Scarborough mum wants active contributions to any nursery ratio changes
Prime Minister Liz Truss could abolish rules on the number of staff required to look after children
A mum from Scarborough says she wants parents to have active contributions at nursery if there are changes.
It is as Liz Truss could abolish rules on the number of staff required to look after children, meaning nurseries can make the decision on how many instead.
The Prime Minister is looking to set out the plans to make childcare cheaper.
Kelly Beaumont is the mum to Ophelia and said: "I mean it's crucial twofold for me to be able to be a working mum and secondly, her development as a result of going to nursery has been absolultely awesome, so for me without nursery I think we would be in a really challenging and compromising position and that would then change our whole structure, life and our whole approach to things.
"I think the ratio at the moment seems really effective and I think from my perspective, Ophelia gets the care and attention that she needs. If that was reduced, for me, I think I would listen to my nursery provider and want to understand how, if they were reducing, how could they reassure me that Ophelia was still going to get the care and dedication that she has at the moment.
"Ophelia is doing absolutely amazingly. Some of the things that she comes back on a day-to-day like she says things she wasn't saying in the morning, so that change is every day that they grow and develop into something new. I think at the moment her class size is a maximum of 15 and I think the ratio is about 1:3, so for me those numbers are management and she's in a good sized room.
"Parents should have an active contribution to the decisions that have been made at their child care provider and I think a lot of nurseries and pre-schools are really good at engaging that local population. I just hope we're not shoehorned into decisions that are being made at a more macro level and I just hope in some way we're able to influence that."
In England, the Department for Education (DfE) publishes guidance for early years providers which sets out statutory requirements about adult to child ratios (DfE, 2021).
The required adult to child ratios varies depending on the setting and the age of children.
Children under two:
One adult for every three children (1:3)
Children aged two:
One adult for every four children (1:4)
Children aged three and over where a member of staff with approved level 6 qualification is working directly with the children:
One adult for every 13 children (1:13)
Children aged three and over where a member of staff with approved level 6 qualification is not working directly with the children:
One adult for every eight children (1:8)
Liz Truss has not said when a decision will be made.