Can Famly help us with Ofsted?

Famly and Ofsted have a long history of working together. From webinars on changes and updates to the inspection framework to sharing their vision for the future, we do our best to support you and your setting to get the latest from the inspectorate. 

But, when it comes to the Big Day, will Famly’s Early Childhood Platform actually help you meet the requirements of an Ofsted inspection?

Let’s dig into it…

What do Ofsted say about nursery management software?

We’ll admit it, as much as we’d like to be the favourite, Ofsted are very clear that they have no preferred Early Childhood Platform or digital system. And, while you can do all these things in Famly, Ofsted themselves say:

• “We do not prefer any particular method of planning, teaching or assessment.”
• “We do not expect a specific format for curriculum planning.”
• “We do not require photographic evidence of what children are doing and learning in settings.”
• More generally, “Inspectors do not need information to be presented in any specific format, as long as it is easily accessible.”

However, knowing you have the right information in the right places, in line with EYFS requirements, can certainly help you reduce stress on inspection day. So, let’s look at where Famly can help you out, from The Call, right through to sharing the good news of your inspection result.

The Call

Since the end of 2025, the famous Ofsted notification call (or, The Call) has been broken down into two parts: 

• The initial notification call 
• Then later, at a convenient time, a longer conversation with the manager or Nominated Individual, covering: 
  
  • An introduction and discussing practicalities
  • Time to understand the setting’s context
  • Planning the timetable for inspection day

When the initial notification call comes through, you might well be in numbers, and need to find cover to come out and take the second half of the call. Famly allows you an easy overview of your rooms and staff members, so you can see where someone is available to cover. A quick message to staff to let them know what’s going on, and you can take a deep breath and focus on the rest of the call.

“When the inspector called, I was actually on the floor with the children. So she said, ‘Do you want 20 minutes just to get yourself out and sorted?’ That was a blessing because I got to just take a bit of a breath and then I could get myself out into the office.”

Charlotte Moss, Manager, Little Barn Owls, Southwater

One of the foundations of the renewed ofsted inspection framework is your setting’s unique context, which you’ll have a chance to outline on the call. Ofsted note that, “Evidence is evaluated in the light of each setting’s strengths, challenges and priorities for improvement, and how well it identifies and meets the needs of significant groups of children.”

What defines your Early Years setting’s context, and how does Famly help?

Well, Ofsted describe your setting’s context as, “Your children, their needs, and the specific families and community you serve.” More specifically, a focus on the most vulnerable children, such as:

• Children who are socio-economically disadvantaged
• Children with SEND
• Children who are known (or previously known) to children’s social care. 
• Children with other barriers to learning, such as health, development or emotional needs, or external factors, including family, community and wider social conditions or protected characteristics. 

Ofsted need to understand this context in order to evaluate how you’re helping children overcome barriers they may face to their learning and/or wellbeing. So where does Famly fit in?

Famly keeps this contextual data at your fingertips through tags assigned to children with SEND or in receipt of EYPP or other funding, for example, as well as secure safeguarding notes for children on CP or CiN plans. A clear overview of the children Ofsted are keen to focus on means you can plan case sampling and the run of inspection day with ease. 

And once The Call is over? It’s time to break the news that Ofsted are on the way!

“We put a post out on Famly to let the parents know that Ofsted were coming the next day and to expect to see her at the setting. We also let them know that the inspector might want to talk to them, so they were welcome to have a chat to her.” 

Charlotte Moss, Manager, Little Barn Owls, Southwater

What paperwork do I need to have ready for Ofsted?

As we noted above, The Early Years Toolkit states that while inspectors are required to view certain documentation, it does not require information to be presented in any specific format, as long as it is easily accessible. 

And, while we certainly can’t tell you that having your documentation in Famly will curry special favour with the inspector, we do think it counts as “easily accessible”

Ofsted’s guidance, “Early Years inspection information”, tells us that you must provide your inspectors with the following documentation, either online or in printed form: 

• Paediatric first-aid arrangements 
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) records 
• Any other documents summarising the checks on, and the vetting and employment arrangements of, all staff working at the setting

Famly’s staff profiles allow you to record qualifications with expiry dates, such as paediatric first aid, and you can add tags to staff too, to check at a glance who has what. You can also add the record of a DSB check being undertaken, in line with EYFS safer recruitment practices. 

