Clause 66 - Regulations governing activities
Childcare Bill
Public Bill Committees, 20 December 2005, 9:30 am
Nick Gibb (Shadow Minister (Schools), Education; Bognor Regis & Littlehampton, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 54, in page 34, line 37, at end insert—
‘(8)The provisions of section 59 (inspections) and 60 (report on inspections) shall apply to persons registered under this Chapter.’.
This is a probing amendment. It would include in the Bill the inspection and reporting requirements of the later years child minding provisions for providers of child care who register voluntarily. If a provider registers voluntarily and informs parents that he or she is registered, the very fact of registration gives the impression that there is some quality assurance—something that the Minister hinted at earlier. If those who register voluntarily are to gain the benefits of registration, the consequences of registration, too, should follow.
The amendment follows the less stringent later years provisions as the model for registration and reporting requirements rather than the more stringent early years provisions.
Beverley Hughes (Minister of State (Children, Young People and Families), Department for Education and Skills; Stretford & Urmston, Labour)
As the hon. Gentleman said, the amendment would require all later years providers registered with Ofsted to face compulsory inspection, including those who register voluntarily. In that sense, it rehearses our arguments on clause 59.
Registration with Ofsted, whether compulsory or voluntary, will ensure that all providers have to meet the same specified standards and criteria. As I said earlier, they will need to demonstrate annually that they continue to meet safety and suitability standards. Indeed, many providers eligible for voluntary registration may be on the early years register because they care also for younger children, and as a result they will already be inspected by Ofsted.
Providers of care for five to eight-year-olds will be registered compulsorily, and providers for the over-eights will register voluntarily, but they will be registered under the Ofsted child care regime that I outlined earlier. It will not be a cycle of automatic inspection for later years provision, as it will be for those on the early years register, but it will include the proportionate inspection that I mentioned earlier; the inspector will able to inspect at any time, whenever concerns exist or complaints are made.
I assure the hon. Gentleman that there will not be a third tier of inspection for those registering voluntarily. They will experience the same level of oversight and have the same demands made of them as those who are compulsorily registered on the Ofsted child care register. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will withdraw the amendment.