• Find an early years and childcare inspection report
• Understanding an early years and childcare inspection report
• Types of early years and childcare Ofsted inspects
• Inspecting early years and childcare
  • Inspecting registered early years providers
    • Before an Early Years Register inspection
    • Early Years Register self-evaluation form and guidance
    • During an Early Years Register inspection
    • After an Early Years Register inspection
  • Inspecting registered childcare providers
• Types of early years and childcare Ofsted regulates
• Caring for children in their own home
• Regulating early years and childcare; applying to be a provider
• Children's centres
• Safeguarding children
• About our survey reports
• How to complain

Before an Early Years Register inspection

We normally give no notice of an inspection, so the inspectors can see you running normally, but an inspector may telephone beforehand to check that children are attending on the day of the inspection or that a holiday play scheme is operating.

If you do receive notice of an inspection, then you must tell parents that an inspection is due to take place.

Self-evaluation form

We recommend that you complete a self-evaluation form, but this is not compulsory. You can complete this online – for information, go to the Early Years Register self-evaluation form and guidance page on the left.

If you choose not to complete the form, inspectors will still check to see what self-evaluation you do carry out and how effective this is.

You should make sure all records and documents set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage are available for the inspector. These are listed in Are you ready for your inspection? A guide to inspections of provision on Ofsted’s Childcare and Early Years Registers; it has information about what inspectors look for and on what they base their judgements.