“During The Call the day before the inspection, our inspector went through all of the paperwork I needed to show her, which was really helpful so I could be prepared. She told me the main policies and procedures she wanted to see, so I could quickly refresh those in my memory too.”

Charlotte Moss, Manager, Little Barn Owls, Southwater

The inspector might also ask for: 

• Any referrals made to the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) for safeguarding, and their resolution
• The details of all children who are an open case to social care/ children’s services and for whom there is a multi-agency plan
• Details of the children present at the setting during the inspection 
• Your records of accidents 
• Your records of any instances where children have been refused a place 
• Your logs of incidents of discrimination, including racist incidents 
• The records of any complaints and their resolution 
• Any other documents providers are required to have to meet the EYFS

As well as secure safeguarding notes on children’s profiles for referrals and plans, Famly keeps your accident and incident records secure and accessible for inspection via the clear overview.

Famly also supports central document storage for your setting, so you can keep any other information you need in one place, safely in the platform and readily accessible.

How can Famly help on inspection day?

Of course, you shouldn’t be doing anything special for the Ofsted inspector, but your day might look a bit different than usual due to the inspection activities.  You can read more about how your inspector will gather evidence about your setting in our “Aiming for exceptional” guide, as well as in Ofsted’s own publications. 

Where Famly first comes in is when you and the inspector confirm the children selected for case sampling, as discussed in The Call. You can see at a glance that those children are signed into the setting (or due in) and what they’re up to throughout the day. For example, you can check a child’s status before heading to observe them, to see if they’re asleep or in the garden.

Ofsted tells us that, “Throughout inspection, we give particular attention to the experiences and outcomes of disadvantaged children, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), children known (or previously known) to children’s social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being. These groups are central to all planning, inspection activity, and evaluation.” 

In Famly, you have the detailed information on a child’s profile, external documents like IEPs, as well as your observations and assessments of their wellbeing and development, all in one place.  

Safeguarding

We’ve created entire articles about how Famly supports safeguarding and what to look for when taking your safeguarding digital, but can Famly make the difference between “met” and “not met”?

In short, no.

Safeguarding relies on a confident, knowledgeable team who know the signs of potential harm to children and the steps to take to prevent harm if they suspect it could occur. Not only that, but according to the Early Years Inspection Toolkit, inspectors will be looking to gather evidence around the safeguarding culture in your setting and amongst your team, and that requires a lot more than just software.

“Our inspector asked about safeguarding in a lot of detail. She asked about online safety, county lines, radicalisation, ratios in the rooms, Prevent Duty, and how we support staff wellbeing.”  

Charlotte Moss, Manager, Little Barn Owls, Southwater

The good news is, Famly can still help you out a bit. The following features contribute to your safeguarding procedures, so at least your admin load is a little lighter:

• Incident and accident recording 
• Headcounts
• Ratio calculations (with visual alerts if you’re under ratio)
• Medication forms
• Attendance tracking
• Secure safeguarding notes on child profiles
• Recording of allergies and dietary restrictions
• Digital permission forms
• Specific access for parents who’ve split up
• Exceptional data protection and security
• Shared documents section for policies and procedures

Inclusion

Inclusion should run throughout your practice and provision. According to the Early Years Inspection Toolkit, Ofsted inspectors will be looking to see how well leaders and educators identify and support: 

• Socioeconomically disadvantaged children (those eligible for the early years pupil premium - EYPP)
• Children with SEND; this means children receiving special educational needs (SEN) support and those with an education, health and care (EHC) plan 
• Children who are known (or previously known) to children’s social care, such as children in need and looked-after children 
• Children who may face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being, which may include children who share a protected characteristic 

“The inspector chose to observe children with additional needs and EAL and wanted a lot of detail about how we were supporting them. She didn't want to hear, “Oh, that child has a speech and language difficulty”; she wanted to know exactly what the difficulties were, and what we were doing to support that. Even when the team answered that we were using a certain strategy, she’d ask, “OK, how are you doing that?” It wasn’t an interrogation or anything like that, but she wanted to be sure that the understanding was really embedded.” 

Charlotte Moss, Manager, Little Barn Owls Southwater

To gather evidence to grade the Inclusion part of the inspection, the inspector will be observing practice, speaking to leaders and educators, and case sampling a cross-section of children, as discussed on The Call. 

