Safe staffing

[emilyscat]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help me - just starting to look around new pre-schools for my ds, and after a slightly dodgy experience at one nursery, am looking for clarification on how many adults there should be looking after a group of children?

I understood it was 1:4 for under 3's and 1:8 for over 3's, but I don't know whether there are other factors I need to think about e.g. how many rooms, different levels of qualifications etc...

Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,

If the pre-school employs a teacher or early years professional the ratio is 1-13 for over 3s.
If there is no teacher or eyp working with the children then the ratio is indeed 1-8 for over 3s s and 1-4 for 2 yr olds.

1:3 in the baby room
1:4 in the toddler room
1:8 in the Pre-school room
UNLESS
there is a teacher responsible, then it becomes
1:13 in the Nursery year.

So, generally speaking, if the child is in a school nursery class, or a stand alone, maintined Nursery school, then the ration is 1:13 and there's a qualified teacher in charge.
If they are in a PVI setting (private, voluntary or independent) they are likely to not have a teacher in charge, then even in the pre-school year, it's 1:8

HTH

regarding the level of qualifications, half of all staff (not including the supervisor) need to be at least level 2. Therefore if there are three staff (one supervisor and two others) one of the others must have a level 2 or above. If there are 4 staff needed for ratios (supervisor plus three) two of the remainding three must be qualified.