SCHOOLS in south east London have been part of a shake-up in the way childminding and early years services are regulated.
The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) announced radical plans to take over regulation of childminders, creches, full and seasonal day care and out-of-school care which used to be monitored by local authorities. London will be broken up into separate areas, controlled by Ofsted.
Bromley and Greenwich will be in London Area Five while Lewisham has been put into an area with the City of London and Westminster.
The new system has been planned to make standards of early years services more consistent across London and the south east.
Chief Inspector of Schools Mike Tomlinson said: "The new system will ensure a unified approach and consistency to both child care providers and parents.
"For example, in Lewisham, there would be a regional manager and a number of area managers. Within each group there are a number of 'patches' managed by individual senior childcare inspectors who manage the childcare inspectors."
Members of the public wanting to make enquiries about registration or inspection should call 0845 601 4771. For complaints or enforcement issues, call 0845 601 4772.
October 26, 2001 17:25
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