback from Ofsted inspection pilots
Inspectors are asking early years providers about their self-evaluation and action planning during the pre-inspection video call and following up on what has been discussed during inspection.
During the Ofsted inspection changes webinar for childminders, Ofsted said that providers might want to use their inspection toolkit ‘expected standard’ column as an audit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgASYBEwoM&list=PLLq-zBnUkspOswTHs073HsUaKtWlQF-Gi
It has been suggested that a self-evaluation and action plan will be a useful tool to help you identify what you do well, focus on what you want to do better and reflect on how you are driving improvement.
You will only have a short time between the introductory ‘before 10am’ Ofsted inspector phone call and the arranged 30-minute video call to take a calming breath, gather your thoughts and start to prepare what you want to say to the inspector – while (usually) also working. A self-reflection file will be one tool which will help you to ensure you are ready for inspection – not just for a planned or expected inspection, but also for unannounced Ofsted visits.
Any audit should be a working document, constantly updated with training, further professional development opportunities (CPD) and notes to remind yourself, in the 4 years between inspection, about how well you are doing and the progress you have made.
Childcare.co.uk has a number of useful documents for gold members, as part of their ‘Ofsted preparation pack’, that will help you including the ‘Planning for your inspection’ guide and the ‘Ofsted expected standard audit’.
https://www.childcare.co.uk/ofstedinspection
Managing the Ofsted phone calls
From 10th November 2025, you will receive 2 phone calls prior to your inspection. The first will be before 10am and the inspector will introduce themselves and plan a second 30-minute video call for later in the day. This information is set out in the Ofsted early years inspection operating guide.
Childminder members have raised a number of concerns about arranging a 30 minute a video call while working and Childcare.co.uk has raised this with Ofsted, asking for more information about the introductory phone calls prior to inspection, including what accommodations inspectors will make to support childminders. Ofsted state:
'The inspector will make as many accommodations as they can for the call. However, logistically, childminders are going to receive a call from an unknown number and will need to speak to the inspector as this is set out in the inspection guidance. As it says in the guidance, this call is to confirm the purpose and format of the inspection and what the inspector will need to see in terms of records, and who the inspector could speak to about the welfare of the childminder, so it is important that we do this.'
Childcare.co.uk will continue to monitor the situation and support members.
Guidance on how to manage the Ofsted phone calls and prepare for inspection has been added to the Childcare.co.uk Ofsted preparation website page.
https://www.childcare.co.uk/ofstedinspection
Children’s Commissioner stable homes, built different report
The Children’s Commissioner for England has released a report about early years transitions and the importance of stable home environments. The report makes 5 key recommendations including better data sharing to support children and families, more flexible funding to support families with multiple needs, more specialist support for children with neurodiversity, better ways to integrate education, health and care information and a reception plus options for children who are not ready for key stage 1. The report also suggests that practitioners should have more access to specialist training to support children – especially those with neurodevelopmental disorders.
You can read more about the work of the Children’s Commissioner here.
https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/
National Education Nature Park
National Education Nature Park is a free programme which aims to empower children and young people to make a positive difference to both their own and nature's future. It has been introduced as part of the sustainability focus from DfE and there are free resources to use for different ages of children on the website, all linked across the 7 areas of learning.
From planting bulbs to making a mini wormery, you can use the resources to develop children’s understanding of nature and share with parents to support home learning.
https://www.educationnaturepark.org.uk/
Childcare Works
Childcare Works is a government scheme which offers a free to access website which aims to support Local Authorities, early years providers and schools to deliver the early years entitlements expansion (funding) and wraparound childcare programme.
There is a ‘hub’ for early years and childcare providers which hosts good practice guidance, case studies, upcoming events and more. There are resources on the website to support business planning, running of your childcare provision, business growth, leadership and management, partnership working, send and inclusive practice. As more is added, it will be a useful free resource to help with professional development when researching to manage the Ofsted inspection framework.
https://childcareworks.org.uk/hub-for-providers/introduction/
Best start in life
As part of their ‘Best start in life’ programme, the Government wants to support parents to navigate early years misinformation online. They point out that many parents struggle to navigate the conflicting and unreliable advice available to them, especially on social media sites and parenting groups by promoting the Best Start in Life and NHS websites and advertising the Best Start Family Hubs which will provide parents with face-to-face support. There is a useful childcare support checker which you can signpost for parents, as well as guidance for parents on, for example, how their child learns to talk, healthy eating and school readiness
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/parents-supported-to-navigate-early-years-misinformation-online
Supporting children’s transitions
The Foundation Years website has added a new resource: ‘7 effective tips for supporting transitions in the early years’. The information aims to nurture transitions for early years children and support providers who are preparing children for transitions. There are a variety of suggestions ranging from ‘how to create a transition treasure box’ to ‘use visual timelines with real photos’ to ‘make a connection chain’.
Transitions can be a tricky time for many children, especially those with special educational needs or disabilities and other vulnerabilities. The resources on the website will link well to the expectations in the new Ofsted inspection framework.
Ofsted inspection and the protected characteristics
The Ofsted early years inspection toolkit, which Ofsted will use from 10th November 2025, introduces a requirement to promote, 'equality of opportunity so that all children feel that they belong and understand that individual characteristics make people unique and that they thrive together; this includes, but is not limited to, an age-appropriate understanding of the protected characteristics defined in the Equality Act 2010' (page 40). Ofsted will inspect how 'children respect the different protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act 2010 and do not tolerate any forms of, bullying, unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation' (page 43).
