THE U-turn the Government has announced on not increasing pupil-to-staff ratios in nursery schools smacks of common sense.

The changes had been due to come into force this autumn but were roundly criticised by East Lancashire nursery bosses.

They feared that allowing one staff member to look after six two-year-olds at a time would seriously damage the care and education provided to the youngsters. The changes would also have seen staff caring for four children under the age of one at a time rather than the current three. One nursery manager described the U-turn as ‘brilliant’ while another said staff were ‘thrilled’, describing the original proposal as an ‘absolute fantasy’. As anyone with little ones knows, child care costs can be incredibly expensive.

But allowing staff to look after more and more children is not the answer. The welfare of our youngsters must be paramount above all other concerns. After all, keeping a child safe while they learn in a loving environment is more important than saving a few quid. The Government now needs to go back to the drawing board and find a real solution to providing affordable childcare for everyone.

In this way parents can be assured that holding down a job, even if it is not the best paid in the world, is the right thing to do for their family and their hard- earned wages won’t all be swallowed up by ever- increasing nursery fees.