“Case sampling:

The sample should include children who have specific needs or face particular barriers to learning. This must include a representative sample of children of different ages, including babies, particularly those who are disadvantaged, those with SEND, those known (or previously known) to children’s social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being.

During the on-site inspection, carry out activities that help you to understand these children’s experiences, the support they receive and the progress they are making from their starting points.

Observe these children in the setting and discuss with leaders what they intend for these children to learn, based on what the children already know and can do.”

Guidance: Early years inspection operating guide for inspectors

Again, Famly can’t do the work of inclusion for you, but we do have features to help support you:

• Tags for creating groups of children of specific focus, for example, SEND, EYPP etc. You can filter reports across your setting (progress via assessments and observations, attendance, notes added to the child’s profile, headcounts) by these tags, so you can monitor these children closely.
• Custom assessment options, so you can create a strengths-based picture of the children in your care, including your plans to support them further. Famly supports formative observations and summative assessments to support baseline and ongoing progress monitoring.
• Live translation feature for parents and carers, so you can include families fluently in over 130 languages

Curriculum and teaching

When grading the curriculum and teaching evaluation area, inspectors will be looking to find out:

• Whether leaders ensure that they provide all children with a high-quality, ambitious curriculum
• Whether leaders and practitioners plan, design and implement the educational programmes of the EYFS statutory framework to create a coherent and sequential curriculum that builds on what children know and can do.
• The extent to which the setting’s curriculum meets the needs of the range of ages and stages of children who attend, especially disadvantaged children, those with SEND, those who are known (or previously known) to children’s social care, and those who may face barriers to their learning and/or well-being

The Early Years Inspection Toolkit

The area is broken down into:

• Leadership of the curriculum and teaching 
• Curriculum design, including all 7 areas of learning
• High-quality teaching  
• Inclusive curriculum and teaching

We have plenty of support for settings looking to create their own bespoke EYFS curriculum, in the form of articles, webinars, and expert interviews. And, once you have your curriculum nailed down, you can upload it into Famly’s custom curriculum builder, so it’s always at your educators' fingertips.

“We launched a brand new curriculum this year, and being able to share that instantaneously with all of our staff across all seven settings has been absolutely game-changing for us. It was a staff training day where we spoke about what we were going to do, and within the next week it was uploaded, and we had staff interacting and using it. It was so seamless and easy to do.”

Tom Richardson, Operations Director, Naturally Learning

Of course, we can’t say that having your curriculum in Famly is any better than having it on paper, on the wall, or just in the heads of your educators - as we noted before, Ofsted themselves say, “We do not prefer any particular method of planning, teaching or assessment. We do not expect a specific format for curriculum planning.”

However, it’s worth noting that in the “Urgent improvement” grading for curriculum and teaching, Ofsted note that settings are likely to be graded ‘Urgent improvement’ when “Breaches of the EYFS requirements have a significant impact on children’s learning and development and leaders’ oversight of staff’s implementation of the setting’s systems and procedures, routines and interactions is ineffective.”

With Famly, oversight certainly isn’t a problem. Concerning teaching and curriculum implementation, leaders can:

• Dip into children’s learning journals across their setting or organisation
• Review educators’ observations and assessments
• View weekly planning across their setting, including specific activities.
• Ensure that every educator has access to the curriculum at all times 
• Access an overview of all the “What’s next?” steps for individual children, to ensure ambitious and inclusive planning.

It goes without saying that you, as leadership, won't be monitoring any of those things just for Ofsted. However, the confidence that comes with knowing you know exactly what's happening in your setting (without having to be everywhere at once) means you can feel more relaxed when the inspector asks you about it.

Achievement

The inspection area of achievement is where your Ofsted inspector will aim to find out:

• Whether the setting provides a high-quality education that gives all children the necessary knowledge so they are ready for the next stage in education, including school, where relevant.  
• About the progress that children make from their starting points across the 7 areas of learning and development set out in the EYFS statutory framework, so that they know more, remember more and can do more.

It’s worth noting that, since 2021, Ofsted have been very clear that they’re not interested in seeing pages of tracking data, ticklists, and other excessive paperwork to prove that learning is happening. They state that “We do not require photographic evidence of what children are doing and learning in settings.” 

