Education minister Elizabeth Truss is asking for employees-child ratios in nurseries to be cut (The childcare revolution, 12 January). She describes current ratios, for instance of 1 staff to a few babies and under two-year-olds, as restrictive. We understand the will to lower childcare costs for working parents, but believe this type of move to be deeply undermining of the standard of nurseries, the wellbeing of babies and childrens and to the arrogance of oldsters in seeking a nursery place to be able to return to work.
There have been a sustained improvement inside the basic standards of nurseries since 1948 – in ratios, group size, space and physical environment. International research reviews point to the significance of those standards as a precondition of excellent-quality care and education. What matters most is the standard of interaction between babies, little ones and staff. Babies and youngsters attending nursery for long hours ought to feel individually noticed, thought of and responded to sensitively and consistently. The government’s own Early Years Foundation Stage, introduced last September, emphasises this. Yet it could only be achieved if there are enough staff and people staff are well qualified.
It’s not essential to turn to international research to expose the hazards of watering down ratios. Any parent with sole responsibility for a child or under-two in the course of the day will know the demands in addition to pleasures. To handle three under-twos, who’re not one’s own, is extremely demanding work. To invite staff to deal with much more and claim that well-qualified and well-paid staff can do that and lift standards is inaccurate.
Dr Peter Elfer University of Roehampton, Dr Jools Page University of Sheffield, Dr Kathy Goouch and Dr Sacha Powell, Canterbury Christchurch University
• As someone answerable for running four nurseries – between them registered to peer after greater than 290 children under the age of 4 – the comments made by Elizabeth Truss give me great concern. Truss praises the French system, where children are taught in larger groups by supposedly better qualified and better paid staff. The oversimplistic “fewer staff, higher wages = better quality” equation is an insult to people who currently work with children. Regardless of how highly paid someone is, it doesn’t suddenly give them superhuman powers to produce rich and developmentally appropriate care and learning opportunities to 8 highly demanding two-year-olds.
The existing ratios work perfectly well. We’d all love an additional member of staff – and good nurseries do work flexibly to supply additional support. This allows staff time for planning, paperwork, working with others and usually being the pro that they would like to be, in addition to the only the govt. tells them they must be. While there are concerns in regards to the level of nursery fees, the reply shouldn’t be to slash quality. Parents must be better supported financially to assist pay for childcare that they feel happy with. i will be able to let you know for nothing that mums returning to work after maternity leave cannot feel happy about leaving their child with one adult and 7 other toddlers.
I want to invite Ms Truss to The Village Nursery to enable her to check her proposals for one member of staff taking care of eight toddlers.
Julie Lightley
Owner, Village Nursery, Trafford
