The majority of nursery care in England is meeting the required standard laid down by ministers despite over 10,000 complaints in the last year, the education watchdog announced on Friday.

A comprehensive audit of childminding and daycare provision finds that most nurseries and nannies have complied with the government's criteria.

Ofsted, which became responsible for pre-school education 18 months ago, has inspected every childminder and daycare provider against new national standards.

The survey revealed that there were 99,300 registered childcare providers in England - comprising 68,200 childminders and 31,100 daycare providers.

The watchdog reported that 220 applicants were refused registration - with over 10,500 complaints being raised about childcare providers.

Following investigation - often concerning the suitability of childminders - the watchdog took action to stop 175 providers operating.

The report found that 40 per cent already complied with the standards and following the inspections most others are set make improvements in areas such as the health and safety of the environment in which children are looked after.

Inspections chief David Bell said: "Ofsted's philosophy of improvement through inspection has been to the fore throughout the transition period.

"But at the same time, we have developed workable processes for registration and regulation that do not hinder growth in the childcare sector.

"A new benchmark has now been set for the quality and safety of childcare throughout England, against which future improvements can be set."

The new inspections regime, introduced in April, will grade all registered childcare providers as "good", "satisfactory" and "unsatisfactory".

Ofsted said this will allow it "to paint a picture" about the real quality of childcare across England.