Written Question·Department for Education·UIN 66748
Pre-school Education: Inspections
Tabled: 10 July 2025
Answered: 23 July 2025
Question
Tom Morrison
Liberal Democrat — Cheadle
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of Ofsted inspections of early years settings have been unannounced in each of the last five years.
Answer
Stephen MorganOfsted paused routine inspections in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Full Early Years Register inspections restarted in May 2021, including a number of unannounced inspections detailed below.
- Between 1 April 2021 - 31 March 2022 there were 1,200 unannounced inspections (19%).
- Between 1 April 2022 - 31 March 2023 there were 2,100 unannounced inspections (16%).
- Between 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024 there were 2,200 unannounced inspections (24%).
- Between 1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025 there were 1,400 unannounced inspections (16%).