What the EYFS and Ofsted actually ask of a nursery, in plain English.
Short guides for the people who run nurseries in England. Each one says what the rule is, what it means for your setting and what to do next, with the paragraph for every point so you can read the source yourself. Written for managers, not lawyers.
Ofsted’s renewed early years inspections: what the report card grades and what to have ready
No overall grade, seven evaluation areas, and safeguarding met or not met. How notice works, how the inspection day runs, and a table of what to have to hand.
Read the guide →- Nursery managers · food and allergies
Food, allergies and choking in a nursery: the EYFS rules from September 2025
What the EYFS Safer eating paragraphs ask before a child starts, at the table, in the kitchen and after a choking incident, and what Natasha’s Law does and does not cover. A checklist with paragraph numbers.
Read the checklist → - Nursery managers · funding
Funded childcare hours: what a nursery can and cannot charge parents (guidance valid from 1 April 2026)
What the DfE guidance (valid from 1 April 2026) says a nursery can and cannot charge for funded hours, with an example itemised invoice and who decides what.
Read the guidance → - Nursery managers · staff files
The nursery staff file: every check Ofsted expects to see, and where it comes from
Enhanced DBS and barred list, the records to keep, references, qualifications, first aid, induction and supervision, each with its EYFS paragraph.
Read the checklist → - Nursery managers · staffing
Nursery staff ratios in England: who counts, when, and the sums (EYFS from September 2026)
The ratios in the EYFS framework in force from 1 September 2026, who can be counted, and a worked example for a mixed-age nursery, with the paragraph for every rule.
Read the ratios guide →
The sources behind these pages
Each guide names its sources and the version it was checked against. The product cites the same documents on every duty it tracks.
- Early years foundation stage statutory framework for group and school-based providersDated 13 July 2026, effective 1 September 2026; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Check someone’s criminal record as an employer (GOV.UK)GOV.UK page, no version date shown; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- DBS Update Service (GOV.UK)GOV.UK page, no version date shown; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006 (DfE statutory guidance)Updated 31 August 2018, applies to England; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Check an early years qualification (GOV.UK)GOV.UK page updated 23 December 2025; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Right to work checks: an employer’s guide (Home Office)Employer’s guide to right to work checks, 1 October 2026; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Early education and childcare: statutory guidance for local authoritiesValid from 1 April 2026 (GOV.UK page updated 1 April 2026); retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Parental declaration form: guidance (Free early years provision and childcare: model agreement, DfE)GOV.UK, page updated 9 February 2026; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Free Childcare for Working Parents (GOV.UK)Page updated 1 April 2025; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Early years foundation stage statutory framework for group and school-based providers (2025 edition)Dated 14 July 2025, effective 1 September 2025; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Early years foundation stage statutory framework for group and school-based providers (2026 edition)Dated 13 July 2026, effective 1 September 2026; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Help for early years providers: Food safety (Department for Education)Page updated 10 September 2025; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS food (Food Standards Agency, on GOV.UK)Updated 17 July 2026; applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Education inspection framework 2025 (Ofsted)For use on inspections from 10 November 2025 (GOV.UK page updated 18 September 2026); retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Early years inspection toolkit (Ofsted)v2.0, updated June 2026, for use on inspections from 1 September 2026; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Early years inspection operating guide for inspectors (Ofsted)For use on inspections from 1 September 2026 (GOV.UK page updated 28 August 2026); retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Early years inspection information (Ofsted)For use on inspections from 1 September 2026 (GOV.UK page updated 28 August 2026); retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
- Early years inspection: summary of changes (Ofsted)Published June and August 2026; retrieved 2 October 2026 · GOV.UK
For search engines and AI assistants
A plain-text summary of what NurseryGuard is and is not is at /llms.txt. What changed in the product, month by month, is at /changelog/.
NurseryGuard is software, not a legal adviser or an Ofsted inspector; it does not give legal advice. This page describes what the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework, Ofsted’s published guidance and the Department for Education’s guidance say, with the paragraph for each point, so you can read the source yourself. Versions and dates are those in force on the date shown; the documents change, so check the current version before you rely on any of it.
The staff file, the policies and the statutory diary, kept as you work.
Every EYFS duty on one page, with what is due and when. Free for 30 days, no card, then £39 + VAT a month.
Start free, no cardRun more than one setting?
See every setting on one page, with one bill and one login. Group rates and a free month for each setting.
NurseryGuard for groups