Suspension of registered day-care provider justified where building detritus was present and the manager's medical fitness was in issue (First Tier Tribunal, Care Standards)

Practical Law UK Legal Update Case Report w-003-5504 (Approx. 3 pages)

Suspension of registered day-care provider justified where building detritus was present and the manager's medical fitness was in issue (First Tier Tribunal, Care Standards)

by Practical Law Business Crime and Investigations

In New Street Playground Committee v Ofsted [2016] UKFTT 536, an appeal against suspension of a registered day-care provider was dismissed and suspension confirmed where building detritus was present and the manager's medical fitness was in issue.

Section 34 of the Childcare Act 2006 (2006 Act) provides that no person may provide early years childminding provision at non-domestic premises unless that person is registered in the early years register in respect of the premises.

Section 69 of the 2006 Act provides that regulations may provide for the registration of such a person to be suspended for a prescribed period and prescribed circumstances. The Childcare (Early Years and General Childcare Registers) (Common Provisions) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/976) (2008 Regulations) give effect to section 69 of the 2006 Act and provide by regulation 9 that where the chief inspector of Ofsted reasonably believes that the continued provision of childcare by the registered person may expose a child to a risk of harm, he may suspend that person's registration. "Harm" is the ill-treatment or the impairment of health or development or witnessing that ill-treatment; see section 31(9) of the Children Act 1989.

The respondent, Ofsted, suspended the registration of the appellant due to serious concerns about the safety and risk of harm to children in her care. This was down to two reasons:

The security and safety of the location.
Concerns about the mental health of the manager.

The period of suspension would allow the respondent to ensure that the setting is made safe and for it to complete its investigations into the current health of the manager.

The appellant appealed to the tribunal against the respondent’s decision, dated 29 July 2016, to suspend its registration from the Early Years Register.

The appeal was dismissed and suspension confirmed on the grounds that:

The standard required to justify a suspension is not a high one. During the short period of the suspension, it is for the respondent to investigate matters to determine if there is a case for longer-term enforcement action, or whether the outcome of the investigation is that there is no longer reasonable cause to believe that children may be harmed.
The tribunal was satisfied that there may be a risk of harm to a child. The appellant accepted that the setting was not suitable to take children as it stood. There was rubble, wood and stacked crates present which had not been cleared at the date of the hearing.
It was reasonable for the respondent to impose a suspension which would allow it to complete its investigations into the current health of the manager.

Case: New Street Playground Committee v Ofsted [2016] UKFTT 536 (HESC) (16 September 2016) (Bailii).

End of Document

Also Found In

Investigation Powers

Resource ID w-003-5504

Published on 22-Sep-2016

Resource Type Legal update: case report

Jurisdictions

England
Wales