Similarly, the EYFS states that:

• Assessment should not involve long breaks from interaction with children or require excessive paperwork. When assessing whether an individual child is at the expected level of development, practitioners should draw on their knowledge of the child and their own expert professional judgement. Practitioners are not required to prove this through collection of any physical evidence.
• There is no requirement to keep written records in relation to ongoing assessment

What Ofsted do want to see are the interactions with sensitive educators that support children's learning and development. Are educators able to spend time observing, noticing, teaching and building on what children know and can do? If they're spending all their time writing, the answer is probably no. But here's where Famly helps you out too.

The speed and ease of recording an observation about a child's achievement in Famly means educators can immediately go back to the actual teaching and facilitating.

"Our actual observations in the learning journeys are so much more powerful in Famly. We’re able to do fewer observations as the ones we do make are so powerful. The staff are off the iPads more."

James Weeks, Headteacher, Hazelwood Early Years and Nursery

And, if it’s useful for you and your team to record more data around achievement, Famly can help you out here too. Features to help you record and share children’s progress and achievement include:

• Complete online learning journals
• Parent observations
• Reporting on summative assessments across the setting, cohorts, and tags, without the ticklists or tracking that steal educator time away from the children.

Behaviour, attitudes, and establishing routines

According to the Early Years Inspection Toolkit, inspectors will be looking to gather evidence about: 

• Strategic leadership of behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines 
• Positive relationships 
• Attitudes to learning 
• Attendance 
• Inclusive approaches to behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines

Under the behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines area, Ofsted are looking to find out whether:

• Leaders and practitioners create an environment that positively supports children’s learning, development and care 
• Leaders and practitioners support children’s behaviour and attitudes, including how they teach children to understand and manage their own emotions and behaviour and to relate to others 
• Settings work with parents to establish routines, including by promoting attendance, so that children, especially those receiving additional funding, including the EYPP, form good habits for future learning 
• The setting has an impact on the behaviour, attitudes and routines of children receiving additional support, including disadvantaged children, those with SEND, those who are known (or previously known) to children’s social care, and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or well-being

A lot of that work will be taking place in the relationships between parents and families, the children in your setting, and your team, but Famly does have resources to support your team with behaviour, care routines like nappy changes and safer sleep time, as well as help with transitions. 

And we have a few features to help you out too.

Famly’s weekly planner means your educators can add activities from the shared activity library, events, themes, and anything else that helps support them with the rhythm of the day. Of course, sensitive educators will be following the children’s needs and interests, but it can support stability and predictability when everyone knows what to expect next. 

‍

‍

Attendance monitoring is also easy, as all your registers are in Famly too. You always know which children are expected for which sessions, with a clear overview of any registered sickness or holiday booked. And, if there is an unexpected absence, all of the children and family’s contact details are at your fingertips in Famly, so you can follow up immediately. 

Children’s welfare and wellbeing

The Early Years Inspection Toolkit tells us that when evaluating the area of children’s welfare and wellbeing, inspectors will consider how the setting: 

• Promotes children’s welfare and well-being 
• Ensures that children receive the care and support they need to achieve and thrive in the setting and beyond

The concept of children’s welfare and wellbeing is extremely broad, so let’s take a look at what Ofsted are evaluating more closely.

Firstly, Ofsted addresses the difference between this area of evaluation and safeguarding in the Early Years Inspection Toolkit. It says, “When inspectors evaluate children’s welfare and wellbeing, they consider only the EYFS safeguarding and welfare requirements that do not already sit within the safeguarding evaluation area and that relate to child protection and suitability.”

More specifically, your Ofsted inspector will be evaluating your setting against the factors most likely to promote children’s welfare and wellbeing, these being:

• Establishing warm, positive and trusting relationships between key persons and babies and children, so that they are enabled to form secure attachments 
• Developing children’s understanding of how to keep physically healthy and maintain an active lifestyle by providing them with ample opportunities to be active during the day and promoting a healthy diet 
• Creating an inclusive environment in which there are high expectations for the welfare and wellbeing of all children
• Creating a nurturing environment and providing care that is appropriate to babies’ and children’s needs, ages and/or stages of development, giving particular regard to statutory guidance for safe sleeping arrangements, weaning and safer eating
• Promoting equality of opportunity so that all children feel that they belong and understand that individual characteristics make people unique and that they thrive together

Given many of the things Ofsted are looking at in this area of evaluation and down exclusively to your choices about your relationships, practice, and provision, can Famly really help you out here too?

Well, plenty of our customers think so. 

