The Government Minister for Education and Childcare Elizabeth Truss, writes an exclusive blog for Netmums about the plans published today that will see parents given a better choice of childcare. Mother of two, Elizabeth Truss tell us more below.
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Every parent needs to know that the person they are paying to look after their child is 
trustworthy, but that alone isn’t good enough. We also need to know that they are a highly qualified professional who really knows what they’re doing.
I have been to France to see how they do things there, and found the trip extremely useful and inspiring. Great childcare is a fact of life in France.
French nurseries, which are highly respected, employ teachers who lead young children in reading and other activities that encourage them to learn effectively. French crèches employ qualified staff who provide a clear structure as well.
This is vitally important because all the science clearly shows that how a child learns in their earliest years has a huge impact on their life chances. Places like Singapore and Hong Kong are not just ahead of us in maths when it comes to teenagers – the same gap is apparent by the age of five.
So we need to get more people with excellent qualifications involved in our childcare system. We pay our primary school teachers well, but our nursery staff earn a lot less than their counterparts in Europe. At £6.60 an hour they get little more than the minimum wage.
They are under-qualified too. Professor Cathy Nutbrown, who led an independent review on childcare, is right to worry that many professionals do not have a grade C in GCSE maths and English and that the qualifications system is too complicated.
That is why we are bringing in graduate-level Early Years Teachers for young children and Early Years Educators with strong practical experience and good GCSEs.
Wages are partly low because providers have been forced to keep adult-to-child ratios lower than in other countries. We are consulting on allowing qualified nursery staff to look after six instead of four two-year-olds and four instead of three children aged one or younger. This would bring us into line with high performing countries like France, Denmark and Germany, where more flexibility in staffing is matched by higher pay and staff qualifications. We will give childminders more flexibility too. All the evidence suggests that staff quality matters far more than staff numbers.
All the evidence suggests that widely available, high quality childcare will give parents the reassurance they need to pursue their careers with a clear conscience and a feeling of security.
Please contribute to our consultation here [http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/consultations]. I will also be reading your posts with great interest and answering your questions online in the coming weeks. Making sure that this country has world-class childcare is a massive challenge – but it is a very worthwhile and achievable one.
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You can read more about the new proposals to bring changes to childcare over on Netmums and you can share your views about the new plans in our coffeehouse.
The childcare barrier – going back to work
Do let us know what you think to the new proposals.
Having worked in a babyroom under the 3:1 ratio I am certain a 4;1 ratio is unworkable. In babies under 6 months a 2;1 ratio is needed, when a baby is very little and weaning from his mum to a bottle in the early days at a nursery such a baby can need one to one for large chunks of the day. does that mean the other two Nursery Nurses will be coping with 5 and a bit:1? Humans have two hips with the best will in the world, a crying baby on each hip and 2 are left on the floor.
Reblogged this on The Educating Mummy and commented:
Dreadful change, I wonder how long it will take before infant classrooms are above 30 again? Yet we are still expected to deliver personalised learning with every child showing progress over a lesson!
This proposal is putting me off returning to work. My baby is used to mum’s one on one attention, care & support. I strongly feel that a ratio of 4 to 1 is unsafe and not in the best interests of any baby or toddler. Heaven forbid if/ when an emergency arises how that childcare worker will cope!
I’d rather live in poverty and not return to work than put my precious baby in a potentially unsafe environment.
Another outrageous policy move by the conservatives!
It’s very naive of anyone to think that this will in any way reduce the costs of childcare. Childcare providers are just going to charge the same amount and take on more children. There’s clearly only one winner here at the end of the day and it’s not the parents who desperately need to go to work to meet the cost of living.
And at which point are we allowing our children to be children. I don’t give a damn if children in Hong Kong are better at maths. If my children are happy that is all that matters. I am sure there is far more to this difference than early years child care. Here’s a thought, why not ensure people have a decent living wage, and those who stay at home to care and nurture their children (as I’m sure most parents would prefer) were rewarded with extra tax credit so they are not forced to put their children into child care in the first place! I know from my own experience that my two children that I could be at home for have excelled far more academically than the one that had to put into child care. However it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t define her, I don’t think it will have a negative effect on her life. I think people put too much on little shoulders as it is!
