This week, an overhaul of childcare regulations will be announced to save hundreds of thousands of families money by allowing staff to care for more children.
It is claimed that the England-only move could save families up to £40 per week, but the sector argues this is unlikely due to years of underfunding, and even Tory frontbencher Will Quince says the reform is more about flexibility than cost savings.
The government intends to increase from four to five the number of two-year-olds that can be cared for by one adult in a nursery, ostensibly to assist parents with the rising cost of living.
Families who pay £265 per week for a two-year-old could save up to £40 per week, or 15 percent if childcare providers adopt the initiative and pass the savings on to parents if the move is limited to England only.
The sector, however, believes this is extremely unlikely, and children’s minister Will Quince told that ratio changes alone would not be a “silver bullet or panacea” for family finances in the short term.
During a trip to Paris, where he visited nurseries with a higher staff-to-child ratio, the Tory front-bencher sought to reassure parents that childcare providers would not be compelled to adopt the proposed changes.
He said: “If I believed it would jeopardize safety or quality, I would not perform this action.
Some in and out of government urged me to consider much bolder ratio reform, but I’ve stated that quality and safety are our top priority.
The cost of childcare in the United Kingdom is among the highest in Europe, with infant care being the most expensive.
In the United Kingdom, full-time care for a toddler costs an average of £936 per month or 48 percent of the average wage.
The average price for full-time care in France, where the legal ratio of adults to children is one to eight for two-year-olds, is £511, or 26% of the average wage, according to figures published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
In contrast to the United Kingdom, France heavily subsidizes child care and requires all staff to be fully qualified.
Mr. Quince visited a creche run by the city of Paris to learn more about the system, but he insisted that the proposed reform in the United Kingdom would be much more limited.
He stated, about the French ratio: “That would be a step too far for a variety of reasons, and what we are proposing and consulting on is a much smaller and less significant change.
“The ratio change in and of itself is not a silver bullet, panacea, or magic bullet, and it will not have a significant impact on costs because we do not anticipate that settings will be changed routinely or religiously to one to five.
“Currently, few range from one to four.
“This is more about flexibility, and it’s essential to emphasize that it’s part of a much larger package.”
The government has also been working to increase the use of tax-free childcare, which up to £2,000 per year is available to 1.3 million families.
In 2012, only 384,000 families, or less than a third of those eligible, enrolled.
The childcare industry is vehemently opposed to the ratio changes, which they claim will put a strain on staff and that, due to years of underfunding, any costs saved by having more children are unlikely to be passed on.
The proposed changes are more limited than those suggested by former childcare minister Liz Truss in 2013 when she proposed one adult for every six two-year-olds.
The plans were shelved due to pushback from nurseries and parents.
Neil Leitch, chief executive officer of the Early Years Alliance, expressed his hope that these plans would also be scrapped.
He said: “It has no justification whatsoever.
“The issue in early childhood education has nothing to do with the number of employees, but rather with the fact that the sector has been grossly underfunded for decades.
“Moreover, such a policy would do little, if anything, to reduce parental costs.
“We are aware that the vast majority of providers intend to keep their ratios unchanged, regardless of any regulatory changes, to maintain quality levels; and even if a minority did relax their ratios, any savings would be used to recoup years of historic losses, rather than lower fees.”
At the North London nursery, Little Ladybirds, manager and former educator Fiona Doyle and her two employees care for eight children.
She indicated that she would be unlikely to adhere to the new ratios.
“One adult to four children is a lot, whether it’s naptimes, mealtimes, taking them to the park, or someone’s had an accident,” she said.
“I cannot find a single childcare provider, parent, or anyone else who believes this is a good idea; it would be a complete disaster.
“The more children we have, the less time we have to devote to their individualized education and development; it makes no sense from any angle.”
She stated that her parents pay her the equivalent of £7 per hour for ten hours of work.
Kelly Swift, whose toddler attends the nursery, described the monthly payments as a “huge drain on our finances,” even though the nursery is not particularly expensive.
She then stated: “I do not support making the people responsible for caring for my children and providing them with the best possible care more stressed and overworked.
It does not appear to be the best method for reducing costs.
Mr. Quince stated that Boris Johnson had taken a personal interest in the issue because high childcare costs were preventing women from entering the workforce.
He added: “In the past ten months, I have met with settings and spoken with individual providers on numerous occasions, and those who work in the early years have indicated that a little more flexibility on occasion would be beneficial.
“Also, when I speak with parents, they tell me, “Well, we need the places, we need to go to work, and we want our child to be educated. We don’t want to be let down at the last minute, even if it means giving settings a bit more flexibility around one to five instead of one to four on occasion.”
“This is a legal limit, a maximum; it is not a target, and we do not want settings to aim for it.
It is about giving these settings the flexibility and autonomy to determine what is best for their setting in terms of quality and safety.
Scotland has a ratio of one adult to five two-year-olds, whereas Wales has a ratio of one adult to four, the same as England, and there are no plans to change it.
