Rishi Sunak believed to have scrapped childcare ratio changes

It is believed that the prime minister has abandoned the plans to cut the number of staff required to care for two-year-olds in nurseries drawn up when Boris Johnson was prime minister, and which were also championed by Liz Truss during her brief tenure as PM.

The early years sector and thousands of parents had protested against the ratio changes, which would have seen the number of two-year-olds early years staff can look after increase from 1:4 to 1:5.

A consultation on the ratio plans was launched in July and concluded in September. No Government response has so far been published.

During her six weeks as PM, Truss had pushed further, with plans under consideration said to include scrapping ratios altogether, and extending 15-hour childcare to 20 hours a week.

The Oliver Steeper Foundation launched a petition against the plans to cut ratios for two-year-olds, which was signed by more than 109,000 people and debated by MPs late last year.

Under the headline, ‘Rishi Sunak shelves “big bang” childcare reforms’, The Telegraph said on Sunday that ‘the policy drive has been postponed indefinitely, with the scale of reforms now being considered expected to be much smaller. 

‘Any proposed changes to the rules around childcare provision are not expected for months – a much later timescale than Ms Truss’s push for announcements before Christmas,’ it said.

Asked for a comment, a Department for Education spokesperson said, ‘We continue to review all options to improve the cost, choice and availability of high-quality childcare for working parents, which remains a priority for this Government.

‘We have spent more than £20 billion over the past five years to support families with the cost of childcare and the number of places available in England has remained stable since 2015, with thousands of parents benefitting from this support.’

Speaking on behalf of the Oliver Steeper Foundation, Lewis Steeper, told Nursery World, he was ‘overjoyed to read that the Government had shelved “big bang plans” to childcare which included increasing the current 1:4 ratio.

‘During the campaign for the petition, it became quite clear rather quickly that the sector was strongly opposed to the changes deeming it outright dangerous and would not solve any cost-of-living crisis.

‘During the debate, it became apparent that the Government's own evidence suggests changing the ratio would have an impact on a child's development. We continued to ask the Government to show how their plans were indeed safe and would not impact a child's development and also if the Minister present at the debate would put her own children into 1:4 or a 1:5 ratio, all questions went unanswered. 

‘We are now pushing for the consultation to be released which will no doubt show a strong objection by the sector to the plans. The government need to sit down with the industry, and look at development, safety and most importantly funding.

‘We would like to extend our thanks, as part of a small cog on a big wheel to everyone who played a part in halting the ratio plans.’

Sector organisations, who were overwhelmingly united against relaxing ratios, have also welcomed reports that the ratios plan has been axed, but warn that childcare reforms are urgently needed.

Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said, ‘We know that extending the so-called “free entitlement” offers without significant additional investment into the early years would have placed unsustainable pressure on an already-fragile sector, and that relaxing ratios would have hugely exacerbated the current early years crisis and risked lowering quality in settings, all without saving parents a penny. As such, if reports that these proposals have been scrapped are accurate, this can only be a positive thing.

‘That said, the fact that these particular policies were non-starters doesn’t mean that early years reform isn’t urgently needed. As such, it is deeply concerning to hear suggestions that the sector is set to become a lower government priority. The fact is that we currently have a system in this country where parents pay some of the highest prices in the world, while early years professionals remain undervalued and underpaid and are leaving the sector in their droves, and thousands of settings are closing each year. This simply cannot continue.’

The National Day Nurseries Association said that ‘tinkering with ratios’ would not make childcare cheaper for parents and that childcare and early education was ‘in desperate need of reform. Government investment in funded places does not cover childcare providers’ costs so many are struggling to remain sustainable.

‘They must be funded to enable them to deliver high quality early education that makes such a difference to all children’s futures. 

‘In December, when quizzed by the liaison committee, the Prime Minister said that it was clear that intervening early made a big difference and that directing more resources towards that was a “good and sensible thing to do”.

‘He must make good on this promise and deliver now for our youngest children. Tinkering with childcare ratios will not improve the high cost for parents, only sufficient investment in early education in line with other similar OECD countries will resolve the current crisis.’

Joeli Brearley, founder of campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, which has organised protests, including the March of the Mummies, said, ‘The notion that ratios could be relaxed in childcare settings was a completely terrifying prospect for all of us.

‘As parents, we have seen first-hand the pressure early years educators are under. We know how hard it can be to effectively care for one child, let alone three or four. Although many of us want to work, and the stress placed on us due to extortionate childcare costs can feel overwhelming, the safety and well-being of our children will always come first. It has been very disappointing to see how far this proposal progressed through parliament despite the backlash from parents and the sector, but by-god are we relieved it has finally been dropped.

‘The worrying news is that Sunak might also be considering smaller tweaks to the childcare and early years sector than it desperately needs. Clearly, they still don’t have a plan, and as they’ve started to look into it, they’ve realised it is actually quite complicated.’

Plans to cut staff-to-child ratios in early years settings – A timeline

In 2013, Liz Truss, then early years minister, put forward plans to cut childcare ratios in early years settings. The plans were scrapped after mass protests from the sector. Nine years later the Conservatives reignited a version of the policy, which they said would make childcare cheaper for parents. They are now believed to have ditched the plans.

March 2022 – Will Quince, the then early years minister appointed by Boris Johnson, says the Government is looking at changing childcare regulations and that he will be visiting other countries, including France and Sweden, for ideas.

April – Johnson tells Cabinet that cutting childcare ratios is being looked at, as a way to ease financial pressure on families.
 

May – Lewis and Zoe Steeper launch parliamentary petition against plans to change staff-to-child childcare ratios. Their son Oliver died in September 2021, days after he was believed to have choked at nursery.

The same month the Government responds to the petition, as in days it exceeds the target of 10,000 signatures required for an official response. The Government says that it will be launching a consultation in the summer ‘on moving to the Scottish ratios for two-year-olds, from a ratio of 1:4 (one adult to four children) to 1:5 (one adult to five children).’

Survey finds nine in ten early years settings oppose ratio changes.

4 July – Government launches consultation on childcare ratio changes.

August – DfE forced to clarify claim that changing ratios will mean that parents will save £40 a week on childcare costs.

5 September – Liz Truss appointed Prime Minister.

16 September – Consultation closes.

October – New PM Liz Truss is said to be planning to axe childcare ratios completely.


20 October – Truss resigns as PM.

25 October – Sector calls on new PM Rishi Sunak to clarify childcare plans.

29 October – 15,000 people in 11 cities call on new PM Rishi Sunak for more funding for the childcare sector and affordable childcare during the March of the Mummies.

14 November – MPs debate the Steepers’ petition against ratios in Parliament. In her response, Claire Coutinho, the new minister for children, families and wellbeing, told MPs that a response to the consultation would be published ‘in due course’.

1 January 2023 – Rishi Sunak reported to have abandoned plans for childcare reforms, including changes to staff-to-child ratios.