An article published in The Times today (7 October) suggests rather than ‘tweak’ ratios, Truss is looking at getting rid of the regulatory requirement leaving it up to childcare settings to decide how many staff they need to children.
This is despite overwhelming opposition within the early years sector and among parents to relax the staff: child ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 for two-year-olds.
Early years organisations have warned the move could have ‘dire circumstances’ and have urged the Government to further consult with the sector.
The Times article states, ‘Ministers are understood to believe that the present ratio has become a burden on nurseries, who hire surplus staff because they fear sudden inspections when one of the staff is ill or even on an extended break.’
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