| Chapter
5: Standards: Staff and Space Ratios |
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| 1. In
whatever way standards are set, whether in guidance or
statute, the Government believes that it is right to set
the same standards for comparable provision. The present
existence of different regulatory systems for what is
sometimes very similar provision makes this more
difficult to achieve, albeit the actual standards applied
are not always as far apart as might be thought. |
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| 2. In the
short run it may be quicker to move towards a more
unified system by amending the separate sets of
regulatory material existing at present (which in some
cases might require secondary legislation). In the longer
run, however, a single set of regulatory material
deriving from a single underpinning legislative source
seems the best way forward. |
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| Comparable provision |
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3. This begs
the question of what is comparable provision. At present
there are four main types of provision that are subject
to different types of regulation:
- local authority
education provision;
- provision in
independent schools;
- childcare and
pre-school education delivered by the private and
voluntary sector in a non-domestic setting; and
- childcare and
pre-school education delivered in domestic
premises ie by childminders.
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| 4. Public
debate about this has revolved around different standards
applied to pre-school education delivered by local
authorities on the one hand and private and voluntary
providers on the other. Before moving onto this, however,
it is worth giving some attention to independent schools
and to childminders. |
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| Independent schools |
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| 5. As set
out above, education provision in independent schools is
in effect regulated to the same standards as local
authority education provision through inspection by HM
Inspectors of Schools. But where such schools provide
care for children over an extended day or care for under
threes, provision is effectively unregulated. Do
consultees agree that non-residential childcare delivered
by independent schools should be brought within the scope
of any new regulatory system and subject to the same
standards as other institutional provision? |
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| Childminders |
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| 6. The
Scottish Office intends amending guidance on registration
of childminders to clarify for local authorities what is
best practice in making appropriate checks on an
individual's suitability to carry out childminding. |
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| 7.
Childminders are also subject, like institutional
providers, to checks on the premises in which they
provide care, ie their home, and on the quality of care
provided. Under Scottish Office guidance childcare in
domestic premises is subject to slightly tighter
adult:child ratios. Unlike for other provision, no
specific space standards are set although guidance
requires suitability of accommodation to be taken into
account in registration and inspection. It seems
reasonable that provision on domestic premises should be
treated in this way. It seems impracticable to provide
specific space ratios although right that the
registration and inspection processes should include a
qualitative assessment of accommodation. Given that
accommodation is not specifically designed or adapted for
childcare purposes, and that childminders usually work
alone it also seems reasonable to apply tighter
adult:child ratios than in institutional settings. Do
consultees agree that early education and childcare
delivered in domestic premises should continue to be
subject to different standards than institutional
provision? |
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| Institutional settings |
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8. We
believe that the same standards should be applied to
comparable provision in all institutional settings, be
those local authority or independent schools or private
or voluntary institutional provision. At present the main
differences between these types of provision are:
- differences in
adult:child ratios;
- differences in space
standards; and
- differences in
required qualification levels.
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| The first
two of these three categories are dealt with in this
chapter. The third category, differences in qualification
levels, is dealt with in the next chapter. |
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| Differences in adult:child ratios |
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| 9.
Pre-school education carried out in local authority
schools is subject to an effective staff ratio of 1:10.
In practice, September 1997 statistics show an average
ratio for Scotland of 1:7.2. Authority wide averages
will, of course, mask variations at school level. For
this age group Children Act guidance suggests for private
and voluntary providers a 1:8 ratio. (In full, the
guidance suggests a ratio of 1:3 for children under 2,
1:5 for 2-3 year olds, and 1:8 for 3-7 year olds.) |
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| 10. We
believe that, as now, minimum staffing standards in terms
of a ratio (or ratios) of adults to children should be
set for all centres offering childcare and/or pre-school
education. These should be applied generally. It may,
however, be justifiable for the regulatory body to apply
tighter ratios in certain specific circumstances, such as
provision for children with special needs or in premises
that were not originally designed for the care or
education of young children. In certain limited
circumstances it may be appropriate for looser ratios to
be applied. For example, in rural areas there may be a
need for sensitive application of ratios in situations
where only two or three children of varying ages share
the same childcare. |
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| 11. We
intend to set similar standards for comparable provision.
