Today is the first National Children’s Day UK organised by the Save Childhood Movement, designed to raise awareness of the need for a natural childhood, and share good practice.

Many other countries celebrate the rights of children on the 20th of November  - the United Nations nominated day. However, it was felt that it is really important that British children should be able to get outside on Children’s Day, into their neighbourhoods and nature, so it was decided to hold it at the beginning of the summer.

Save Childhood stated,”Childhood is precious. It creates the values, mindsets and dispositions that determine our interaction with the world around us for the rest of our lives. Children, therefore, have one very special right – and that is the ability to be able to develop, naturally and happily, to their full potential. National Children’s Day UK is dedicated to helping ensure that this can happen.”

The Save Childhood Movement is a growing collaboration of individuals and organisations that share a deep concern about societal values and wellbeing and the current erosion of natural childhood. It has a particular interest in how modern culture impacts the values and mindsets of children, especially in the early years.

The movement aims to identify and highlight those areas of most concern, to protect children from inappropriate developmental and cultural pressures and to fight for their natural developmental rights. It also aims to provide a critical platform for dialogue and debate, to identify examples of inspirational practice and to help source innovative and future-focused solutions.

A newly released survey of early years and primary professionals, released at the launch summit of the Save Childhood Movement on the 27th and 28th of April and prepared in partnership with the Barrett Values Centre, has revealed an enormous disparity between the values that teachers feel are important for the education system and what is actually going on.

•  While 67% of those surveyed thought that education should be child-centred as a matter of priority, only 2% thought the current system fulfilled that.
•  While 60% of respondents thought creativity should be prioritised, less than 2% thought the current system supported it.
• And while 50% believed that education should emphasise the importance of play, only 2% thought the current system did that.
• Only 2% of respondents thought that the current system cultivated a passion for learning, and 0% believed that it fostered empowerment.

When asked which words best described the current state of British education as they experienced it, the most common words were: focus on targets, bureaucracy, results focus, top-down pressure and adult agenda.

In contrast, when asked which words they believed should characterise education, the words most commonly chosen were: child-centred, creativity, importance of play, passion for learning and empowerment.

The gap between the values held by the practitioners themselves and those of the education system as a whole revealed a level of ‘Cultural Entropy’ (meaning the degree of dysfunctional or fear-driven behaviour) that the Barrett Values Centre terms “a critical situation requiring leadership changes to avoid organisational failure”.

The survey examined the values of 177 early years professionals including childminders, nursery and primary school teachers and headteachers, school governors, lecturers and academics and was conducted between the 10th and the 17th of April, 2013.

Wendy Ellyatt, the CEO of the movement, shared her own deep concern about the current situation –
“It is simply unacceptable that there should be such a disparity between the values that teachers themselves hold and the systems that we are then asking them to work within. How we can expect them to be the creative, spontaneous, passionate and empowered adults that we really need around children when they are constantly ground down by the demands of the system? We need something better and the movement is determined to help fight for this.”

The movement hopes to soon extend this survey to include a much more significant percentage of the teaching profession.

Sian Nisbett, Director of Dizzy Ducks

Sian Nisbett, Director of Dizzy Ducks Day Nurseries and Parenta customer comments on Childcare Ratio Cuts…

“So, Liz Truss thinks that the answer to reducing childcare costs is to cut staff ratios? Seriously, what planet is this lady on?! With all due respect, I would like to see her hold this view after spending a day looking after 12 two year olds with just one other person to help. Regardless of the proposals in place by the government, Dizzy Ducks will not be cutting our ratios, as in my opinion it will not cut costs at all to parents: it will serve only to damage the quality of childcare on offer. I’m having no part of it.

There is an argument that says if you cut ratios, then you employ higher qualified staff in place of NVQ staff. While I am all in favour of increasing “Quality” in childcare,I can’t see this working either. I see such a wide range of candidates apply to us at Dizzy Ducks. Some of the highest qualified candidates I see (who may have Qualified Teacher Status or Early Years Professional status) have very little experience in practise. Studying childcare in the classroom is VERY different to experiencing it in practise. One of my most well loved practitioners is a granny herself, with 40 years childcare experience. What is the point of a three year degree qualification, if you are then unable to engage with children in an activity, read a book with them, or encourage their development through role-play. Back to Ms Truss’s claim that cutting ratios will cut childcare costs….how can this possibly be? If I have to employ higher qualified staff, this will cost more.

Personally, I think that there is a dangerous message being sent out to parents here. They will expect a big cut in their fees and that simply isn’t going to happen. Even if nurseries did go down the route of cutting ratios (which I’m pretty sure very few will) the cost saving will be minimal. Add to that, the fact that the remaining staff will be exceptionally overworked (moving from a 1:4 ratio to a 1:6 ratio means a 25% increase in workload!) My prediction would be a hugely increased staff turnover due to low morale and exhaustion. This in turn will lead to increased recruitment costs, more staff passing through nurseries and most importantly, a lack of consistency for children which damages their educational outcomes. Hmmmm…not looking so rosy now is it Ms Truss?

