Child:staff ratios at creche

[Mummyindublin]

Our DD has just transitioned into the ECCE classroom at her creche... Same creche she's been in for almost 2 years, very happy and loves it. However, DH has just realized the big change is child:staff ratios...now a class of 24 with 3 teachers. He's freaking out that DD isn't getting enough attention, that we don't get photo updates anymore (we did until now)...
Anyone manage to overcome these concerns / fears? Help me paint a picture of him that she really is ok!!
Otherwise, what's the alternative??

Im a teacher in a european country where weve never heard of crazy stuff like photo updates 🙈 8 kids per teacher is really not that many.
How old is your child? Here they start preschool at age 4/5 and they have classes of 14-24 students with one teacher.
Younger kids go to playgroups etc. which are smaller groups.

For ECCE is the staff to child ratio not 1:11? This drops to 1:8 outside of the ECCE hours. It’s absolutely fine they don’t need as much hands on care like nappy changes etc.
From 4.5 children can start primary with a staff ratio of 1:30 in many schools.
Hone you husband is worried over a none issue.

Alternative is a nanny or childminder.

Why have they stopped with photo updates? As a 2 Yr old your child was in a 1:6 ratio, from 2.5 years old she can be included in a 1:11 ratio for 3.5 hours a day that the creche is registered as a sessional service. So actually her ratio is lower than most in the morning, it's often 2 staff with 22 children for that period.

Wait until she is in primary and it's 1 teacher to 25 children!

Is there such a thing as "Daddy guilt"? He's been in such a spin about this...but hasn't considered how DD is actually doing - happy, very bubbly little one who loves her little pals, she's not the kid on the teachers lap...
Totally get that it's awful we both work fulltime and she's in creche and away from us...but that's life

I don't think there is an alternative, only shorter days. I'd be delighted they have 24 because they have a much higher ratio than normal. If 2 kids left they'd lose the 3rd staff and it would be 11:1, at least for the core ECCE hours. The current ratio of 8:1 is excellent relatively and usually only done if there is a child with SEN in the room.

Remind him that pre school is about social skills and hands on learning, and one of the main emphasis is independence. Children are encouraged to negotiate play and resolve conflicts themselves. Also they tidy up, put out cups, pour water, put on their own coats and shoes etc so no adult intervention is needed. The adult role is to set up the room and supervise, the idea is that the play is child led so the adult shouldn't be leading, maybe gently guiding and there should not be formal teaching as such. If you look up the curriculum Aistear under the NCCE website (or other sites) you'll see the aims of the curriculum set out. There is a 2025 update. It's all about the child having agency in their learning, gaining communication and social skills and seeing themselves as competent learners.

As for the photos I'm surprised they are gone totally. I would have thought they just send them less frequently. Ask about the schedule, they should still be doing regular observations..maybe you just haven't seen one yet.