Ofsted registration and inspection cycle
The setting is registered with Ofsted, inspected on its own cycle, and the conditions of registration have to be met continuously rather than only in inspection week.
For nursery owners
Running the administration behind a nursery
A nursery keeps its registration, its ratios and its funding claim on top of the staffing that delivers the care.
No account needed to see the proposed desk.
The recurring work
What nursery owners have to keep on top of
Every one of these has a date attached, a document behind it, and somebody who notices when it slips. This is what goes on the desk.
Ratios and qualification records
Staff-to-child ratios depend on the age of the children and on each member of staff's qualification level, so the rota has to be checked against both.
DBS and suitability checks
Every member of staff needs an enhanced DBS check and a suitability declaration, and both have to be refreshed when staff change or a check goes out of date.
Paediatric first aid cover
Paediatric first aid certificates last three years, and the setting needs enough qualified staff on site at every session, not merely on the payroll.
Food hygiene and kitchen checks
Food hygiene certificates are renewed on a cycle and the kitchen is inspected, with cleaning and temperature records kept from every day of service.
Safeguarding and Prevent training
Safeguarding training and the Prevent duty training are refreshed on a cycle and the certificates are dated and held for every member of staff.
Medication and allergy records
Each child's allergies and care plan sit with their file, and every dose given is recorded and countersigned on the day.
Funding claims and headcount returns
Funded entitlement claims and headcount returns go to the local authority each term, on a deadline the authority sets.
Parent fees and contracts
Fee schedules, contracts and notice periods are reviewed on a set cycle and updated whenever the rate or the hours change.
Premises and insurance checks
The building's safety certificates, fire risk assessment, electrical checks and the setting's insurance policies all fall due on their own cycles.
What it costs to carry it
A nursery owner carries the staffing, the rota and the parents, and then carries the compliance on top. The failure mode is not dramatic: a first aid certificate slips a fortnight out of date and the room cannot legally open, or a funding claim goes in with the wrong headcount and the money comes back short. Ratios change with every new intake, so a list that was correct in September is wrong by January.
What the desk takes over
The desk works this list to its own schedule and reports what it did.
Staff certificate register
The desk keeps every certificate, DBS check and qualification as a dated record and warns before each one expires.
Ratio cover check
The desk keeps the room lists and staff qualifications together so each session's ratio can be checked before the rota is finalised.
Funding claim pack
The desk assembles the headcount figures and hours from the register and drafts the termly claim for checking before it goes in.
Records and returns
The desk keeps the medication, accident and cleaning records in date order and flags any day that has not been completed.
Premises renewal diary
The desk holds the fire, electrical and insurance dates in one place and books the inspections ahead of each deadline.
What stays with the nursery owner
The owner decides who is appointed, how the rooms are run and what the setting charges, and handles anything involving parents or safeguarding. Those decisions belong to the person running the nursery, and the desk stops short of them.
Questions
Can the desk submit the termly funding claim to the local authority?
It assembles the headcount and hours from the register and drafts the claim. Submission stays with the owner, because the figures are the owner's to confirm.
How are ratios handled when a member of staff is off sick?
The desk keeps qualifications and room lists together so the effect of an absence on the ratio can be seen immediately. Cover decisions remain with the manager.
Does the desk keep the DBS and suitability records for new starters?
It holds each check as a dated record with what is outstanding, so a new starter's file is visible before their first shift.
Put the nursery owner's recurring work on the desk
Start with a name, a website and one sentence about what the business does. The desk proposes the list; the nursery owner corrects it.