‘Each child must be assigned a key person’: Context and interpretation of a statutory requirement in English Early Childhood Education and Care settings

Abstract

This article explores whether the statutory key person policy can mediate children’s experience of fragmentation due to a variety of transitions in the English Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector. I explore the policy enactment in the context of another statutory requirement, the staff:child ratio, and against the backdrop of a fragmented and neoliberal ECEC system. Data are from interviews with staff in three ECEC settings and publicly available Ofsted reports. I conclude that the contemporary understanding and practice of the key person policy is less likely to address all challenges of fragmentation experienced by children. The interplay of various patterns of attendance, complex staff rotas, and the requirement to stay in ratio impacts on the ability to offer continuity of care. I suggest ways to reduce the fragmentation experienced within the existing policy framework.