NURSERIES, preschools and childminders joined the clamour for Ofsted reform today after a new poll revealed that most staff find inspections too stressful.

A whopping 1,586 out of just over 1,700 workers surveyed by the Early Years Alliance said that visits by England’s education inspectorate are “sometimes” or “often” a source of stress.

The charity demanded a review of Ofsted’s four one-word grades, which range from “outstanding” to “inadequate.”

The survey follows a call by all four of the country’s education unions for inspections to be paused in the wake of headteacher Ruth Perry’s death in January.

Her family say that Ms Perry took her own life after being told that her school, Caversham primary in Reading, would be downgraded to the lowest rating.

Both the National Education Union (NEU) and NASUWT have gone further, arguing that the inspectorate must be abolished and replaced with a “fairer, more supportive, more effective” system.

Nursery owner Zoe O’Malley told the BBC that she and her staff have had “sleepless nights” since an Ofsted report last December judged her nursery “inadequate.”

The inspectorate claimed that safeguarding at Busy Bunnies Day Nursery in High Peak, Derbyshire, was ineffective because “not all staff were aware of how to keep children safe from radicalisation, female genital mutilation and child exploitation.”

It also said that babies were given too much toothpaste, posing a health risk.

But Ms O’Malley insisted that the six-hour visit had not given a “whole view” of the nursery and that some of the concerns raised could have been dealt with “there and then.”

She added: “Inspections are important, but staff found it hard to answer questions on safeguarding while minding children. One has since left the sector because of the impact on her.”

Early Years Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch said that recent concerns about inspections had focused on schools, but they are also increasingly seen “as something to dread” in his sector. 

“They are leaving educators stressed, exhausted and questioning their future,” he warned.

The National Day Nurseries Association also shared fears that a growing staffing crisis in the austerity-hit sector is having a big impact on the “stability and continuity of childcare.”

Ofsted says that it knows inspections can be “challenging, but we want them to be as constructive as possible,” while under-pressure Tory ministers continue to insist that the body is vital for “maintaining standards.”

Labour has committed to reforming Ofsted, rather than abolishing it.