London Assembly member backs ‘overwhelming opposition’ to relaxation of childcare ratios
Fiona Simpson
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
A London Assembly member has backed “clear and overwhelming opposition” to government plans to relax childcare ratios in England.
Speaking at the London Assembly Health Committee meeting, Dr Onkar Sahota said plans to bring staff-to-child ratios in line with Scotland, are “not the silver bullet to reducing childcare costs”.
Children’s minister Will Quince confirmed that the Department for Education will launch a consultation in the coming weeks on the plans, which would see ratios for two-year-olds increased to one adult per five children, up from the current limit of four.
Sahota said that the government’s aim should not be to “cut corners” but to focus on “recruitment, recruitment, recruitment” backed by “proper investment”.
“If you listen to the sector, there is clear and overwhelming opposition to the government’s proposals to relax childcare ratios. Staff are already overstretched and demoralised as it is,” he said.
Also speaking at the meeting, Stella Ziolkowski, director of quality and training at the National Day Nurseries Association, described a “mass exodus” of the workforce where many who were furloughed during Covid-19 lockdowns, found alternative employment and did not return to the sector when it reopened.
June O’Sullivan, chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation, added that staffing levels in the capital “are failing to meet demand as waiting lists continue to grow”.
Proposals around the relaxation of childcare ratios have been criticised by the sector since they were first announced by Quince in March.
A petition calling on the government to scrap plans for a consultation has amassed 60,000 signatures so far, while a poll by the Early Years Alliance found that just two per cent of respondents believe that changes to childcare ratios would result in lower fees for parents.
Sharing further details of the plans last month, Quince said: “We are proposing to move to the Scottish ratios for two-year-olds on the basis that Scotland has a similar childcare system to England, we have no evidence to suggest that the Scottish model is unsafe, and evidence shows high parental satisfaction rates.”
DfE has been contacted for further comment.
