On 29 May Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association said: "The results of this consultation, while answering some questions leave many unanswered.
"We are pleased to see Ofsted has listened to our call for no notice inspections which puts childminder agencies on the same footing as nurseries. This decision however, should be used as a catalyst to make it a truly level playing field for all early years providers with no notice inspections across the board whether it is a PVI nursery, childminder or school.
"Considered alongside the no notice inspections must be their frequency. One of the biggest concerns the creation of these agencies raises is care standards. As childminders will effectively be taken out of direct routine regulation by Ofsted, the agencies must be closely scrutinised to ensure they are fit for purpose. We would like to see annual inspections and have urged DfE to implement this as a matter of urgency. Parents must also be made aware the individual childminders are not inspected by Ofsted and very frequent inspections will go some way to reassuring them agency bodies are competent and qualified to carry out the necessary checks."