Baby steps won’t solve childcare crisis

A speech by the Children’s Minister Liz Truss and the publication of More Great Childcare represents the first step in a government shake-up of early years’ childcare regulation and quality. The proposals include relaxing the children to adult ratios for childcare workers; encouraging a better qualified workforce; abolishing local authority inspections; removing schools’ requirement to register with Ofsted for under 3 provision, and setting up childminder agencies. But as Imogen Parker explains the details are sketchy and the plans don’t promise improvements, either in quality or in cost.