Introduction
At the NEU, we believe statutory ratios should be strengthened. Members have reported the worsening of adult-to-child ratios in EYFS. Fewer adults for more children will inevitably impact the health and safety of our members and of the children in their care.
Having high adult-to-child ratios should mean children are able to develop a relationship with their key person and help them feel safe, secure and able to learn. Effective ratios also enable practitioners to plan and deliver engaging and challenging learning opportunities.
Join our reference group to discuss and organise around early years issues, including ratios.
Ratio Requirements:
Statutory ratio requirements are in the early years foundation stage statutory framework and also below. More details on the statutory requirements can be found on the GOV.UK webpage, with advice on the NEU Webpage.
Ratio requirements for two-year-olds changed in 2022, despite the sector raising their concerns. You can read our response to the previous government’s consultation.
Children under two:
- One member of staff for three children at minimum.
- One member of staff must have a level 3 qualification and be suitably experienced in working with children under two, at minimum.
- Half of all staff must have a level 2 qualification.
- Half of all staff must have received training that specifically addresses the care of babies.
- In a room for under two-year-olds, a member of staff in charge must have suitable experience of working with under twos.
Children aged two:
- One member of staff for every five children at minimum.
- One member of staff must have a level 3 qualification.
- Half of all staff must have a level 2 qualification.
Children aged three and over:
For children aged three-and-over in registered early years provision at any time where a person with Qualified Teacher Status, Early Years Professional Status, Early Years Teacher Status, or another approved level 6 qualification is working directly with children:
- One member of staff for every 13 children at minimum.
- One other member of staff must hold an approved level 3 qualification.
For children aged three-and-over in registered early years provision where a person with Qualified Teacher Status, Early Years Professional Status, Early Years Teacher Status, or another approved level 6 qualification is not working directly with children:
- One member of staff for every eight children at minimum.
- One other member of staff must hold an approved level 3 qualification.
- Half of all other staff must hold an approved level 2 qualification.
For children aged three-and-over in independent schools (including in nursery classes in free schools and academies) where a person with Qualified Teacher Status, Early Years Professional Status, Early Years Teacher Status or another approved level 6 qualification, an instructor, or another suitably qualified overseas trained teacher, is working directly with children:
- For classes where the majority of children will reach the age of five or older within the school year, there must be one member of staff for 30 children.
- For all other classes there must be at least one other member of staff for every 13 children.
- At least one other member of staff must hold an approved level 3 qualification.
For children aged three-and-over in independent schools (including in nursery classes in free schools and academies) where there is no person with Qualified Teacher Status, Early Years Professional Status, Early Years Teacher Status or another approved level 6 qualification, no instructor, and no suitably qualified overseas trained teacher, working directly with children:
- One member of staff for eight children.
- One member of staff must have a level 3 qualification.
- Half of all other staff must have an approved level 2 qualification.
For children aged three-and-over in maintained nursery schools and nursery classes in maintained schools:
- One member of staff for 13 children.
- One member of staff must be a school teacher as defined by section 122 of the Education Act 2002.
- One other member of staff must hold an approved level 3 qualification.
- Reception classes in maintained schools and academies are subject to infant class size legislation, which is limited to 30 pupils per school teacher (subject to permitted exceptions) while an ordinary teaching session is conducted. ‘School teachers’ do not include teaching assistants, higher level teaching assistants, or other support staff. Consequently, in an ordinary teaching session, a school must employ sufficient school teachers to enable it to teach its infant classes in groups of no more than 30 per school teacher.
- Some schools may choose to mix their reception classes with groups of younger children (for example, nursery pupils, non-pupils, or younger children from a registered provider). In such cases they must determine ratios within mixed groups, guided by all relevant ratio requirements and by the needs of individual children within the group. In exercising this discretion, the school must comply with the statutory requirements relating to the education of children of compulsory school age and infant class sizes. Schools’ partner providers must meet the relevant ratio requirements for their provision.
Suitable students on long term placements and volunteers (aged 17 or over) and staff working as apprentices in early education (aged 16 or over) may be included in the ratios at the level below their level of study, if the provider is satisfied that they are competent and responsible.
