Daily roundup: Carrie quits, childcare savings, and Devon criticism

Anne Marie Carrie, chief executive of Barnardo’s, is to step down next month to set up her own consultancy. Carrie, who joined the charity in November 2010, will leave to run her own company, which will provide advice and guidance to organisations working in education, child protection and welfare, a spokeswoman for the charity said. Third Sector quotes Carrie as saying: "It has been my joy and pleasure to have led Barnardo’s in developing a new vision, updating its purpose and initiating the implementation of new ways of working."

New calculations released by the Department for Education show the cost of childcare could be cut by as much as 28% if the government was to go ahead with  plans to raise ratios of children to staff in nurseries, reports the Guardian. The new calculations released by the DfE under a freedom of information request said parent costs could be cut from £4 an hour to £3.49 an hour (a 12% cut) while teacher salaries could go up. Alternatively, if the extra revenue was used solely to reduce costs for parents, this could yield cost savings for parents of up to 28%.

Services for some of the most vulnerable children in Devon are inadequate, the BBC has reported. A draft report by Ofsted investigators gives the services the lowest of four rankings available. It also criticises official council processes, record keeping and administration. Devon County Council told the BBC no children had been identified as being at risk of harm because of issues raised by Ofsted.