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Sign in or register for an accountThe Childcare Act 2006 says childcare is 'any form of care for a child including education or any other supervised activity'.
Ofsted is responsible for the registration, inspection, investigation and enforcement of early learning and childcare provision. Registration includes a criminal records check on anyone involved in providing childcare and an inspection of the premises to look at health and safety and educational welfare issues. You can access inspection reports from the Ofsted website. For childminder Ofsted inspection reports, please call 0161 778 0384.
Childcare for children aged five and under must be registered on the Early Years Register (EYR) if the childcare provision is more than two hours per day for any individual child and is open more than 14 days in any 12 month period. The EYR is compulsory.
The General Childcare Register (GCR) has two parts:
Providers who do not need to register:
For further information, please download the Ofsted factsheet 'Registration not required' below.
There are 2 statutory EYFS frameworks:
Providers are responsible for ensuring they follow the current version of the framework for their provider type.
The new versions of the EYFS frameworks will come into force from 1 September 2025.
This framework sets the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth up to the 31 August following their fifth birthday. All schools and registered early years providers have to follow this play-based framework.
The EYFS ensures:
To find out more about the statutory framework for the early years foundation stage please visit GOV.UK.
The current November 2024 and upcoming Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework can be downloaded from GOV.UK.
For further information about quality and standards in childcare, email SLW@salford.gov.uk. You can also call 0161 778 0384.
This page was last updated on 19 August 2025