Earlier today I had the opportunity to speak in an important Westminster Hall debate on the staff-child ratios within early years settings. I know from my conversations with constituents, local businesses and from my own experience, the challenges faced when attempting to secure high quality childcare for young children.
In my speech, I hoped to add to the impressive and moving debate that MPs had already engaged in. Setting out the existing context and experiences faced by many of my constituents across Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner.
In my experience, the variety in quality of staffing is stark and can vary from setting to setting. The staff at my own children’s nursery, that was provided by Hillingdon council, had 30 or 40 years of experience in childcare and were prepared for every emergency and situation that may face children. While there is no exact amount of experience or training that can prepare staff, it has been made clear that not every early years childcare setting has the ability to manage risks within their settings.
As I outlined in the debate, the financial pressures put on early years settings often hamper their efforts to recruit and retain the qualified staff that are best placed to mitigate risks. While we face stark economic circumstances here in the UK, I used my speech to encourage the Government to reassess its support for the sector and how we can put additional support into the sector.
Concluding my remarks, I reiterated the challenges faced by the sector and my desire for greater support. Being flexible with the sector, in my mind, is a pragmatic manner in which to tackle this issue and I will continue to push Ministers on this matter.
