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DfE release a statement by Graham Stuart, Chair of Education Select Co


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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! :ph34r:

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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.

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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:

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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... :(

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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:

 

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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 by HappyMaz
Just to show off really!
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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

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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! :(

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