Most parents believe ratios in graduate-led settings are too high
Katy Morton
Friday, July 26, 2013
More than half of parents believe that nurseries should employ more staff to look after nursery age children, research by the Department for Education suggests.
Just over half of parents (51 per cent) did not support the adult to child ratio of 1:8 when a graduate is not present.
Education and childcare minister Elizabeth Truss has said that she wants more nurseries to offer childcare on a 1:13 basis led by degree-level staff.
The survey of 1,000 parents of children under 15 in England was commissioned to inform the Government’s Childcare Commission and reveals the extent to which parents oppose relaxing staff-to-child ratios.
It was carrried out before last month's decision by the Government to ditch plans to relax ratios to allow nurseries and childminders to care for more staff. The early years sector and parenting groups had united to campaign against the proposals.
Parents were consulted on their use of childcare including difficulties with childcare arrangements and wrap-around childcare, as well as the cost of childcare and adult:child ratios.
For children aged under two, the majority of parents (72 per cent) agreed that the maximum limit, three children to one adult, was right. Eight out of ten parents agreed that the adult: child ratio of 1:4 for two-year-olds was right.
More than half of parents also agreed that the ratios for childminders caring for up to six children under the age of eight at any one time was correct.
An overwhelming majority of parents said that special needs requirements and the age of the children should be taken into account when setting adult to child ratios in childcare settings.
There was also strong support for considering the experience and qualification level of the carer.
More than two-thirds of parents (68 per cent) said that the provider’s Ofsted rating should affect how many children a practitioner is allowed to care for at any one time.
All parents who took part in the survey were also asked if they had experienced any difficulties with childcare arrangements that prevented them from doing paid work or working during the hours they would like.
The 17 per cent of parents who had experienced work-related difficulties because of childcare said that the main two issues were related to the availability of childcare and cost.
More than 20 per cent of parents who had experienced difficulties said a solution would be to make childcare cheaper or more affordable. A further 19 per cent suggested extending the opening hours of childcare settings.
When asked about wrap-around and school holiday childcare, most parents (62 per cent) said they required some form of wrap-around care, with after-school care being the most popular.
The majority of those who had a need for wrap-around care were able to find it (67 per cent). However, almost three in ten (28 per cent) were not.
Cost of childcare
On the cost of childcare, one in seven parents (14 per cent) said they paid £641 or more per month.
Around one in six parents (18 per cent) reported not paying anything for childcare, mainly due to the 15 free hours of childcare covering their costs.
Six in ten parents said they spent up to 10 per cent of their total monthly household income on childcare.
The survey found that the proportion of monthly income spent on childcare was highest among lone working parents, those living in London, parents on lower incomes, families using nurseries and for parents of children under the age of three.
