Nutbrown scorns government childcare changes

Professor Cathy Nutbrown, who carried out the review that informed the government’s More Great Childcare strategy, said plans to relax staff-to-child ratios would undermine efforts to raise the quality of early years services.

“I fear that any positive effects for children that might have come about through enhancement in qualifications will be cancelled out because there will be too few early years professionals working with them,” she said in a paper in reaction to More Great Childcare.

“Trading staff-to-child ratios for higher-qualified staff is nonsense. Watering down ratios will threaten quality. Childcare may be cheaper, but children will be footing the bill.”

The Pre-School Learning Alliance backed her attack on the government’s childcare plans.

“We are in total agreement with her,” said Neil Leitch, chief executive of the alliance.

“Relaxing childcare ratios will be a recipe for disaster for children. The quality of provision will be lowered, there will be less one-to-one care and it will introduce additional child safety and child protection implications.”

Nutbrown also criticised the government for failing to give early years professionals the same status as schoolteachers.

“In England, the Early Years Foundation Stage marks the beginning of the education system,” she said.

“The question as to why those working with children in these challenging and complex years of early development and of learning, should be less well qualified and afforded a lower professional status than those teaching older children remains unanswered.”