In a Pregnant Then Screwed survey, which received 5,141 responses from parents with a child under the age of five, 98 per cent said they do not support increasing ratios in nurseries.
A total of 39 per cent of respondents said they believe that increasing ratios will be dangerous.
The survey, which ran between August to the beginning of this month, also reveals:
- That for 15 per cent of parents, the top reason that they oppose a change in ratios is because they believe it will put too much pressure on the workforce.
- For 38 per cent of parents, the negative impact on the quality of care is their main concern if settings increase ratios.
One parent commented, ‘The carers at our son's nursery are so incredible but lately seem so stressed, and it’s heartbreaking to see.
‘There’s also has been a constant turnover of staff, causing our son to be anxious and unsettled. He loves nursery but the constant changes cause him to worry.
‘The staff say they have to leave either for mental health or because they can’t meet the costs of caring for their own family.’
Lauren Fabianski, head of campaigns and communications at Pregnant Then Screwed, said, ‘The decision to increase ratios in nurseries shows just how out of touch the Government is with childcare in Britain.
‘This is not a solution to years of systemic underfunding. All that changing ratios will achieve is increasing stress levels in a sector that is already struggling to hire and retain its staff, and it could compromise the quality of care that children receive.
‘Earlier this year, the Government completed a consultation into ratios which concluded that most respondants across the sector disapproved with the proposals We need the Government to listen to parents, nursery workers and early years specialists and get childcare right.’