Today sees the long-awaited government response to the Nutbrown Review (see previous post for details). While it's easy to get carried away by reactions on Twitter and other social networks, I think it's safe to say that the initial verdict from professionals working in the early years sector is, to put it mildly, not a happy one. In particular, the decision to relax ratios (ie allow nurseries or childminders to look after more children per adult) has led to accusations that quality and children's safety will be compromised.
First of all, it probably makes sense to have a look at the full text of More Great Childcare: Raising Quality and Giving Parents More Choice, which is the full title of the government's proposals. You can read the full text by clicking here.
There is plenty of press coverage of the report today, with articles summarising the main points of the report. Try looking at Nursery Ratios Raised to Cut Childcare Costs from the BBC or Childminders and Nurseries Can Look After More Children from the Guardian.
My post from yesterday, entitled Childcare Provision: a Recent History, may also be useful in providing ideas for background reading to put today's report into context. If you'd like to see those in the early years sector are saying about the report, then the weekly EYTalking discussion on Twitter tonight between 8pm - 9pm is likely to be lively! Just follow the #EYTalking hashtag.
UPDATE: Since I originally posted this a few hours ago, several articles detailing the sector response have appeared online. Click on the links below to read reactions to the government's proposals:
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