My daughter works in early years and is responsible for pre-school although she has worked in all areas of the nursery so has a wide range of childcare skills and experience. She is qualified to level 3 but her love of children, patience and ingenious ways of teaching and learning is, in my view, far more important than having someone who is trained to graduate level but has very little first hand experience of childcare and education.
My daughter studied part time to gain her qualification, while continuing to work full time, and is paid slightly over the minimum wage. I do not anticipate that child care provisions in this country will be cheaper than it currently is by increasing the number ratio – it seems more likely that if the staff are more highly qualified then the salary will reflect this thus, increasing the cost of childcare.
The answer therefore, would be for the government to subsidise nursery and full time preschool places which would make returning to work more affordable. If the government aims to ensure that early years practitioners hold GCSE Maths and English then there must be a range of supportive teaching strategies in primary and high schools that ensure pupils develop a useful range of suitable skills which prepares them for employment or further and higher education.
I have written a letter for parents with a link to a petition. http://laurachildcare.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/changes-to-childcare-for-parents/
Personally, I cannot see how anyone would be fooled into thinking that higher ratios would equal better quality of care. I am not surprised, however, that no-one in the government has mentioned the real reason why childcare is much cheaper in other European countries. E.g. in Germany, where childcare is exceptionally cheap and siblings get a discount of up to 80 %, childcare is highly subsidized by the state. Also, Germany is the only country with a Church tax. This means anyone belonging to a faith has a small percentage of their wages deducted and this goes to their church. Traditionally, the majority of childcare providers are local kindergartens attached to local churches and it is because of this tax that you can find full-time childcare for over 3s including meals for approx. € 200 a month, € 59 for a sibling.
A real commitment and pledge for more funding from the government would bring about real change, but this is not to be expected any time soon because of trying to reduce the deficit.
So please, do not make changes for the sake of being seen as to be doing something, when this will only make things worse. If the government cannot afford to help parents, be honest and say so. But do not think that parents are stupid enough to believe that the proposed changes would work. It insults parents’ intelligence. Better qualified staff demand better pay and ultimately the price for parents would not change.
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I think increasing the ratio of nursery pupils to staff is not a good idea. My son was in a nursery, up until 3 the ratio was 3 to 1 staff which was fine then it went to 1 to 8 and a week later he had a broken leg. One nursery staff member cannot look after so many young children properly, esp not when they are in nappies. My husband is French and their childcare is highly subsidised unlike ours and considerably cheaper – I am not at all sure it is better but it is cheaper due to subsidy. I do think childcare fees are extremely high but I would rather pay for my child to have a decent standard of care and attention than save money. I would be put off going to work if we go over to a more American type system where loads of children are “looked after” my 1 carer. Liz had a nanny herself – maybe we should give 8 kids with Liz for a day of 3 years old to see how she copes!
I do support Liz’s promotion of maths in schools which has deteriorated however. Something does need to be done about the lack of places in state primaries around London.
It is marvelous Ms Truss, that you have been to France to research the needs of nursery age children, but where are the parents that you have spoken to in this country about their needs?
We pay your wages Ms Truss and I suggest you start standing outside nurseries and asking the parents of very small children which is more important – the numbers of staff caring for their babies or whether they are learning maths?
In the interests of balance – what research was done in countries where children start their formal education later than the UK, and who also perform better academically than we do?
Nurseries are about care and nurturing – please don’t make them another victim of your inept meddling.
As a nursery nurse I agree that staff should be higher qualified or at least qualified I see a lot of young girls coming out of school with no experience or qualifications getting jobs, because they think childcare is all about play and an easy job. Higher qualified staff won’t make childcare cheaper as the staff will want more than the measly wage we currently receive so childcare cost will have to go up to make the difference. I receive just above minimum wage even though I spent 2 years at college studying childcare and have over 5 years on the job qualified experience, I have worked in childcare for 5 years before I went college. The ratio’s shouldn’t be changed at the moment as until staffing has been sorted nurseries won’t be prepared.
As a mother I don’t want to see the ratio change as I don’t think it will increase my son’s quality of care, he will receive less time with his key person and this will effect his development
If the government want to help reduce childcare cost maybe they should help us working parents a bit more. I receive no help yet at my nursery with have children from ‘disadvantaged’ families who get free places and never turn up. All at the cost of the government and us tax payers.