ALMOST 400 childcare providers have been refused permission to work with children by the Office for Standards in Education. Ofsted refused to register 220 applicants and shut down 175 existing providers under its new powers to regulate childminding and daycare. In its first 18 months, it inspected 81,500 providers. Six out of 10 were told to make changes. It also dealt with 36,700 new applications. By the end of March there were 99,300 registered childcare providers in England.
