EYFS REVIEW: Sector backs plans to cut red tape in welfare requirements
Karen Faux
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The new safeguarding and welfare requirements under the revised EYFS have been broadly welcomed by the sector, particularly with their aim to reduce bureaucracy in risk assessments.
The new requirement asks providers and practitioners to make professional judgements about outings, guided by a clear overarching provider policy about how to assess and manage risks. Sector feedback on the subject of written risk assessments for repeat outings has prompted the Government to tweak this section, clarifying that providers must judge for themselves whether assessment is necessary or not.
When it comes to the key area of ratios, the Government will be further reviewing its proposal that only those over the age of 18 can be counted in ratios for the EYFS and the General Childcare Register. While 85 per cent of respondents to the revised EYFS proposals were in agreement with this, some felt the change could create financial difficulties for those reliant on 17-year-old staff members. Sector organisations also noted that the age limit could discourage providers from taking on apprentices.
Some respondents expressed concerns about the 1:30 ratio in reception year. Government research highlights that the current average teacher:child ratio is 1:26 and when support staff are included it is 1:15. The Government says it will not change the existing requirement but will continue to monitor the situation, particularly in the light of the Nutbrown Review.
As part of the consultation the Government asked whether breaches to the welfare requirements should continue to result in Ofsted issuing Welfare Notices of offence. The majority of respondents said the automatic offence from any of the welfare requirements should not be removed and these will be retained in the new framework.
There was no clear consensus on whether Ofsted's powers are sufficient in the area of learning and development, and whether a system similar to Welfare Notices should be introduced. This is an issue to be considered in the longer term.
Childminder training represents a key area of change under the new framework. Over threequarters of respondents agreed that childminders should be fully trained before looking after children, rather than having six months to complete their training after registration.