Providers must also recognise that, 'children who may face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being, which may include children who share a protected characteristic' (page 9).
You might want to consider your practice, resources and curriculum in light of this new expectation.
Note there are 9 protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010 - age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. The Council for Disabled Children has some useful guidance for early years providers and DfE has recently released a free guide and training package.
Group setting guidance
The Department for Education (DfE) have published information about using the experience-based route to support staff who want to be in ratio but do not have the relevant qualifications in your early years setting. This route allows for suitable and experienced staff, who do not hold full and relevant qualifications, to be included in the staff to child ratios at level 3 following a period of supervised practice.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-an-early-years-qualification
You can also contact DfE online for more information about the experience-based route. Mark your request for the attention of the early years qualification unit.
https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe
Note assistants in childminder settings do not need formal qualifications to be in ratio. However, they do need the Ofsted suitability letter (DBS, Ofsted ‘report new people in the setting’ form) and in-house induction training as set out in the EYFS, which must include safeguarding. To be left unsupervised for up to 2 hours a day, assistants in childminding settings need paediatric first aid and parental written permission. They also need paediatric first aid to supervise mealtimes. Childcare.co.uk offers gold members a generous 15% discount off Tigerlily first aid courses.
https://www.ofsteddbsapplication.co.uk/
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/childminders-report-new-people-in-the-setting
https://www.childcare.co.uk/firstaid
DBS ‘Duty to refer’ campaign
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has launched a new campaign to remind childcare providers of their legal duty to refer individuals to the DBS service when there are safeguarding concerns. This relates to childminders, nurseries and other early years settings. The campaign information includes resources, videos and virtual workshops to ensure everyone understands when to make a referral, how to make a referral and the consequences of failing to make a referral, if one if needed.
The Ofsted early years inspection toolkit echoes this requirement and states, in the safeguarding section of inspection, that providers must, ‘Know and follow the processes for making referrals to relevant agencies, including the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).’ If you are unsure whether to refer or not, you should speak to your LADO for support.
Planning activities for November
Activities should start with the child and what they already know and can do. You can then support them to practice and consolidate their learning and introduce new ideas.
During November you might want to think about:
- Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and plot’. Bonfire Night lends itself to crafts and creativity and lots of talk about staying safe when there are fireworks and bonfires.
- Make poppies for Remembrance Day and watch the CBeebies Remembrance Day film to learn more about why we celebrate this special day.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/poppies
- World Science Day is an opportunity to explore some new science experiments with the children. there are lots of ideas on the Science Sparks website.
https://www.science-sparks.com/early-years-science-themed-activities/
- Join in with World Nursery Rhyme Week – choose a nursery rhyme each day and develop children’s understanding through activities and games.
https://www.worldnurseryrhymeweek.com/
- Wear odd socks to celebrate Odd Socks Day and share anti-bullying messages with the children. Child-on-child abuse is a safeguarding concern for many providers. Odd Socks Day, promoted by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, encourages children (and staff) to wear odd socks to celebrate individuality and promote acceptance.
https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/anti-bullying-week-2025/odd-socks-day
- During Road Safety Week, from the Charity Brake, why not create a street in your garden with chalk and practice the ‘stop, look and listen’ method of safely crossing the road, holding hands to keep everyone safe. Introduce road safety vocabulary to the children such as kerb, traffic lights, signpost, junction and roundabout and discuss the importance of walking sensibly on the pavement.
https://www.brake.org.uk/road-safety-week
What activities are you planning for your early years children during November? Childcare.co.uk has a gold member group planning guide and there will be lots of information shared on the Independent Childminders Facebook group.
https://www.childcare.co.uk/childminders/planning
https://www.facebook.com/groups/independentchildminders
Free webinars from Childcare.co.uk for November 2025 include:
4th November – adapting the curriculum for inclusion.
Inclusion is high on the agenda in the new Ofsted inspection framework. In this webinar, we will discuss how to adapt the curriculum to ensure every child has equal opportunities to participate.
11th November – Making tax digital for the self-employed.
Making tax digital is an HMRC initiative, introduced over the next few years for self-employed including childminders and nannies, initially depending on income. This webinar will look at the basics of making tax digital and discuss how the challenges of reporting income 4 times a year might be overcome.
18th November – Safeguarding refresher – a proactive approach to safeguarding.
Childcare.co.uk is committed to supporting all providers with safeguarding and updating as information changes. This webinar will discuss how to ensure safeguarding is embedded through the setting, with everyone aware of what to do to keep children safe.
25th November – Letters and sounds phase 1.
Letters and sounds phase 1 games help prepare children for learning phonics when they start school. This webinar is full of fun activity ideas for pre-school children to develop their listening and attention skills that can be played through the day.
Childcare.co.uk free webinars are delivered on Tuesday evenings and start at 7pm. They are then recorded for gold Childcare.co.uk members to listen again.
https://www.childcare.co.uk/webinars
https://www.childcare.co.uk/gold-membership-benefits
We hope you have found this newsletter useful and informative.
If you have any questions or want us to include information in future newsletters to support your practice, please message Childcare.co.uk/contact and the team will help you.
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