The government has announced it is launching a consultation on ways to reduce childcare costs for parents, notably by changing the staff-to-child ratio so that each adult can look after five two-year-olds instead of the four currently allowed. It says the move could cut costs by up to 15% or £40 a week for a family paying £265 a week to care for a two-year-old if providers adopt the changes and pass on all the savings. However, the figures were disputed by the charity Pregnant Then Screwed, which branded it “nonsense”. Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said: “Since this was first put forward, the sector has been saying that changing the ratios for two-year-olds from 1:4 to 1:5 will be” . Make no material difference to the cost of childcare for providers or parents. This can only come from the government paying the full amount for funded childcare places for under-fives. “Many children are coming into early years settings with additional needs having been affected by the Covid restrictions. More children struggle with language acquisition and as a result with their personal, social and emotional development. That is why now is not the time to give less support to young children.” The proposed new ratio would bring England in line with Scotland, but Tanuku said the early years context in Scotland was “very different in terms of qualification levels, staff training and support from their regulators”. A study in 2013 – commissioned by the government when it was considering the policy – concluded that allowing staff to look after more children would lead to a drop in quality and that there was little evidence that high pay was a result of regulatory requirements. The government has restated the policy as part of efforts to tackle the cost of living crisis. Neil Leitch, Chief Executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: “It is utterly disappointing that the Government is wasting its time consulting on relaxing ratios, rather than simply admitting that if we want to have affordable, quality , sustainable care and early education in this country, we need to invest significantly more in the sector than we currently do. “If the government wants to learn from other countries, perhaps they should look at how much they invest in early years providers and how they respect and value the workforce. Downgrading early years standards at a time when children need more support than ever is not and will never be the answer.” Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said research by the charity and the alliance found that only 2% of nurseries would reduce fees for parents – mainly because most would not relax rates – and even when they did, the average would be about £2 a week. He said: “We are outraged that after months and months of talking to the government, showing them data that, for two-thirds of families, childcare costs the same or more than their rent or mortgage and pushes parents into poverty , children in poverty, have come up with a proposal to change the ratios that will not reduce costs for parents but will simply reduce quality.” The government has also announced plans to boost the number of children by giving them more flexibility and reducing inspections, and launched a £1.2m campaign to encourage greater take-up of the £2,000-a-year tax-free childcare scheme and Universal Credit childcare provision care. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: “Every child deserves a good start in life and that means giving families the support they need. Childcare is an integral part of our economy and these reforms prove again that this Government is on the side of working families. I am very grateful to the thousands of dedicated early years professionals who provide day-to-day care and education to our youngest children, so I am determined to support them by giving them more flexibility in how they deliver their services.”