Quality is the most important aspect of nursery care. Consistency of care for babies and young tots is crucial in the Early Years. Our staff are chosen because they have a regard for Quality and they have a natural ability to work with the very young. Some of my most incredible staff are Level 2 or 3 qualified with no intention to study for a degree. They are brilliant. I trust them with my daughter and she loves them. My entire staff of 160 are a mix of highly qualified, highly experienced practitioners and newly qualified, training practitioners. Everyone has a valid place in their nursery. Everyone contributes something to the team. Most importantly, we have happy children achieving excellent outcomes at the end of the Foundation Stage. If it ain’t broke…..

An overwhelming concern to me is that should this proposal be passed, we are going to end up with a two-tier system of childcare in this country. On one hand, we will have nurseries operating on the government guideline ratios and on the other hand we will have nurseries operating on the current standards. Parents will be forced to choose. I found it really interesting that parallels were made with Denmark– our childcare system could not be further removed from Denmark where childcare is often heavily subsidised by employers and children don’t start school until six years old. Its comparing apples and pears! (I also have strong opinions on raising the school starting age until six but I’ll leave that for another time!)

Children need to have good quality early education, of course they do, and I am not disputing the need to increase quality in some Early Years settings, especially those that routinely employ heaps of trainees and apprentices, with a massive staff turnover, low quality and poor outcomes for their children. I just can’t see how cutting ratios is going to tackle this!

At Dizzy Ducks, we understand that babies also need love, cuddles, hugs, reassurance, hand holding, and gentle snuggles when they wake up from sleep time. They need one to one time with practitioners who they love and trust. They need to be listened to. They need to be played with. They need our time. Having and 1:6 ratio with two staff with twelve toddlers is not going to make that “Time” possible.

Cutting ratios is not the answer to reducing the cost of childcare to parents. It doesn’t work on paper, let alone in practise. There is a consultation underway which you can be part of. Tell the government what you think.”

Dizzy Ducks Mum, Jade Wiles has her say:

Great article and response Sian…Babies have a ratio 1-3, but has any 1 person tried to pick up 3 babies under ‘normal’ circumstances, let alone under ‘emergency’ circumstances? I struggle with one baby & a pre-schooler. As for qualifications, I feel it is important that the lead person should be suitably qualified in both ‘child’ related areas AND people management, however the mixture of other practitioners should be varied for many reasons.
There’s some SMASHING staff at Dizzy Ducks who might not hold the highest of qualifications, but have captured my kids hearts & made me feel happy to leave them there whilst I’m at work, surely that is as valuable!!! Keep up the great work Dizzy Ducks!

And what do the Nursery staff think about this proposed change?  Charley Magee, Mayflower Dizzy Ducks Practitioner:

“The ratios I feel should definitely stay the way they are. It would become too overcrowded and I feel the children and staff wouldn’t enjoy their time at Dizzy Ducks as much as they should. I have just finished my level 2 but have had 4 years of experience with children, I feel hiring more, higher qualified staff is not the way forward! It shouldn’t matter what is written down on paper it should be about the experience 100% or for a new NVQ; the passion and enthusiasm for working with children!”

Clegg has attacked Liz Truss’ plans for childcare reform and offered a commitment to block the high profile plans.

In an interview on LBC 97.3 this morning, Mr Clegg said, “We’ve got to get this right.  We’re still obviously discussing this in Government.”

He said he was “absolutely passionate” about improving the quality and availability of childcare but “we have got to get this right”.

Mr Clegg also questioned whether any change in policy would result in cheaper childcare costs for parents.

“I have got young children … they have been through nursery so I know how much parents will really care that we get this right in terms of improving both the affordability of childcare, which we must do, but also the quality.

“What the Department for Education did is they consulted and they said is it possible to have an adult look after more children, so instead of four two-year-olds … go up to six two-year-olds. I think four is already quite a handful, just imagine if they go up to six.

“Can you do that at the same time as raising quality? A lot of people basically got back in the consultation and said this isn’t going to work, particularly for very small children, it isn’t necessarily going to be passed on in terms of cost savings to parents.”

The chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), June O’Sullivan, has proposed a National Day of Action on June 1st to “take over the early years debate”.

She is calling for the sector to “start working together across the UK to make our voices heard: to explain what we do, what quality means and why early years is not a political football but a serious matter – one led by serious people with a serious message.”

She lists the following 7 compelling challenges faced by providers in the UK that need to be explained to the public.

1: The Government wants more people in work (women in particular), only the Minister now says we are not fit for purpose – so how is this going to happen without the quality childcare these would-be-working mums require?

