Julie Morgan MS, Deputy Minister for Social Services.
Today (28 June 2022), I am launching a consultation on proposed changes to the National Minimum Standards (NMS) for Regulated Childcare for children up to the age of 12.
Registered childcare provision must meet regulatory requirements, governed by the NMS. They ensure children and their families experience services, which are of a high standard; safe, secure and of good quality. Care Inspectorate Wales inspects childcare settings against these standards.
This consultation will help to ensure the standards remain relevant and support providers to maintain the high standards we expect of our childcare and play providers.
During the pandemic, some of these standards – especially those around staffing levels and qualifications of staff – posed greater challenges for childcare settings. We responded by introducing temporary relaxations to some of the standards to ease pressure on childcare providers. This gave us an opportunity to test and learn from some of the changes we are now proposing.
We are also proposing changes as a result of the Review of the National Minimum Standards for Regulated Childcare which reported in 2019, ensuring that the NMS remain relevant and focused on high-quality provision.
Further detail about the changes being proposed are set out in the consultation material and in the draft NMS.
The consultation will be open until 20 September 2022. Feedback from the consultation will help develop the NMS further.