News

Parents are "surprised and horrified" by ratios proposals

Many parents of young children are still unaware of government plans to raise early years child-to-staff ratios despite the controversy surrounding the proposals, a nursery owner has warned.

Sarah Steel, managing director of The Old Station chain of nurseries, said parents who attended its "drop-in picnics", held last week to mark International Children’s Day, were “surprised” and “horrified” by the proposals.

Campaigners against higher child-to-staff ratios say that allowing providers to look after more children will lead to a decline in the quality of care they can provide.

Steel said the sessions, held at three of The Old Station nurseries, showed many parents were unaware of the proposals, which the government would like to introduce as early as September depending on the results of a consultation.

Steel said: “This seems amazing given the coverage, but it just goes to show that most parents just turn up to use a nursery, love the service they get and then go home.”

“At our Newark nursery we asked them to sign the petition against changing ratios and most of them were really surprised – and horrified – that the government saw fit to tinker with what was currently working so well in their eyes.

“They unanimously didn’t want to see less staff caring for children,” she added.

One mother of a child aged under one told Steel she would remove her child from the nursery if staff were allowed to care for four children under one, rather than the current limit of three. Steel’s nursery chain is holding more picnics in London settings today.

June O’Sullivan, chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation, said early years providers need to “highlight these issues and make our voices heard”.

“Early years staff are unwilling to remain downtrodden and ignored when we contribute significantly to supporting the national economy and to the wellbeing of children,” she said.

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's Included

  • Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month

  • Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here


More like this

Hertfordshire Youth Workers

“Opportunities in districts teams and countywide”

Administration Apprentice

SE1 7JY, London (Greater)