Ratios

[Stoney666]

I have had to emails today asking me to sign a petition against the governments plans to alter cm ratios. Is this actually going to happen? I keep reading stuff about it but when do they intend to make these announcements? Does anybody know?

I have had the same. Honestly do they think we can charge less and just have more children?!! Do they not see any safety/welfare implications!

from where have the emails originated?

I think there will be more tomorrow and an official announcement on the 5th.

I saw a petition like this (possibly same one) as a link shared on Facebook by childminding forum. Am so hoping it doesn't happen, us ridiculous idea!!!

The petition is being run by the childminding forum.

It appears that the Government think that by decreasing ratios, childcare providers will take more children on but drop their rates, making childcare more affordable.

That is bonkers.

What will happen is :
Some providers will charge the same amount but take on more children
Some providers will charge the same and keep the same amount of children
Some providers will try to charge more but take on fewer children (and use the small ratio as a selling point)

The only people who can afford to drop their rates will be the big chain nurseries, who can charge a lower rate and undercut all the other local providers, but make up the difference with the extra children.

There is another petition on change.org put up by a CM called Penny Webb. At least I think it's a different one - I've seen 2.

Childminding forum and childcare.co.uk have sent emails out askingto sign up to petitions!

I got one from childcare.co.uk and one from childminding forum. It's hard looking after 3 little ones but its doable but 5 is ridiculous and y would anyone want less money. It's utter madness.

I think Penny is something to do with the forum - someone called Penny seems to be fairly high up there, anyway!

TBH I think it's all a bit disingenuous; all this talk about ratios in other countries (was it 1:11 in Portugal?) when it's 1:13 in this country in a setting if you have a degree qualified member of staff working.

They can't really alter ours without altering nursery/setting ratios I wouldn't have thought

I need to read more but it's my EYPS final assessment yesterday & I'm panicking about that........I don't want to look after 13 EY children

If that's the case we wouldn't be child minders anymore but mini nurseries!

KatyMac it's ratios for all EY settings - so nurseries too.

I guess I will be the only one to say this ... I don't mind higher ratios. Just because they are introduced doesn't mean that we'll take on more children.
I think it very much depends what children we are caring for. We have two toddlers we look after on their own and them make up for 10 ... they are really hard work ... on contrary we have on regular basis 13 children (including my own) after school for dinner ... and everybody gets on and we're more relaxed than we have those two little ones. Space will have to be considered with higher ratios as well so not everybody who works at capacity now will be able to do so when higher ratios are introduced.

apotomak - reading through this morning on nursery world, the space requirements are being removed, so nurseries are able to take on more with the same amount of space.

1:13 for graduate staff in a nursery instead of 1:8.

The proposals for CMs are 1:4 under 8s, 2 under 1s. The introduction of CM agencies

If it's 1:4 for 1-8 yo all the spaces for after school children will go, why have 3 hours a day when you can have 10?

Surely it's already 1:13 for graduate qualified staff?

The agencies thing is very very bad (imo)

It is already 1:13 for teaching staff in nurseries. I think all the changes will do is result in a few CMs taking on an extra child and not reducing costs, some CMs taking on more children than they can manage safely and not reducing costs and a reduction in the number of spaces for wrap around school care.

how can we still be self employed if being dictated to by an agency! this has seriously made me think about a complete change of job.

Agencies??!!! I hadn't heard about this, will seriously be rethinking about my future as cm if things change too much, are they going to make us reduce our prices and therefore force us to take on more children?? dictate how we do things??
... Am off to research this and panic!!!

Fightlikeagirl - see the thread I started this morning, contains link to the document published by Government today about Childcare rations and Quality. In that it gives some basic info about agencies, it will not be compulsory. Time will tell as to exactly what they will offer and who will run them - legislation needs to be changed first.

Rations = ratio don't you love Apple's predictive text thingy!

Thank you Nannynick, just read it, so not as bad as it could be. It recognises that there childminders out there who have built successful businesses and these can continue without joining agency, phew!!
Panic over then, for now!

There are 2 petitions. One started at the weekend by Penny Webb and one by the childminding forum/childcare.co.uk a couple of days later. You can sign either or both.
If you read the full report in the link Nick posted at first glance some of it is not quite as bleak as it first looked. CM ratios won'y change that much from what is already allowed in the new EYFS & in any case all ratio changes are optional, as are the CM agencies. I am still concerned however that those not motivated by quality of care but by financial gain will abuse these. It's all subject to legislation and consultation for now. Makes interesting reading