Early years sector fears change in staff-to-child ratios

The issue of childcare funding was absent from last week’s autumn statement, while the Chancellor heaped praise on the Department for Education’s cost-cutting measures.

With the government’s childcare commission expected to report in a matter of days, practitioners believe government will not allocate additional money towards cutting childcare costs, but will instead introduce a ratio change, enabling childcarers to be paid extra for looking after more children.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said his suspicions were fuelled by comments made by Ofsted’s national director for education, Sue Gregory, at the body’s annual early years lecture earlier this month.

“Historically, politically, Ofsted has sat on the fence, yet in this instance Sue Gregory went as far as saying there’s not enough money in the system,” said Leitch.