When it comes to supporting health and wellbeing, Famly allows for smooth sharing of information about care routines between the setting and the families of the children in your care. Parents and carers have a transparent view into their child’s day, supporting the trusting relationship between the setting and the child. 

“I had a parent come and tell me that Famly has actually saved dinnertime for them. They said they don’t have to worry about making their child eat loads of dinner if they can see in the app they’ve eaten two bowls of food at tea time. It’s helped everyone!”

Nick Wedderburn, Administrator, Early Buds & Early Education Centre

Features to support this area of your practice are:

• The Newsfeed, for sharing photos, videos, and messages about the highlights of a child’s day.
• Meal logs show what a child ate, how much (in portion size, Oz, or a more detailed breakdown), and who logged the meal
• Sleep logs show when a child fell asleep, when they were checked, and when they woke up
• Nappy changes or toilet visits are also logged, as necessary, including any notes, such as the application of cream.
• Private messaging to share information and updates about a child’s wellbeing

“We use Famly to do a daily diary. It's a requirement by contract at my nursery - parents write a little message early in the morning, before their child arrives, about what's going on for the child. The idea is that we don't talk about the children in front of them, but the information goes to the room and key worker, so they can seamlessly receive that child and plan effectively. At the end of the day, they will send photos and write up a daily diary of what that child had going on for them that day at nursery. What's important is that everyone has a really positive relationship and the communication is circular. We call it the ‘team around the child’. So the team is parents, any extended people, like grandparents and the staff, together as a team for that child. That child is held in mind and physically within our care at all times.”

Yasmin Darling, Equitable education, neuro-inclusion, and intersectionality consultancy 

Leadership and governance

When evaluating the area of leadership and governance, your Ofsted inspector will be considering the following:

• Whether leaders and governors understand and meet the statutory requirements set out in the EYFS 
• The commitment of leaders and those responsible for governance to provide high standards of education and care to improve the lives of all children

More specifically, they’ll be looking at:

• Leaders’ high expectations for all children at the setting and these being embodied in all staff’s day-to-day interactions with them
• Leaders’ understanding of their setting’s strengths and areas for development and the effectiveness of the actions they take to improve the setting and/or to sustain high standards of education and care
• The understanding of leaders and those responsible for governance of their respective roles and their performance of these in ways that enhance the setting’s effectiveness
• The thoughtful and positive engagement of parents in ways that support children’s education and care
• Leaders taking into account the workload and well-being of their staff
• Leaders’ decision-making in the best interests of children

If you’re looking for resources on effective leadership, Famly has plenty to help you out. From interviews to podcasts, to an entire section of our online resource library dedicated to leadership, we’ve got you covered.

But what about in your day-to-day practice?

Well, where Famly really shines is in “taking into account the workload and well-being of their staff”. Having all the information you need in one place, getting your admin easily completed, and entering and sharing the information you need to quickly and effectively means less stress and more time for other things. 

When it comes to taking the time and stress out of written work, Famly’s supporting you and your team there too. Our pioneering feature “Sidekick” checks you and your team’s messages, observations, newsfeed posts, and assessments for spelling and grammar, reducing errors and worry.

“It’s reduced my workload massively and saved me so much time - I’ve got back at least half a day. All the staff have used it and they’re so happy with it. It’s just made their lives easier. The feedback was amazing. They’re so impressed with it. They can see the changes so they think, ‘Next time, I’m going to write it this way. It’s having a knock-on effect as it’s teaching them how they could word it.”

James Goodeve, Manager, Ladybird Nursery

And that’s not all. Parent and family partnerships have always been at the very heart of Famly, from the Newsfeed to parent observations, to the weekly planner, to the events calendar, to making paying fees straightforward; every part of Famly is designed to facilitate parent and carer engagement.

“Rather than having to use the precious time at the door or phone to chat to us about paying invoices or if payments have been received, staff can talk to parents about their child creating mud concoctions in the mud kitchens.”

Sarah Fromageot, Brand and Marketing Manager, Kindred

So, can Famly help me with Ofsted?

Famly helps you with time.

By streamlining the admin and communication that takes educators from the children and leaders from their teams, Famly gives you the time back to use where it counts.

“Having everything all in one place and so easy to use has been a game changer for all our staff, at all levels. We know we are providing an even better quality of care and education because of our use of Famly, and because of the time Famly saves our teams, which means they can spend more time doing the things that truly matter.”

Sarah Fromageot, Brand and Marketing Manager, Kindred