Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to make changes to the required child to staff ratios in early years settings.
Any changes to ratios would be subject to consultation and the department would fully engage with the sector on this if any changes to ratios were planned.
Ministers are committed to working with the sector to support recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak and broader concerns about affordability in the childcare market. As part of our education recovery package, the department announced a £153 million investment in evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, including through new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development.
The department’s investment in early years education will build a stronger, more expert workforce, enabling settings to deliver high quality teaching and help address the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the youngest children, particularly those in the most disadvantaged areas.