Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Twickenham during the Oral Statement of 7 July 2025 on Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life, Official Report, column 687, whether inspector training for early years settings will include guidance on reviewing CCTV footage.

The safety of children is our 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. The EYFS statutory framework can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2.

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.