Easing nurseries’ staffing ratio in the UK would be childcare ‘disaster’

theguardian.com:

Ministers are being warned against loosening the rules around the number of children nursery staff can care for, after it was revealed that regulations are being examined as a way of cutting costs for parents.

Expanding the number of children per staff member or relaxing other rules are being reviewed by children’s minister Will Quince, who is undertaking an international comparison as part of attempts to tackle the cost of living crisis.

It comes amid evidence of spiralling childcare costs. One recent survey found that some pay as much or more for their childcare as for their rent or mortgage, while 43% of working mothers said they were considering leaving their jobs because of high childcare fees.

However, the authors of a government-commissioned study warned that dialling down regulations would make the childcare staffing crisis even worse. Low-paid staff could leave, with no guarantee that any savings would be passed on to families, they said.

Quince caused immediate concern among nursery providers when he revealed he was looking at the issue last week. A 2013 study concluded that allowing more children per staff member would lead to “a reduction in quality”, adding: “Quality childcare is expensive but there is little evidence that high fees are a function of regulatory requirements. However, the converse is true – that very lax regulatory regimes lead to poor-quality provision.”

Eva Lloyd, professor of early childhood at the University of East London and a co-author of the report, said the report’s findings were “even more relevant today than they were then”. She said so-called “ratio relaxation”, which would allow staff to care for more children, “might prove a disaster for the sector”.

“Current staff recruitment