An Ofsted report card for a nursery, pre-school or childminder grades six evaluation areas, and reports safeguarding separately. The areas come from Ofsted’s early years inspection toolkit (version 2.0, for inspections from 1 September 2026). This page summarises in plain English what each one covers. For the grades themselves see the five-point scale, and for the bigger picture see Ofsted report cards.
Safeguarding (met or not met)
Safeguarding is judged as met or not met. It looks at whether the setting has an open culture where safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, whether staff are trained and vigilant, whether they identify children who need early help or are at risk of harm, and whether they refer concerns promptly. It also covers safer recruitment, how allegations against adults are handled, and whether parents and children know who to go to. Ofsted says safeguarding is likely to be ‘not met’ where there are serious or widespread failures, or where children have been harmed or are at risk of harm.
1. Inclusion
Inclusion looks at how well the setting identifies and supports children who may face barriers:
- children from low-income families, for whom the setting may receive the Early Years Pupil Premium
- children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with an education, health and care plan
- children known, or previously known, to children’s social care, including children in need and looked-after children
- children who may face other barriers to learning or wellbeing
Inspectors look for high expectations for all children, early and accurate assessment of needs, advice from specialists when needed, a well-reasoned plan for how the pupil premium is used, and close work with parents. Inspectors also speak to the person acting as the setting’s special educational needs coordinator.
2. Curriculum and teaching
This covers whether the setting offers an ambitious, well-planned curriculum that follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), and whether adults teach it well. Inspectors look at how the curriculum is sequenced so children build knowledge and skills step by step, whether practitioners understand child development, and whether the curriculum suits the ages and stages of the children who attend. Ofsted states that it does not prefer any particular method of planning or teaching and that settings with very different approaches, including those that adopt commercial or local schemes, are judged on how well the curriculum is built and put into practice.
3. Achievement
Achievement looks at children’s progress from their starting points across the 7 areas of learning in the EYFS, so that they “know more, remember more and can do more”. It asks whether children develop foundational knowledge quickly and securely, and whether those who begin to fall behind get the support to catch up. It also considers how ready children are for the next stage, including school where relevant.
4. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines
This area looks at the environment adults create, how they support children’s behaviour and attitudes, and how they teach children to manage their feelings and relate to others. It includes the setting’s work with parents on routines and attendance, so children form good habits for learning, especially children receiving extra funding. Clear, consistently applied expectations of behaviour and a respectful, inclusive culture are key factors.
5. Children’s welfare and wellbeing
Welfare and wellbeing covers the care children receive. Inspectors look at whether key persons build warm, trusting relationships with babies and children so they can form secure attachments, whether children have plenty of chances to be active and eat healthily, and whether the setting is inclusive and nurturing. They check that the setting follows statutory guidance on safe sleeping arrangements, weaning and safer eating. The June 2026 toolkit update added a standard on this specifically.
6. Leadership and governance
This area looks at whether leaders (and, where relevant, governors or trustees) understand and meet the requirements of the EYFS and whether they run the setting in the best interests of all children. It includes leaders’ knowledge of their setting’s strengths and weaknesses, the actions they take to improve, how they work with parents, and how they look after staff workload and wellbeing.
Areas that do not apply everywhere
Before- and after-school clubs and holiday provision for children who attend reception or older classes do not have to meet the EYFS learning and development requirements, so the curriculum and achievement areas do not apply to them. Childminders are inspected against the same toolkit, adapted to their setting.
How funding links to these areas
Councils decide whether to fund free places partly on inspection results. For inspections from 10 November 2025, councils are not required to fund 2-year-old places where leadership and governance is ‘needs attention’ or below, or safeguarding is ‘not met’. For the other funded hours, the threshold is ‘urgent improvement’ in leadership and governance, or safeguarding ‘not met’. This is one reason the leadership and safeguarding results matter more for funded places than the other areas.
Questions
Which area matters most?
It depends on your child. Safeguarding is the starting point for every family. Leadership and governance shapes how well the rest is run, and inclusion matters most if your child has additional needs. Read the written summary as well as the grades.
Is there a score or rank across the six areas?
No. Ofsted does not give an overall grade, and LondonEY does not add the areas together. Any summary we show, such as the number of areas graded strong or better, is labelled and links to the Ofsted report.
Can a setting have different grades in different areas?
Yes. That is the point of the system: a setting can be ‘strong standard’ for welfare and ‘expected standard’ for achievement, for example. Both mean the setting meets or exceeds the standard Ofsted expects.
Do childminders get the same areas?
Yes. Childminders are graded on the same areas, with the toolkit applied in a way that suits a childminder’s setting.
