Ofsted grades each of the six evaluation areas on a report card using a five-point scale. The scale replaced the old Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate in early years inspections from 10 November 2025. Ofsted changed the names of the grades after its consultation, in response to feedback from parents and professionals on the proposed terminology. This page explains each grade using Ofsted’s own toolkit, in order from lowest to highest.
The five grades at a glance
| Grade | In plain English |
|---|---|
| Urgent improvement | Breaches of the EYFS requirements are having a significant effect on children’s safety, wellbeing, or learning and development. |
| Needs attention | The expected standard has not been met, but breaches do not have a significant effect on children’s learning, development, safety or welfare. |
| Expected standard | The EYFS requirements are met and the setting meets the standard Ofsted expects in that area. |
| Strong standard | The expected standard is met and the setting goes further, consistently and with a positive impact on children. |
| Exceptional | The strong standard is met and practice is sustained, has a transformational impact and is a model other settings can learn from. |
Safeguarding is not on this scale. It is reported as met or not met.
Urgent improvement
Ofsted describes this grade as likely where breaches of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requirements have a significant impact on children, and at least one further concern applies, such as leaders not acting in children’s best interests, weak support for disadvantaged children or children with SEND, or safe sleeping, weaning and eating arrangements not being in place. A setting with an area at this grade is normally re-inspected within about 6 months.
Needs attention
The expected standard has not been met, but the problems are less serious. They typically include actions that lack precision, improvement that comes too slowly, or support that is inconsistent. Ofsted normally re-inspects a setting with an area at this grade within about 12 months.
Expected standard
This is the grade Ofsted treats as the baseline. In each area, the relevant EYFS requirements must be met and a set of conditions must apply. For leadership and governance, for example, these include leaders understanding the setting’s strengths and weaknesses, acting on them in good time, providing relevant training for staff, managing workload sensibly and engaging constructively with parents. Ofsted says its inspectors start from the expected standard in each area. A setting at this grade is doing what Ofsted expects, and is not “average” in a negative sense. Inspections of settings where all areas are at the expected standard or above are normally followed by a gap of up to 4 years.
Strong standard
The setting meets the expected standard and shows more. In leadership and governance, for instance, leaders have a detailed understanding of the setting’s changing needs, build a culture of high expectations and continuous improvement, and make professional learning precisely match staff needs. The same pattern, a higher level of consistency and impact, runs through the other areas.
Exceptional
Ofsted introduced this grade to mark the very best practice. Inspectors may award it when the strong standard has been met and sustained, there is a transformational impact on children’s experiences, and there are no significant areas for improvement leaders have not already prioritised. Ofsted expects a setting that earns it to share what works with others, such as other settings, local networks or national bodies. Ofsted’s press release said the grade is intended to show that other providers could learn from the setting’s practice.
Things the scale does not tell you
- No overall grade. Ofsted stopped giving a single “overall effectiveness” grade. Adding the areas together is not something Ofsted does, and LondonEY does not do it either.
- Not a rank between settings. Two settings with the same grade may have different strengths. Read the written summaries.
- Not comparable with old grades. Ofsted changed the questions, the evidence and the standards, so an old Good is not directly comparable with a new expected standard or strong standard. LondonEY shows legacy grades and report cards separately.
- A snapshot. The grade reflects the day or days of the inspection. Check the date.
How the grades affect funded places
Councils use inspection outcomes when deciding whether to fund free places at a provider. For inspections from 10 November 2025, ‘urgent improvement’ in leadership and governance, or safeguarding ‘not met’, means the council is no longer required to fund any of the free entitlements at the provider. For 2-year-old places the bar is lower: ‘needs attention’ or below in leadership and governance. See free childcare for 2-year-olds.
Questions
What are the Ofsted grades for nurseries now?
For inspections from 10 November 2025: exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention and urgent improvement, for each of six areas, plus safeguarding met or not met.
Is “expected standard” the same as “Good”?
No. Ofsted changed the framework, so the new grades are not simple translations of the old ones, and LondonEY does not convert one into the other. “Expected standard” means the setting meets the standard Ofsted expects.
What does “exceptional” mean?
It is the highest grade. It means the strong standard has been met and practice is sustained and transformational, and Ofsted expects those settings to share their practice.
Does a “needs attention” grade mean a nursery is unsafe?
No. Safeguarding is judged separately as met or not met. ‘Needs attention’ means the expected standard has not been met in that area, without a significant effect on children’s safety or learning. Read the written findings.
