The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Elizabeth Truss)
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Epping Forest (Mrs Laing) for obtaining a debate on this important issue and bringing it to my attention. Rhiya Malin’s tragic death happened a few years ago and was a truly appalling ordeal for her parents. It was also a truly appalling thing to take place in a nursery that—as my hon. Friend points out—is regulated by the Government. She raised two issues in her very passionate speech. The first was about how individuals who had taken decisions in the chain of command had been held to account, and the second was about the way in which Ofsted operates and the role it plays.
I agree with my hon. Friend that it is extremely important that Government bodies are held to account and that individuals take responsibility for their actions, whether they are in an agency or a central Department. I will certainly follow up on the specific issues that she mentioned.
My hon. Friend also highlighted the processes that Ofsted goes through, especially how it regulates and inspects nurseries and other child care providers. We launched a new early years foundation stage in September which sets stringent welfare requirements that inspectors regulate against. We are being clear that staff have responsibility for the safety and health of children; that children must be properly supervised in nurseries; and that nursery managers and other staff must fulfil certain qualification requirements. One of the very important factors in the safety of children in nurseries is the quality of management and staff. As she pointed out, I have only recently started work on this portfolio and I will shortly make further comments on staff qualifications and Ofsted regulation in response to the Nutbrown review of qualifications. I hope to talk to my hon. Friend before announcing those new measures. I hope also that they will address some of the issues that she has raised, such as box-ticking rather than understanding outcomes, and looking at what is happening on the ground—both important points that she raised in her speech.
On the particular powers that Ofsted has to intervene, Ofsted can set actions on providers that must be met within specified time scales. If failings are serious or pose a risk to the welfare of children, registrations can and should be cancelled. I will consider the implications of the outcome of the health and safety prosecutions of Casterbridge Care and the staff on duty at the time of Rhiya’s death. In response to my hon. Friend’s points about registration and inspection, I understand that the previous Minister accepted Ofsted’s proposals to retain information about previous registrations on its website for three years, and that information will be kept irrespective of whether there has been a change in ownership. That includes the inspection reports, and complaints and actions taken in respect of them. Parents will be able to press nursery owners, whether related to previous owners or not, about possible links with the previous registration.
It is my priority in this role to put in place a system that ensures that safety and quality in our nurseries and child care provision are the most important things. We want our regulatory system to focus on those two important areas. That is what parents care about. They want to know that if they leave their child in the trust of a nursery, they will be cared for and kept safe. If a nursery is not capable of keeping children safe and secure, it should not be in operation.
I mentioned that we were shortly to respond to the Nutbrown review and to consider various issues, including the salaries and qualification levels of staff operating in the child care industry. We are keen to ensure that it is a professional sector where people take responsibility, where there is proper training and development in all parts of the industry and where quality supervision and best practice are followed in nurseries across the county.
I have also been in discussions with Ofsted about how to ensure that our inspection system is of the best possible quality and cannot be accused of simply ticking the boxes. Inspectors must be properly observing what happens in nurseries and child care settings and ensuring that children are properly supervised, engaged with, educated and given the skills and tools they need to lead a successful life. Evidence shows more and more how important those early years are to children’s future development. And of course parents’ No. 1 concern is to ensure that their children are safe. That is all about the quality of the supervision and the people involved.
I congratulate my hon. Friend on pursuing this case for such a long time. I am concerned that she and the parents, who have gone through an extremely distressing time, have not yet had the full answers and full accountability they need. It is right that public bodies be held to account for their actions. I commit to her that, as well as ensuring that the structures under which Ofsted operates are the best possible and ensuring the safety and quality of the care that our children receive, I will also look into the issues that previous Ministers have undertaken to look into to see what further action can be taken.
Question put and agreed to.