STANDARDS in childcare provision in Halton are below the national average, according to a report from inspectors.

Only 45% of the borough's providers were rated outstanding or good in inspections carried out by Ofsted between April 2005 and June 2007. The UK figure is 60%.

Just two out of 114 childcare inspections were rated outstanding, compared with five that were judged to be inadequate.

Nursery education was rated more highly, with 18 of the 29 providers either outstanding or good.

Only one was described by inspectors as inadequate.

Worryingly, more than six out of 10 new childminders were not meeting the national standards on safety when they registered - twice the national average.

This means they were failing to take steps to promote safety and ensure proper precautions were taken to prevent accidents.

A handful also had problems complying with child protection procedures.

These figures fell dramatically during routine inspections, but Halton's child-minders are still issued with more actions from inspectors than the national average.

There is provision for more than 4,000 childcare places in Halton.

'Comprehensive package' of support

A SPOKESMAN for Early Years at Halton Borough Council said: 'The Halton Early Years team provides a comprehensive package of business and quality support to all providers, which addresses issues such as the Early Years Foundation stage and its implication for providers.

'With regard to improving the outcomes of inspections for all providers, the Early Years Team is carrying out regular visits to all childcare providers to offer advice, support and training to enable them to continue to meet the national standards and address any issues raised at their inspection.

'A wide variety of training courses are offered each term at a greatly subsidised cost - however, it is the choice of the provider whether or not they attend.

'Although 63.8% of new providers (compared to 25.7% nationwide) are issued with actions regarding safety, the report shows that at inspection this figure is greatly reduced to 1.5%, which demonstrates the impact of the support and training given to new providers.

'In our experience parents will choose childcare that meets their own individual needs and circumstances.

'Parents would be unaware of the number of actions raised at registration, only that they are a registered provision.

'Parents may be more inclined to look at the outcome of subsequent inspections where gradings are given.

'Ofsted will only register providers where they are satisfied that they meet all 14 of the national standards, one of which is safety, therefore all registered provision meets the required standards set by Ofsted.'