Analysis

Protecting childcare staff ratios

4 mins read Early Years
Three experts put the case for why the government should not try to water down children-to-staff ratios.
The early years sector is concerned the government will see childcare deregulation as a solution to sustainability problems. Picture: Adobe Stock
The early years sector is concerned the government will see childcare deregulation as a solution to sustainability problems. Picture: Adobe Stock

Almost a decade since the then coalition government unsuccessfully attempted to change childcare staff ratios, the issue appears to be back on the table as ministers search for ways to reduce the cost of early education for cash-strapped parents.

Speaking recently on Radio Four’s Today programme, children’s minister Will Quince said he plans to visit France, the Netherlands and Sweden to see how they regulate the early years sector and assess whether regulation in the UK, including staffing ratios, is “too tight”.

This is the second time Quince has raised the issue of regulation – he mooted the idea in a newspaper article last autumn as a means of reducing parental fees. It raised the sector’s hackles and the Department for Education quickly denied it.

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