Finding and choosing childcare

Most childcare providers in England must register with Ofsted if they offer more than 2 hours of care a day for children under 8 years-old.

There are 2 Ofsted registers:

• the Early Years Register
• the Childcare Register

Early Years Register

Childcare providers must register on the Early Years Register if they offer care for children between the child's birth and 31 August after their 5th birthday – known as 0 to 5 years.

All childcare providers on the Early Years Register must meet all the safeguarding, welfare, learning and development requirements set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework.

Providers on the Early Years Register will normally be inspected by Ofsted at least once within each period of 6 years.

Childcare Register

The Childcare Register has 2 parts:

• Compulsory – for providers caring for children from 1 September after the child's 5th birthday up until their 8th birthday
• Voluntary – for anyone looking after children aged 8 years-old and over, or choosing to register voluntarily, such as a nanny

All childcare providers on the Childcare Register must meet all the requirements set out in the GOV.UK: Framework for the regulation of providers on the Childcare Register.

Ofsted carries out compliance inspections on 1 in 10 providers on the Childcare Register each year to check they meet the requirements.