Proposals outlined in a consultation on the Childcare Bill suggestproviders caring for six- and seven-year-olds not on school sites wouldno longer be made to register. Instead they can sign up to a voluntaryregister run by Ofsted to become eligible for working tax credits andemployer supported childcare schemes. They will be subject to spotchecks and health and safety criteria.
The Department for Education and Skills says this will cut bureaucracyand costs to providers and central government.
But Steve Alexander, chief executive of the Pre-school LearningAlliance, described it as a "regressive step" that would confuse parentsand make the system more complicated.
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said it could placechildren at risk. "It is too much to ask parents to start having toquality control childcare for those age groups," she said.
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