As part of its childcare ratios consultation launch last month, the Department for Education (DfE) claimed that relaxing adult: child ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 could result in savings of 15 per cent or £40 a week for parents of two-year-olds.
The DfE said the cost saving figure was based on the following calculation, which was not included in any public announcements, ‘staff costs account for 74 per cent of overall costs in early years settings. Moving to a ratio of 1:5 for two-year-olds would cut staff costs by 20 per cent. 20 per cent x 74 per cent = 15 per cent. The average weekly cost of an early years place is £265 and 15 per cent of £265 is £40 – parents could therefore save £40 per week.’
Believing that the quoted figure was based upon a ‘number of flawed assumptions’ the Early Years Alliance (EYA) filed a complaint to the Office for Statistics Regulation. Reasons why the EYA believed the figure was flawed include:
- Just 22 per cent of group settings (nurseries and pre-schools) in England work to a stricter ratio than 1:4 at the moment – according to the DfE’s own figures.
- The calculations incorrectly assume that all settings have the physical space to be able to substantially increase the number of children they care for.
- For the Government’s calculation to work, settings would have to only increase their child numbers in ‘ratio-sized amounts’ to move from a 1:4 to a 1:5 ratios.
In response to the complaint, the DfE has now amended its press release containing the estimate of potential savings to include its calculations. It has also told the Office for Statistics Regulation it will not use it again and is now ‘working towards generating a more accurate figure’, which will be published alongside the consultation response.
'There is no doubt the high cost of early years provision is a problem that needs to be urgently addressed, but ratios are not the answer.'
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said, ‘Our view is that this saving calculation should never have been published in the first place. Given that Will Quince, the former children and families minister, publicly stated [in an interview with Sky News] that relaxing ratios is not going to significant lower costs for parents, it’s difficult to understand how anyone in Government saw fit to make such a ridiculous claim.
‘Time and time again, we have urged the Government to rethink their plans on ratios. Instead, it is doing its utmost to convince parents that these changes will lead to savings that it knows full well will never materialise.
‘There is no doubt the high cost of early years provision is a problem that needs to be urgently addressed, but ratios are not the answer. The only way that this issue can be solved is by properly funding the sector in the long term. The sooner Government accepts this, the better for everyone.’
