The EYFS framework changed in September. Ofsted report cards arrived in November. And the evidence they inspect first — staff suitability records, safeguarding training, paediatric first aid cover — is still sitting in spreadsheets that wait for someone to remember to check them. NurseryGuard is the compliance layer that actively prompts: renewals chased before they lapse, every new hire’s checks evidenced in the right order, statutory deadlines tracked to the day. Working alongside Famly, Blossom or Tapestry — keep them; they’re good at what they do.
Childcare in England is regulated by Ofsted under the EYFS statutory framework. Two changes landed almost together: the updated framework in September 2025, and the new report-card inspections from November 2025. The duties are concrete and documentable — and inspectors ask for the staff-suitability record and first-aid arrangements first.
A reference must now be obtained for every member of staff — including students and volunteers — before they are recruited. Add whistleblowing procedures, an attendance policy, and safeguarding training renewed every two years, all new or tightened in the September 2025 framework.
The new inspection model grades safeguarding met or not met, and the operating guide tells inspectors to review DBS records and paediatric-first-aid arrangements as a priority, early in the visit. Your staff files are the first thing on the table — and the judgement is public, in front of parents.
Failing to comply with a welfare requirements notice is a criminal offence. Operating while suspended is an offence. Employing a disqualified person can mean imprisonment — and cancellation of registration applies to every setting a provider runs, not just the one inspected.
Your management app records what happened. NurseryGuard makes sure the right things happen on time — and turns the trail into the pack an inspector asks for.
Every certificate and check on one lattice per staff member — two-yearly safeguarding training, three-yearly paediatric first aid, DBS Update Service renewals and your own DBS re-check policy — with prompts to the right person before anything lapses, not a spreadsheet someone has to remember to open.
A guided per-hire record that walks references-before-recruitment, DBS, identity, qualifications and induction in the right sequence — and composes the staff vetting record the EYFS requires, with check numbers, dates and who obtained them.
Accident and medication records with same-day parent notification, the 28-day complaints clock, and the 14-day Ofsted notification deadlines — where missing one is a criminal offence — each logged with its countdown running.
Safeguarding, safer-recruitment, whistleblowing, attendance, mobile-phone and allergen policies built to the September 2025 framework, e-signed by your DSL or manager with an audit trail, and re-issued when the framework moves.
Short, quiz-checked safeguarding and induction modules with certificates and team progress — and because renewal is the law, the two-yearly refresh is scheduled the day the first course completes. First-aid courses stay face-to-face with your chosen provider; we track the certificates.
The documents the new inspection model asks for — staff suitability, first-aid arrangements, complaints, accidents — exported in one press. Plus a public, parent-facing Trust Mark showing your registration and safeguarding posture: reassurance your management app doesn't surface.
Twelve honest questions across the duties Ofsted’s report-card inspections look at first — staff suitability, safeguarding training, first-aid cover, statutory deadlines. Nothing is stored. You get an instant RAG picture and two record templates to keep: the EYFS 3.18 staff suitability record and a paediatric first-aid cover wallchart.
Run the free readiness checkNurseryGuard is deliberately not nursery-management software — Famly, Blossom, Tapestry and the rest are good at the daily diary, invoicing and parent messaging, and we don’t compete with them. What they don’t do is chase: the training that lapses in eight months, the reference that must exist before day one, the notification that has fourteen days on the clock. That’s the layer we build — for the owner running one to five settings with no compliance officer, priced as an add-on, not a replacement. Multi-site groups get one view across every setting, with each staff member’s evidence attributable to the site they work in.
NurseryGuard provides compliance tools and content; it is not Ofsted and does not provide legal advice. Safeguarding is a high-stakes legal duty: records, policies and training here support and evidence your compliance with the EYFS statutory framework — they do not replace the provider’s own legal responsibility for children’s safety. DBS checks have no official expiry date; re-check prompts follow the policy you set. Paediatric first aid courses are delivered face-to-face by your chosen training provider — NurseryGuard tracks the certificates and cover, it does not deliver first-aid training.