2: The Secretary of State for Education has addressed poor schools through a programme of Academies which are based on the premise of high quality, yet allow Academy Heads to employ unqualified teachers. Our Minister says we do not provide quality because we employ unqualified staff…

3: There is much confusion about how much is spent on Childcare. Figures range from £7 billion to £4.5 billion. The truth is no one knows, not even our mathematically minded Minister. However, £8 billion was misused in the Academies budget, which could be the very investment we need to ensure Early Years becomes a realistic option. Why is it apparently OK to waste this?

4: The Deputy Prime Minister is keen to use Early Education in good quality nurseries as a key policy driver for social mobility. He wants this to be rolled out through a programme for two-year-olds from disadvantaged areas. The Minister says that only nurseries judged good or outstanding by Ofsted can accept these children. In the meantime, Ofsted is now downgrading nurseries in poor areas – not because of poor education and care but for lack of processes which may not impact on the children. Where then will these children go?

5: Over the last ten years the sector has grown in size and confidence. The introduction of the EYFS went some way to helping agree a framework for improvement. In many cases this was achieved with the support of local authority advisory teams as critical friends. The Minister is keen to dismantle all the support services and just use Ofsted as the improvement agency. Sir Michael Wilshaw says Ofsted will not be an improvement agency, but an agency of improvement.

6: Starting First, EPPE and the OECD all agree that qualifications are only part of the determinants of quality: ratios also matter. Our Minister is keen to reduce ratios on some spurious mathematical formula indicating they raise the cost of childcare to parents.

7: Our Minister wants to change the process of registering childminders. She favours and is pursuing the Dutch model of Childminding Agencies. The Dutch have abandoned this model as too expensive and cumbersome. There is no appetite here either

June stated “It’s time we cut off a little oxygen to our Minister and held the stage ourselves. We must be calm, grown-up and informed.”

You can read her Blog here, or join the ‘Reclaim Early Years‘ group on Linked In.

Do you support the plan for a Day of Action?  Comment below or vote in our poll on the right.

Watch the PSLA video for Parents here

The Pre‑school Learning Alliance has launched the Rewind on Ratios campaign to give parents a united voice against planned changes to childcare ratios in England.

Existing practitioner petitions, which have already received tens of thousands of signatures after just a few weeks, appear to have been ignored by the Government. The Alliance’s official government e‑petition will help ensure that the concerns of thousands of parents using professional childcare every day are not ignored in the same way.

The Alliance has been inundated with calls, letters and emails from parents who are rightly concerned about the impact of these changes on the quality and safety of their family’s childcare.

“I think the plans are shocking – how can we ensure our children are being properly supervised with fewer adults per child? Babies need as much attention as possible.” – B. Richardson, parent

“People who think this is a good idea should try looking after multiple toddlers. 4:1 ratio is only just viable. 6:1 would be dangerous.” – S. Withshire, parent

“I feel the Government should stop shirking its responsibility of providing affordable childcare through subsidies. Young children need more one-to-one time with carers, not less. This will only dilute the quality of childcare and attention young ones need.” – M. Cansick, parent

Since the announcement on the planned ratio changes, the Alliance has received a growing number of requests from parents asking for us to set‑up an online campaign for them, with many specifically interested in signing up to an official government e‑petition.

The Government has made it clear that its priority is keeping parents happy. Its main argument in defence of these ratio plans is that the changes will give parents more choice and “allow them to give their children the best start in life”.

Once the petition receives 10,000 signatures, the Government must provide an official response and this target could be reached today with just 786 signatures required.

When it reaches 100,000 signatures the topic will be considered for discussion in the House of Commons

Get Involved:

You can download the campaign overview here and practitioners are being asked to help by:

• Signing the petition
• Sharing the petition link with at least FIVE other parents
• Asking each of those parents to do the same

2) Featuring a link to the petition on your setting website homepage or news section

3) Including information on the petition, with the link, in your regular parent newsletters

4) If your setting has a Facebook page, help promote the campaign by liking our page www.facebook.com/rewindonratios

You can also download a tear‑and‑share poster to help spread the word about the petition to your setting’s parents. Simply need to print out as many posters as you need, cut along the trim lines at the bottom, then pin them to your parent noticeboard or display in your reception areas.  Parents can then take away the petition website address and sign up when it suits them later.

Will you encourage your parents to sign the e-petition?  Let us know below.

Following a question from Sharon Hodgson, Labour MP for Washington and Sunderland West, Liz Truss has revealed that she has only made 6 official visits to childcare settings since becoming a minister in May 2010.

Sharon Hodgson, Labour MP for Washington and Sunderland West

These visits were to:

•  Chapeltown Children’s Centre
• Loughborough Children’s Centre
• Durand Academy Early Years Centre (Twice)
• Marsham Street Community Nursery
• Pimlico Academy’s breakfast club and out of hours provision
• Norwich Free School’s out of hours provision