Children’s commissioner demands ambition, not ‘tinkering’, in childcare reform

Dame Rachel de Souza says No 10's focus on carer-to-child ratios is depressing' and now is the time to redefine childcare

The children's commissioner for England has poured cold water on Liz Truss's proposal to scrap regulations governing child-to-staff ratios in nurseries, describing it as tinkering around the edges and calling instead for ambitious and transformative reform of the childcare sector.

In an interview with the Guardian, Dame Rachel de Souza said children's safety and wellbeing must be paramount" in any plans to reform childcare and she said she thought it was really depressing" if the current conversation about childcare focused purely on ratios.