The start of September is always a busy time and the last couple of weeks have been no exception at Ofsted. The launch of the new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) has been a particularly important development. In this issue we take a closer look at a nursery in Newcastle to see how it prepared for the EYFS, using self-evaluation and staff training to great effect. Another key event in the early years sector last month was the publication of Leading to excellence, our third national report on childcare and early years. I hope providers, local authorities and others who promote quality will find Leading to excellence a helpful guide on their journey of improvement.

There are three other reports recently published by Ofsted to which I want to draw your attention. The first is Mathematics 2004–07: understanding the score. This received much positive press coverage picking up on its message that too many schools are not teaching mathematics well enough. Mathematics has to be much more than the routine learning of methods, rules and facts, important though those are. We all benefit from the advanced mathematics that underpins our technological world and this study identifies the need for children to be equipped to use mathematics with confidence in and beyond the classroom.