There has been speculation for weeks that ministers will lower the number of staff settings will need to employ in an attempt to keep childcare costs down for parents.
However, many nursery owners and childminders say the plans simply will not make any difference to childcare fees, partly because so many early years settings are struggling to remain sustainable in the face of under-funding for free early education places.
There are also grave concerns that increasing the number of children that early years staff can care for will inevitably compromise the quality of children’s learning and experiences, as well as their safety.
Childminder Penny Webb has launched a petition against the plans, which has so far been signed by more than 400 people.
The petition, ‘Drop plans to increase child to adult ratios’, calls on the Department for Education to stop its plans.
Ms Webb, who has worked in childcare for more than 30 years, as a childminder and in early years settings as a trainer, said, ‘High adult to child ratios enable adults to form strong relationships with the children and provide opportunities for quality interaction, which are crucial for their well-being and development.’
‘I am immensely proud of the fact that in this country we have provided children with such high quality care and education over many years.’
‘I, like many of my colleagues, are parents and grandparents - we understand concerns about childcare costs and would welcome the opportunity to open up dialogue with government about how we can address this.
‘Keeping children safe, providing food, toys, equipment, crafts and outings is expensive for both parents and childcare settings, but the answer to reducing childcare costs is not for chid carers to look after more children as this will have an incredibly damaging impact on the thing that matters most - the quality of care of our children.’
Lincolnshire Montessori has also spoken out against the proposals, lending its support to the petition, and saying that any reduction to ratios would jeopardise their quality.
It has also made a commitment to maintain current staff: child ratios in its settings, in the wake of any change to ratios.
In a statement, directors Theresa Ellerby and Sylvia Fields say, ‘Lincolnshire Montessori fundamentally believe that a reduction in these ratios would be a compromise on quality experiences for very young children.
‘We know that the demanding role of an early years practitioner requires unlimited patience, empathy, emotional intelligence and stamina. To suggest that higher qualifications better equip an individual to work with more children is unreasonable and not in children's interest.
‘While we are proud to have the majority of our team qualified between Levels 4- 7, including six graduates, we believe our team already work incredibly hard to offer quality experiences to between three and eight children each (depending on the age of children). This quality would be jeopardised by increasing these numbers.
‘We hereby make a commitment to our children and their families that we will not be compromised by this proposal and commit to maintaining the current ratios in pursuit of the best quality early years care and education we can provide.’
Laura Henry, managing director of the Childcare Consultancy, who is also backing the campaign, has drafted a letter that nurseries can send to parents to explain how changes to ratios will impact on the quality of children’s learning and development, and urging them to sign the petition and write to the childcare and education minister Elizabeth Truss..
‘I believe that Ms Truss needs to press the pause button and continue with the debate to identify solutions and to speak with providers; primarily looking at what the Government do indeed spend on childcare, how they can reduce any unnecessary spending and making sure that the sector is funded appropriately, in order to make quality childcare affordable to you,’ she says.
A Department for Education spokesperson said, 'We need to learn from other countries that ensure professionals are well trained and give nursery staff the freedom to do their job. Other countries like Denmark and France pay much higher salaries and have more qualified staff than we do.
'Any changes to ratios will only be on the basis of increased qualification levels and will not be mandatory. Nurseries can continue to operate as they are doing at the moment. No nursery would be obliged to take up this opportunity. However, many nurseries have asked for more flexibility, so that they can increase the pay and qualifications of their staff.'
