Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with Ofsted on the potential merits of the use of CCTV as a safeguarding tool in early years settings.

The safety of our children is the department’s utmost priority and we continually monitor and review the early years foundation stage (EYFS) safeguarding requirements to ensure children are kept as safe as possible.

Currently, the decision to install and use camera surveillance equipment in a nursery is a matter for individual providers to determine based on their own risk assessment and policies.

The department works closely with Ofsted in our work monitoring and reviewing the safeguarding requirements within the EYFS. This includes ongoing discussions regarding the merits and concerns regarding the use of CCTV in early years settings.

Any proposed changes to EYFS requirements will be informed by engagement with providers, health professionals, sector stakeholders and safeguarding experts.

From September 2025, we are strengthening the safeguarding requirements in the EYFS, including:

• Amendments to promote safer recruitment.
• Creation of new requirements for providers to follow up if a child is absent for a prolonged period.
• A new safer eating section.
• A safeguarding training annex and a requirement for safeguarding training to be repeated every two years.
• New requirements to support whistleblowing.