Consultation to lower nursery staff-to-child ratio in England: Overview on quality and equity

The recent announcement that the Department for Education is considering changing childcare ratios in childcare setting by proposing:

• changing the current statutory minimum staff:child ratios in England for 2-year-olds from 1:4 to 1:5
• making the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework (EYFS) explicit that childminders can care for more than the specified maximum of three children under the age of 5 if they are caring for siblings of children they already care for, or if the childminder is caring for their own baby or child
• making the EYFS explicit that “adequate supervision” while children are eating means that children must be in sight and hearing of an adult. 

These changes have been opposed by many including early years staff and parents alike whilst questioning the quality of care that children would get looking at their individual needs.  This is especially when there is already a strain on the childcare sector with the lack of childcare places, but also recent finding from a survey by Early Years Alliance (2021) identified that more than eight in ten early years settings are struggling to recruit staff and half of them are having to turn away new parents because of staff shortages.  Additionally, early years sector professionals’ evidence that many children are coming into early years settings with additional needs having been impacted by Covid restrictions but also children are struggling with language acquisition and with their personal, social and emotional development as a result.  Hence, they argue that this is not the time to increase ratios and give children less support in thinking of ‘improving flexibility and reducing the childcare costs’ as mentioned by Will Quince.  But it is about improving the quality of support that children require at this time especially for children with additional needs where ‘quality matters more than quantity’.       

As a practitioner myself, I feel that these changes will dilute the support that children require as part of the importance of early intervention but also take the focus away from the key issues in early years sector that require addressing first.  Yes, improving flexibility and childcare costs is vital for families, but there are many other aspects that these changes will influence and impact including ‘the child’.  As mentioned previously, there are more children experiencing delay in speech and language whilst there are many children with additional needs not being able to access any settings, especially after the closures of children centres.  This is due to lack of funding, staff shortages to cater for the individual needs but also a gap in knowledge and understanding to support the needs of the individual child.  Many children continue to be excluded from settings due to the complex health needs causing inequality in the childcare sector for being different.  Whereas, there is the aim to provide equality in terms of financial circumstances or flexibility, I argue what about when children are telling us they need help.  For children with additional needs, it means to recognise those forms of equality to then acknowledge and make the adjustments to ensure they are included.  But, if they are not included in the first place, this compromises the equality of service that children are receiving with additional strain of numbers on staff.  So, how does these new proposals aim for practitioners to deliver a curriculum that entails for them to meet the principles of a unique child. 

With this, I ask everyone to share your views as your views matter, not only for your child or those you work with but to the many who are not able to voice their views.  Let us ensure to create a society that ‘listens’ to the child and makes the most informed decisions for the child looking at the bigger picture. 

Please take some time to share your views using the link below.  Thank you. 

Consultation – Your views matter

https://consult.education.gov.uk/childcare-futures-unit/childcare-regulatory-changes/

References

Gaunt, C. (2021) Survey highlights 'sector-wide' early years workforce crisis. Nursery World

Early Years Alliance (2021) Breaking Point: The impact of recruitment and retention challenges on the early years sector in England. URL: https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/sites/default/files/breaking_point_report_early_years_alliance_2_december_2021.pdf (accessed on 8th July 2022)