This statement from Graham Stuart on the dfe fab page :-)
Thanks Thanks:  0
Likes Likes:  4
Dislikes Dislikes:  0
Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    in the never never land fighting off fae
    Posts
    7,026
    Registered Childminder since
    july05
    Post Thanks / Like
    Blog Entries
    9

    Default This statement from Graham Stuart on the dfe fab page :-)

    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 about whether 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.
    When someone tells you nothing is impossible, tell them to go slam a revolving door

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Somerset
    Posts
    4,247
    Registered Childminder since
    may 05
    Latest Inspection Grade
    Outstanding
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    Not at all want we wanted to hear - thought maybe that someone had started to listen to us

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    south coast
    Posts
    2,978
    Registered Childminder since
    Oct 12
    Latest Inspection Grade
    over it ;-)
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    all i can say to that statement is ggggrrrrr

    thanks for sharing though Fussy x

  4. Likes The Juggler liked this post
  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    570
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    :-(

    Idiot

  6. Likes chriss liked this post
  7. #5
    Simona Guest

    Default

    He uses words such as the govt proposes, the govt will and the govt plans...in my view all is in place and a slap in the face of the democratic process of listening via consultations etc etc.
    Notice the bit about LAs...no escape there for them even before they have responded to the consultation... their £160 m will reach the frontline..£3.50 ph for the free childcare??

    What he has not mention is that the most critical part of keeping fees stable is the Free Entitlement which we subsidise and no other country does...if we were paid a decent funding the fees would cover our costs and if red tape was reduced that would help too
    In the meantime we face higher costs...all this will lower costs to parents and pay us more??

    Time to change our tactics...

    I assume this was on Facebook? not even the sensitivity to release it officially via the DfE?

  8. Likes loocyloo liked this post
  9. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    in the never never land fighting off fae
    Posts
    7,026
    Registered Childminder since
    july05
    Post Thanks / Like
    Blog Entries
    9

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Simona View Post
    He uses words such as the govt proposes, the govt will and the govt plans...in my view all is in place and a slap in the face of the democratic process of listening via consultations etc etc.
    Notice the bit about LAs...no escape there for them even before they have responded to the consultation... their £160 m will reach the frontline..£3.50 ph for the free childcare??

    What he has not mention is that the most critical part of keeping fees stable is the Free Entitlement which we subsidise and no other country does...if we were paid a decent funding the fees would cover our costs and if red tape was reduced that would help too
    In the meantime we face higher costs...all this will lower costs to parents and pay us more??

    Time to change our tactics...

    I assume this was on Facebook? not even the sensitivity to release it officially via the DfE?
    Yes this was on the fb page
    When someone tells you nothing is impossible, tell them to go slam a revolving door

  10. #7
    Simona Guest

    Default

    Utterly appalling using a social media to inform the sector...no respect and frankly they get no respect back!

  11. Likes loocyloo liked this post
  12. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    288
    Registered Childminder since
    Decembe
    Non childminder member
    childminder
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    my heart has sunk

  13. #9
    Simona Guest

    Default

    He has also posted on Linked in...obviously the new way to announce policy is via social media

    Wonder if any of the representing associations will address this...or will it be silence as usual??

  14. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    By the sea
    Posts
    9,334
    Latest Inspection Grade
    Outstanding
    Post Thanks / Like

    Default

    The problem is, to anyone not actually experienced in childcare (workers & parents), it probably all sounds quite reasonable and straight forward.

    What it fails to mention is the impact this will have on children...but hey, what do they have to do with anything if we're all going to be better paid & parents are going to be saving money

 

 

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Quick Links and Advertisements

Important Information Links
Some Useful Quick Links
Advertisements

 

You can also find us on:
This statement from Graham Stuart on the dfe fab page :-) This statement from Graham Stuart on the dfe fab page :-) This statement from Graham Stuart on the dfe fab page :-)

We use cookies to make this site as useful as possible. They are small text files placed in your browser to track usage of our site but they don’t tell us who you are.
By continuing to use this site you are consenting to cookies being placed on your computer. Find out more here: Cookies in Use

Childminding Help and the Childminding Forum are part of Childcare.co.uk