Rea Posted June 3, 2013 Posted June 3, 2013 Graham Stuart is the Chairman of the Education Select Committee and has written about the proposed reforms to childcare and the ratios of staff to children that are currently being discussed. Here's what he said: You may have heard that the Government is proposing reforms to the number of children that nurseries and childminders will be allowed to care for. I know some people are worried aboutwhether this will lead to children not being looked after properly, or that staff will have too much to do. I want to allay these concerns.As Chairman of the Education Select Committee, I welcome these reforms which are much needed. Parents in England face the highest childcare costs anywhere in the world except Switzerland, and the Government itself tops this up by spending another £5 billion on childcare every year. Despite this, quality can be variable and nursery staff may lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. The Government wants to do all it can to reduce the cost of childcare for families and improve its quality.At the moment, restrictive ratios on the number of staff to children put a cap on quality. Whereas in England nursery staff may look after no more than four two year-olds, in France they can be responsible for eight and in Denmark, Germany and Sweden there are no limits at all. In these countries, the emphasis is on the quality of the staff, not the number of children.England’s relatively tight staffing ratios have two main effects: higher costs for parents and lower pay for staff. Nursery staff below supervisor level are paid an average of £6.60 an hour – scarcely more than the minimum wage. This low pay drags down the quality of the workforce. In other countries, providers can use the extra income they get from taking on more children to reduce fees for parents and pay staff more, but this is not possible in England.The Government therefore plans to free high quality providers to offer more places, so long as they employ well-qualified staff. New childcare workers will need to have achieved C grades in GCSE English and Maths as a minimum requirement. Nurseries will be led by graduate level Early Years Teachers, who will be required to meet the same entry standards and pass the same skills tests as classroom teacher trainees.The Government proposes to allow ratios for two year olds to rise from four children to six children per adult. For one year old children or younger, the ratio will rise from three children per adult to four children per adult. These new maximum ratios will bring England into line with standard practice in other countries where high quality childcare is both more available and more affordable.A number of other measures will help deliver high quality childcare. The Ofsted regime will be improved. Councils will no longer duplicate Ofsted’s inspection work, making sure more of the £160 million of early education funding they currently receive reaches the frontline. The Government will also help schools open nurseries on site, giving more parents the choice of traditional nursery classes led by teachers. The introduction of childminder agencies will make it easier to become a childminder, relieve bureaucratic burdens on childminders, and provide training and quality assurance. My Committee will scrutinise the development of these proposals and their implementation to ensure they deliver stronger, more flexible and higher quality childcare. I've searched for this in a more friendly link but its not coming up anywhere. Enjoy!
SueJ Posted June 3, 2013 Posted June 3, 2013 Oh how thoroughly depressing - done dusted and ready to put all the measures in place and to hell with the consultations :angry: :angry: :angry:
Rea Posted June 3, 2013 Author Posted June 3, 2013 Absolutely. I just read Mr Stuart didnt like school, attended only the last term completely, went to Oxford but didnt finish his law degree. Good job we have people educated in education telling us what to do and how to do it otherwise we'd be a right old mess.
thumperrabbit Posted June 3, 2013 Posted June 3, 2013 At the rate we are going children will be on/in a school site by the time they are 1, all children in one place so its convenient - there will be no need for pre-schools/day nurseries / childminders I'm fed up with it all
SueFinanceManager Posted June 4, 2013 Posted June 4, 2013 Hmmm Rea might have to take issue with the heading of this topic.....as far as I can see and I am happy to be corrected the Dept of Education have not released a statement this statement by Graham Stuart has come from his facebook page here with a link to another of his websites here :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: 1
HappyMaz Posted June 4, 2013 Posted June 4, 2013 Good job we have people educated in education telling us what to do and how to do it otherwise we'd be a right old mess. You witnessed my meltdown yesterday Rea so you'll know I'm not a fan of this man's utterings, but I would just say that sometimes we need to those who are disaffected with education because they often have great insights into what is wrong with the current system. I'm prepared to listen to all views, and I don't disagree with what he has to say in its entirety. However, the central message that we are not very good at what we do is what depresses me most. But don't get me started again...
HappyMaz Posted June 4, 2013 Posted June 4, 2013 You're right Sue - the statement was released on his website and then shared on his facebook page. His pronouncements have hardly been received with adulation though. First comment: Sorry - can't agree with this one. Second comment: Efficient childcare establishments will be running at capacity for the space as specified by OFSTED, therefore increasing the ratio will surely result in staff redundancy. Two people have 'liked' the status though. I had a bit of a gander at the DfE website and found this video. Is it my imagination, or is Ms Truss referring to 'more highly qualified practitioners' as those with the Level 3 and GCSEs? If so I have completely misunderstood - I thought the higher ratios were to be offered to those settings hiring an EYT or someone with QTS. :huh:
SueFinanceManager Posted June 4, 2013 Posted June 4, 2013 But don't get me started again... Just read your blog and it is brilliant....can you be persuaded to put a link to it ???
HappyMaz Posted June 4, 2013 Posted June 4, 2013 (edited) You know me Sue: can never resist a bit of self-promotion. You can find it here. (quick edit to say I'm so proud for mastering how to put up a link in the old fashioned way. I feel as if I'm finally getting to grips with the new forum software!) Edited June 4, 2013 by HappyMaz Just to show off really! 3
flowlow Posted June 4, 2013 Posted June 4, 2013 HappyMaz you blog is brilliant I think it should be mandatory reading!!!!
Inge Posted June 4, 2013 Posted June 4, 2013 The statement was also on the DfE facebook page so they did ' release it ' it was where i saw it first... and well said Maz...
SueFinanceManager Posted June 4, 2013 Posted June 4, 2013 Oh thanks Inge....couldn't see it on the actual DofE website
Inge Posted June 4, 2013 Posted June 4, 2013 nor could I... or Rea, and could not find the original one you posted either... ... suppose it was an 'unofficial release'
sunnyday Posted June 4, 2013 Posted June 4, 2013 You know me Sue: can never resist a bit of self-promotion. You can find it here. (quick edit to say I'm so proud for mastering how to put up a link in the old fashioned way. I feel as if I'm finally getting to grips with the new forum software!) Excellent - thank you for sharing! :1b Oh and in case you're interested - I agree with every word! :1b
SueJ Posted June 4, 2013 Posted June 4, 2013 Ditto all of Sunnyday's sentiments in respect of your blog Maz - love the end product analogy - bit like Ken Robinson and the school entry biscuit batching system - maybe you need to put this forward to RSA for an animated TED talk type thingy !!
HappyMaz Posted June 5, 2013 Posted June 5, 2013 The statement was also on the DfE facebook page so they did ' release it ' it was where i saw it first... and well said Maz... See how annoyed I was yesterday? I didn't even remember that I'd commented on that thread on the DfE facebook page. I am actually going senile before my very eyes! 1
Rea Posted June 5, 2013 Author Posted June 5, 2013 That was the page I first saw it on. I searched the DfE site and Education Committee page but didnt find anything there. Senile is just a state of mind Maz :rolleyes:
Recommended Posts