Indoor space requirements
The DfE issues the following space requirements:
The premises and equipment must be organised in a way that meets the needs of children. Providers must meet the following indoor space requirements where indoor activity in a building(s) forms the main part of (or is integral) to the provision:
- Children under two years: 3.5m² per child. These judgements should be based on useable areas of the rooms used by the children, not including storage areas, thoroughfares, dedicated staff areas, cloakrooms, utility rooms, kitchens and toilets.
- Two-year-olds: 2.5m² per child.
- Children aged three-to-five years: 2.3m² per child.
- Where the space standards are applied, providers cannot increase the number of children on roll because they additionally use an outside area. Forest and other exclusively (or almost exclusively) outdoor provision is not required to meet the space standards above as long as children’s needs can be met. For this kind of provision, indoor space requirements can be used as a guide for the minimum area needed.
Before/after school care and holiday provision:
Children of mixed ages attend before and after school clubs and often take part in a range of exciting activities, with varying levels of risk. As with class sizes during the school day, thorough risk assessment of pupil numbers will determine the available space, equipment, furniture, activities and pupil characteristics, and from thence the appropriate staffing levels and maximum pupil numbers.
Good practice
The checklist below contains examples of good practice. Use it in a members’ meeting to evaluate effective ratios at your workplace as part of the bargaining flowchart below.
Statutory Ratios
- Does your school have a clear policy on safe and effective staff: student ratios?
- Are staffing numbers sufficient so that school staff don’t ever need to choose between helping children with personal care and maintaining statutory ratios?
- Are staffing numbers sufficient across the setting to enable children to learn and move between different spaces, including outdoors?
- Are staffing numbers sufficient so that volunteers are only ever seen as additional to ratios?
- Are staffing numbers sufficient so that staff don’t ever need to choose between helping children with personal care or regulating behaviour and maintaining reasonable ratios, including for children with SEND?
- Whilst eating, are children within sight and hearing of a staff member?
Staffing
- Are staff, including agency and temporary staff, briefed sufficiently on the children they are supporting and their role in keeping to ratio?
- When working with children who are new to them, are staff, including agency staff, briefed sufficiently on children’s needs and their role within statutory ratios?
- Are staff, including agency and temporary staff, deployed in a manner that best supports learning and safety?
- Are changes to staffing kept to a minimum to ensure children are able to develop relationships with trusted adults, including their key person?
- Are staffing ratios sufficient to enable flexible movement between areas for students (i.e. movement from classroom to outdoors?
- In cases of staff absence, are staff covered by others with the same level of qualification?
- Do you have sufficient staffing throughout the school day in your class to meet student needs effectively?
- Do you have sufficient staffing throughout the school day in your class to enable a range of activities e.g. woodwork, cooking, small group/1:1 activities?
If you answered NO to any of the questions above you should contact your workplace rep and/or the health and safety rep to discuss your concerns. It is likely that other staff members share your concerns and collective action/bargaining can be organised.
If you have anything from your experience that should be considered within this guidance, including case studies please email [email protected].
Bargaining Flow Chart
Step 1
Hold an NEU meeting and complete the above checklist. Please ensure as many members of staff attend as possible to bring them along in the process.
Step 2
As a group prioritise the one or two issues you want to raise with the head/SLT first. Bare in mind how strongly members feel and the action they are prepared to take.
Step 3
Discuss and agree changes with heads/SLT based off the checklist and the prioritised stepsset in the NEU meeting, including support from local health and safety officers.
Step 4
Hold a member’s meeting to discuss the outcome of negotiations. Contact your branch or regional office to discuss the support that they can offer.
Outcome A: Congratulations! If your head/SLT agrees to the changes requested by your NEU group, hold another meeting to celebrate the success and decide which ratio issues you will prioritise next.
Outcome B: If you come to agreement on some, but not all, of the issues raised by your NEU group hold another NEU meeting to decide your next steps (accept the outcome or escalate).
Outcome C: Your head/SLT don’t agree to any of the changes suggested by the NEU group. You will need to escalate from here.
Step 5
Hold a meeting and go through options for action. As a group, decide which actions you would be prepared to take to win. This could include signing a collective letter to your head, writing to higher level decision makers such as a governing body, or balloting members for strike action.
Step 6
Get in contact with your local branch about escalating further with your union group.
