Almost a quarter of a million youngsters are being let down by nurseries and childminders that are not good enough, Ofsted is expected to warn today.
Children in the most deprived areas of the country are the most likely to be faced with poor childcare, it is due to say.
Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw is expected to reveal plans later for a major overhaul of early education which could see failing nurseries and childminders closed down if they do not improve.
The move comes amid concerns of the inspectorate that many pre-schoolers do not have access to good childcare.
Ofsted figures show that as of the end of August last year, up to 243,400 children were being cared for by nurseries, childminders and pre-schools that were not yet considered good.
More than two fifths of early years educators were judged no better than satisfactory at their last two inspections, and over one in 10 had dropped a grade, according to the watchdog's annual report, published in November.
Under Sir Michael's proposals, which are due to be published for consultation today, from September Ofsted will only consider a rating of good or outstanding to be acceptable.
The satisfactory judgment will be scrapped and replaced by "requires improvement" - a change already made to school inspections in England.
Nurseries and pre-schools which are judged to "require improvement" will face more inspections and have up to four years to raise standards.
If they are not rated "good" after two inspections they are expected to be considered "inadequate".
And "inadequate" nurseries and pre-schools that fail to improve could face having their registration cancelled, effectively closing them down.
Sir Michael is expected to say: "Parents, whatever their circumstances, want their children to access good quality childcare and get a good early education that sets them up well for statutory schooling.
"Yet too many providers are not good enough, particularly in the most deprived areas. We must be tougher on weak settings.
"From September 2013, nurseries and pre-schools judged less than good will need to improve rapidly. I want the new designation of 'requires improvement' to act as a catalyst to get all early years providers to good as soon as possible.
"We'll encourage providers that are good or outstanding to support weaker settings. We know that the best schools are joining forces and we anticipate that this will happen in the early years."
Ofsted says it is still considering plans for inspection of childminder agencies, and is not yet making proposals about early re-inspection of childminders.
Last September the "satisfactory" rating used by inspectors for school inspections was scrapped, and replaced with "requires improvement", a move Ofsted said was intended to raise the bar on school standards.
Schools judged to require improvement at two consecutive inspections, and still not providing a good education at the third, are now likely be placed in special measures.
The move caused upset among head teachers' unions as it is likely to leave more schools in special measures.
The consultation on today's proposals is due to close on May 24.
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