# Ofsted report cards explained

How Ofsted's new nursery report cards work since November 2025, what each grade means, and how they differ from the old Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement and Inadequate grades.

By The Toddly editorial team. Updated 11 November 2026. Page: https://toddly.co.uk/guides/ofsted-report-cards-explained

Ofsted inspects every registered nursery and pre-school in England. From 10 November 2025 it changed how nursery inspections are reported, replacing the single overall grade with a report card. If you are comparing nurseries now, you will see both kinds of result, so it helps to know how to read each.

## What changed

Under the old framework, each inspection gave an **overall effectiveness** grade, one of Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement or Inadequate, plus grades for a few key judgements. Many parents relied on that single word.

Report cards do not have an overall grade. Instead, Ofsted grades a set of **evaluation areas** separately, and judges **safeguarding** on its own as either met or not met. That means you have to read a nursery's results area by area. On Toddly we show them that way and never combine them into one grade of our own, and we never mix old and new grades in the same list.

## The five-point scale

Each evaluation area gets one of five grades:

| Grade | What it means in plain terms |
|---|---|
| Exceptional | Among the very best practice; the nursery is doing something others could learn from. |
| Strong standard | Above what Ofsted expects. |
| Expected standard | Doing what Ofsted expects of a good nursery in this area. |
| Needs attention | Some weaknesses the nursery needs to address. |
| Urgent improvement | Serious weaknesses that need to be fixed quickly. |

"Expected standard" is a solid result, not a warning. A nursery with mostly Expected standard and a couple of Strong standard grades is doing well.

## The evaluation areas

Report cards for nurseries cover areas such as curriculum and teaching, achievement, behaviour and routines, children's welfare and well-being, inclusion, and leadership and governance. The exact list is on each report. Our nursery pages show the grade for each area in Ofsted's own words, with a link to the full report.

## Safeguarding: met or not met

Safeguarding is not graded on the five-point scale. It is either met or not met. If it is not met, Ofsted has found that children may not be safe enough, and the report explains why. That is the single most important line on any report card.

## How to read a report card

1. **Check safeguarding first.**
2. **Look for any Urgent improvement or Needs attention grades,** and read what Ofsted says about them. Are they about paperwork or about children's daily experience?
3. **Read the text, not just the grades.** The written report describes what inspectors saw: how staff talk to children, what children learn, how well children with additional needs are supported.
4. **Check the date.** A report from years ago may describe a nursery with different managers and staff.
5. **Ask the nursery** about anything you are unsure of. Our [visit checklist](/nursery-visit-checklist) adds a prompt when a nursery has a report card.

## Older inspections

Many nurseries were last inspected before November 2025 and still show an old grade. Those grades remain valid until the next inspection. Ofsted also carries out other kinds of visit, such as monitoring visits and visits after a complaint, which may not give a grade at all. Our nursery pages say which kind of visit each was.

## How Ofsted fits with your own judgement

An inspection is a snapshot of a day or two. It is an important independent check, especially on safety, but it cannot tell you whether a nursery suits your child and your family. Use it alongside your own visit, the nursery's published information and conversations with other parents. Our [Ofsted report card tracker](/data/ofsted-report-cards) shows how the new grades are spread across boroughs, and the [report card glossary entry](/glossary/report-card) has a short definition to share.

## Related

- [Nursery visit checklist](https://toddly.co.uk/nursery-visit-checklist)

## Frequently asked questions

### Why can't I see an overall grade for some nurseries?

Report cards, used for inspections from 10 November 2025, do not have an overall grade. Each area is graded separately and safeguarding is met or not met. We never calculate an overall grade ourselves.

### Is "Expected standard" a bad result?

No. It means the nursery is doing what Ofsted expects in that area. Strong standard and Exceptional are above it; Needs attention and Urgent improvement are below it.

### Can I compare a report card with an old Good or Outstanding grade?

Not directly. The scales measure different things in different ways. Compare like with like where you can, and read both reports.

### What should I do if safeguarding is not met?

Read the report carefully to understand what went wrong and what the nursery must do, ask the nursery what has changed since, and check whether Ofsted has visited again.