One of the most contentious parts of the Government's consultation document on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the proposal to relax adult:child ratios.
The document has already raised the hackles of private and voluntary sector providers who believe that, while it may seem an attractive proposition commercially with a small saving on staff costs, it will compromise quality, be unfair to very young children and be unacceptable to parents.
Under the Government's proposals a ratio of 1:13 would be introduced for three- to five-year-olds for a limited period in each day - some time between 8am and 4pm - when a qualified teacher or other graduate level professional is present, such as one of the new early years professionals or someone with a suitable level 6 qualification. For the rest of the time the existing requirement of 1:8 would remain where practitioners meet just the basic qualification requirements.
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