In a time when Australian child care providers are being asked to decrease the ratio of children to carers to improve quality it may come as a surprise to learn providers in the UK are being permitted to increase the ratio of children to carers in a move British politicians say will improve quality and cut costs.

A BBC news report says providers will be permitted to increase ratios only if carers meet qualification requirements and that the changes could be effective before the end of 2013.

As with Australia, the ratio of carers to children varies according to age and the type of care, but under the current proposals ratios are set to increase from three children per adult to four children per adult for kids under one and from four children per adult to six children per adult for kids under two.

In Australia the ratios are currently one adult per four kids for both under ones and under twos.

UK Children's Minister Liz Truss said the proposals would increase the availability of preschool places and improve quality, as she says only services which hire more qualified staff would be able to accept more children.

"It will make it higher quality, more available and more affordable. It will take time to recruit new people and expand nurseries. In the long term it will be more affordable," Ms Truss told the BBC.

Ms Truss says the UK's high ratios make child care expensive and keep wages down and she claims the changes will bring England in line with other European countries.

Critics of the proposal claim it will decrease quality and argue that hiring staff with more qualifications will drive costs up.

Anand Shukla, from national child care charity Daycare Trust told the BBC that there are practical considerations arising from increasing the number of children per carer, no matter how well qualified the carer is:

"For one person to look after six two-year-olds, for one person to talk to six two-year-olds, to help their language development, we think is going to be very difficult."

Kent-based nursery manager Josie Lait told the BBC that fewer adults would reduce the quality of care and the safety of children:

"I feel it isn't realistic to change the ratios because the quality will go down dramatically.

And if you have people who are better qualified, costs will go up, so how will parents benefit? I wouldn't want to enforce it [new ratios] myself, I wouldn't want my setting to change."

International Context
The table below shows current ratios of children to child care professionals in selected countries.

Source: OECD

* Allows teams of carers to look after extra children as part of a group