What Ofsted does not require: observations, journals and tracking

Ofsted does not require evidence folders, a set number of observations, tracking data, learning journals, photographs of children’s learning, a written self-evaluation, or any particular format for planning. The EYFS says assessment should not mean long breaks from children or excessive paperwork, and that you do not have to keep written records of day-to-day observations. What you must keep are the statutory records the EYFS lists, such as accidents, medicines, attendance, staff checks and complaints, and the written summary for the progress check at age two.

Much of the paperwork in early years was never asked for. It grew from fear of inspection, from software that makes recording easy, and from habits passed from one manager to the next. This guide separates what the rules actually say from what settings do out of caution. It uses Ofsted’s September 2026 inspection documents and the EYFS frameworks in force from 1 September 2026.

What does Ofsted say it does not want?

Ofsted’s early years inspection information has a section on common misconceptions. In summary, Ofsted says:

• It does not expect written evidence for each standard in the toolkit.
• It does not expect a formal self-evaluation using the toolkit, and leaders are not disadvantaged without one.
• It has no preferred method of planning, teaching or assessment, and no required format for curriculum planning.
• It does not grade individual staff or activities.
• It does not require photographic evidence of what children are doing and learning.
• It does not expect a presentation or extra documents about your setting. Inspectors prioritise what they see first-hand.
• It does not look less favourably on bought-in curriculums, such as commercial or local schemes.
• It does not expect retrospective DBS checks for staff appointed before DBS requirements existed and employed continuously since.
• A setting’s use of AI is not an explicit part of inspection, and there is no expectation to use it.

The toolkit adds that inspectors need no particular format as long as information is easy to reach, and that leaders should not produce documents specially for inspection. The information page puts it plainly: you do not need to provide evidence beyond what Ofsted asks for or what the EYFS requires.

Why: every hour spent writing up an observation for an imagined inspector is an hour not spent with children, and the toolkit judges the quality of teaching and care, not the volume of records.

What does the EYFS say about assessment paperwork?

Both frameworks say the same things (group framework 2.2 and 2.5, childminder framework 2.2 and 2.4):

• Assessment should not involve long breaks from interacting with children, or excessive paperwork.
• When judging whether a child is at the expected level, practitioners use their knowledge of the child and professional judgement, and do not have to prove it with physical evidence.
• Practitioners should act on their own day-to-day observations and those parents share, but there is no requirement to keep written records of this ongoing assessment.

Development Matters is non-statutory, and the framework says Ofsted will not take it into account at inspection (group 1.20, childminders 1.14). There is no statutory checklist of age bands to tick.

The DfE’s guidance on the progress check at age two goes further. It says you do not need to tick off checkpoints or provide tracking data, written observations or photographs to complete the check.

Then how does an inspector know we are any good?

By watching and talking. Inspectors carry out shared observations with leaders, talk to children, follow a few children closely (case sampling) and ask practitioners what a child is learning, what they can do now and what comes next. A key person who can answer those questions about their children, without a folder, is the evidence.

That shifts the risk. The danger is no longer a thin folder. It is a key person who cannot describe a child they have written thirty observations about.

What paperwork is actually required?

These are the main written records the EYFS requires. Paragraph numbers are from the group and school-based framework; the childminder framework has the same requirements unless noted.

• Accidents and injuries, and first aid given (3.78).
• Medicines: written parental permission, and a record each time you give one (3.62). See giving medicine in a nursery.
• Daily attendance: children’s names, hours and key person (3.104).
• Information about each child, including parents, who has parental responsibility and emergency contacts (3.99).
• Staff checks: qualifications, identity, vetting and references, including DBS number and date (3.18, group settings).
• Physical intervention, when it happens (3.76).
• Complaints and their outcome (3.101).
• Written policies and procedures for group settings (3.5). Childminders registered only on the Early Years Register or with an agency do not need them in writing, but must be able to explain them (childminders 3.6), and do not need a written complaints procedure (childminders 3.100).
• The progress check at age two: a short written summary for parents (2.6). See the progress check at age two.

Some records are “should” rather than “must”, such as recording choking incidents that needed intervention (3.71). Treat them as expected practice unless you have a good reason not to.

Keep, stop or it depends

Use this in a staff meeting. Go line by line and ask: who reads this, and what changes because of it?

Practice	Verdict	Why
Accident, medicine, attendance and complaints records	Keep	Statutory. Inspectors may ask to see them.
DBS and vetting records, paediatric first aid list	Keep	Inspectors review these as a priority on the day.
Written progress check at age two	Keep	Statutory for every child aged two to three.
Allergy action plans and dietary information	Keep	Required by the safer eating section.
Safeguarding records and referrals	Keep	Inspectors look at how concerns were handled over time.
A set number of observations per child per week	Stop	No rule sets a number. Quota-driven observations crowd out teaching.
Evidence folders built for Ofsted	Stop	Ofsted says it does not want documents made for inspection.
Photographing every activity “as evidence”	Stop	Ofsted does not require photographic evidence of learning.
Written self-evaluation against the toolkit	Stop (as a requirement)	Not expected. Thinking honestly about your strengths and weaknesses is still worth doing.
Tick-list assessment against Development Matters	Stop	Non-statutory, and professional judgement is enough.
Tracking software and cohort data	It depends	Keep it if it helps a key person or SENCo act sooner. Drop it if it only feeds charts.
Learning journals shared with parents	It depends	A good way to keep parents involved, not an inspection requirement. Keep them short and about the child.
Written risk assessments	It depends	Your choice under the EYFS, but health and safety law may require written ones if you employ five or more people.
Planning sheets	It depends	No required format. Keep whatever helps staff teach the curriculum well.
Notes for a child with SEND or a concern	Keep	You will need them to plan support and to share with parents and other professionals.

A word on parents

Some documentation that Ofsted does not need is still worth doing for families. A photo at pick-up or a short note about a child’s day builds trust, and the EYFS does require a regular two-way flow of information with parents (3.95). The question is whether the record serves the family or an imagined inspector. If it is for the family, make it quick to produce and pleasant to receive. Our guide to parent communication that works for staff and families covers how.

How to cut paperwork without taking a risk

1. List every form, log and app your staff fill in.
2. Mark each one statutory, useful or habit.
3. Keep the statutory ones and make them easy to find.
4. For every “useful” one, name who uses it and when. If nobody can, it is habit.
5. Stop the habits for a trial month, and put the time back into interaction.
6. Test yourself: can each key person talk confidently about their children without notes? That is what an inspector will ask.