Changes in staff: child ratios being reported were that it would be one adult to four babies and one adult to six two-year-olds in nurseries, while childminders would be able to care for two babies rather than one and four under-fives rather than three.
Other rumoured proposals were for all childcarers to have GCSE English and Maths, a new two-year qualification for Early Years Educators, and the introduction of childminder agencies.
The sector’s ire was further fuelled by minister for education and childcare Liz Truss’s comments about the need for young children to be ‘educated’ – interpreted by the Sunday Times in an interview with Ms Truss as meaning that toddlers should be taught reading and maths at a younger age ‘reassuring mothers that their children are receiving an education and giving them the confidence to seek work’. The ST article was headlined ‘Playtime is over in Britain’s nurseries’.
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