Children: Day Care
(asked on 23rd March 2020) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what childcare provision early years settings will provide for pre-school children who are vulnerable or whose parents are critical workers during the covid-19 outbreak; and whether there will be changes to the regulations on (a) qualifications of staff and (b) staff to child ratios.
Early years and childcare settings, including childminders, nurseries and wraparound childcare and clubs (before- and after- school and holiday care) remain open for children who are vulnerable or whose parents are critical workers.
Guidance for early years providers is available at:
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework welfare and safeguarding requirements still apply, including qualifications of staff and staff to child ratios. However, we are amending the regulations that will allow for the temporary lifting/modifying of a small number of requirements within the EYFS. The EYFS already allows for ratio flexibility in exceptional circumstances. For the qualification requirements providers will be able to use reasonable endeavours to ensure that at least half of staff (excluding the manager) hold at least a full and relevant Level 2 qualification to meet staff:child ratio requirements, but this will not be a legal requirement. In maintained nursery schools and nursery classes in maintained schools caring for children aged three and over, settings should use their reasonable endeavours to ensure that at least one member of staff is a school teacher. Where this is not possible settings will be able to have one member of staff for every eight children, at least one member of staff who holds at least a full and relevant level 3 qualification and providers should use their reasonable endeavours to ensure that at least half of other staff hold at least a full and relevant level 2 qualification.