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Leading early years membership organisation the Early Years Alliance in response to reports that Boris Johnson has today (26 April) told ministers, that he wants to reduce childcare costs by relaxing ratios. 

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive at the Early Years Alliance, said: “It is absolutely ludicrous to suggest that the relaxation of ratios is any kind of solution to the current cost of living crisis. 

“Such a change would be a catastrophic and retrograde step for the early years sector, and it is all the more galling that this suggestion from the prime minister comes on the very same day that Ð°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø¿ª½± has warned of the damaging impact the pandemic has had on young children's learning and development. Now more than ever, many children attending early years settings need far greater individual care and attention. Relaxing ratios will achieve the exact opposite. 

"What’s more, such a policy would do little, if anything, to lower costs for parents. We know that the vast majority providers plan to keep their ratios as they are, regardless of any regulation changes, in order to maintain quality levels - and even if a minority did relax their ratios, any savings would be used to recoup years of historic losses, not lower fees.

"By looking at ratios as a solution to rising early years costs, the government has missed the mark and entirely misunderstood what is driving these increases. What we need isn’t deregulated, cheap childcare, but investment in affordable, quality early education. As such, we urge the prime minister to rethink this misguided approach."