That means reaching a view on when provision is genuinely
comparable. There are good arguments for, as at present,
setting different ratios for different age groups. It
seems to us, that there is also a meaningful distinction
to be made between sessional care and education, such as
the standard 21/2 hour pre-school
education sessions on the one hand, and all day care on
the other. (Guidance under the Children Act already makes
a distinction between sessional care of up to four hours'
duration and all day care.) For sessional care and
education of pre-school and older children (if not for
babies and toddlers), pre-planning of the session, with a
set activity or activities to undertake, makes it easier
to operate with slightly fewer staff. For all day care,
including pre-school education sessions which are
integrated with wraparound care, children require more
flexibility to match their individual needs. The balance
between group activities and individual direction needs
to change such that more staff will be needed to maintain
adequate supervision. We therefore believe that different
minimum standards, in terms of FTE adult to FTE child,
are appropriate to different types of situation. The key
principle underlying tiered input standards of this kind
is a graduated approach. |
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| 12. We
therefore envisage a sliding scale approach, covering
care across the age range to which regulation is applied,
whereby staff ratios would reflect (a) the age range of
the children concerned and (b) whether care was sessional
or all day. These principles currently apply to
regulation of private and voluntary provision but the aim
would be to apply similar standards to all providers. The
following table sets out a possible approach: |
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| Do
consultees agree that differing ratios are appropriate
for differing ages of children and differing lengths of
session? If so, is a sliding scale appropriate and what
views do consultees have on the specific sliding scale
set out above? |
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| 13. We
should also note that earlier, in paragraphs 14-15 of
Chapter 3, we both looked at the possibility of extending
the age range for which childcare is regulated and
considered some of the detailed implications of this.
Clearly, if the age range for regulation were to be
extended one would also need to give further thought to
ratios for them although the distinction between
sessional and extended care would have less practical
application here. |
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| 14. The less
onerous ratio currently applied to local authority
education provision is sometimes justified in terms of
the competence of staff as reflected in the higher
qualifications requirements of such provision. Under the
Schools Code local authority provision should include
qualified teachers, whereas this is not required by
regulation for other provision. As considered further
below (Chapter 6), the training undertaken by teachers
may give them a wide range of skills and competences
which may be necessary or useful in areas such as
planning and delivering to children a stimulating,
educational experience. But it is debatable whether the
holding of particular qualifications reduces the number
of staff required to care for and lead children in play.
This is not to say that qualified staff are not necessary
(as the current guidance under the Children Act makes
clear). Nor does it conflict with the objective of
increasing the number of staff with relevant
qualifications including minimum training requirements
for all workers such as health and safety issues. Rather,
it says that adult: staff ratios should be set at a
minimum regardless of the different qualifications of
staff. Do consultees agree that adult:child ratios
should be set at a minimum regardless of different
qualifications and that qualifications requirements and
upskilling should be addressed separately? |
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| 15. We
do, though, see a need to make clear that where staff are
counted for ratios this should reflect contact time with
children. Where, for example, heads of centres are
mostly engaged in administrative duties they should not
count for the ratio. This is currently specified for
Children Act registered provision but not for local
authority provision. However, if some staff are to be
excluded, wholly or partially, from calculations,
providers may need some time to adjust to this. |
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| Differences in space ratios |
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| 16. Children
Act guidance sets space standards per child of 3.7m~ for
children under 2, 2.8m for between 2-3, and 2.3m for
those between 3-5. The Schools Premises Regulations set
more elaborate standards for nursery schools and classes
(ie the 3-5 age range) of: |
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| Although in
terms of playroom accommodation alone the two sets of
standards are not far out there is a greater discrepancy
when looked at in terms of overall space per child. HM
Inspectors have had concerns about space standards in
some non-local authority provision in terms of allowing
the curriculum to be delivered. Their report The
Quality of Pre-school education in the Scottish Pilot
Scheme 1996-97 said that |
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'Across all sectors
accommodation was of a good or very good standard in
most [defined as 75-90%] centres. Accommodation was
only fair in 25% of playgroups and 10% of private and
LA centres. Weaknesses in accommodation included poor
arrangements for security, limited facilities for
physical development and movement, and lack of safe
outdoor play areas.'
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| It has
become clear with experience that the minimum space
requirement of 2.3m for children aged 3-5 is on the small
side, particularly where pre-school education is being
delivered. It is difficult to allow for the greater
boisterousness and sense of adventure of children this
age within the existing limit. We see merit in
revising guidance to set a higher space limit for
children in the 3-5 age bracket in new provision. |
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| Frequency and Type of Inspections |
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| 17.
Provision regulated under the Children Act 1989 is
subject to an annual inspection visit for which a fee is
charged. There is usually around two weeks' notice of
such an inspection. This allows the provider to have any
documentation that the inspector may wish to see readily
to hand. It also ensures, particularly in the case of
childminders, that the provider is actually there to be
inspected rather than taking the children on a visit.
Local authorities do, however, have a statutory right to
visit registered provision unannounced and this is
exercised in cases where there is cause for concern. We
see a case, as an added comfort, for unannounced visits -
not attracting a fee - to a small, randomly selected
proportion of providers each year where there is no
particular cause for concern. |
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