Tory plans to slash costs for parents by creating French-style childminder agencies have been branded "simply laughable" by early years chiefs.
Liz Truss is eyeing an overhaul of the childcare system to get more parents back to work as part of her plans to kickstart economic growth.
The Prime Minister is said to be pushing for the agency model, which she came up with when she was Children's Minister, which can act as a one stop shop for childminders to register, train and get help finding a job.
Rules forcing childminders to be subject to individual Ofsted inspections could also be axed, with regulation focusing on the agencies instead, according to the Telegraph.
But the Early Years Alliance said the idea that agencies could solve issues facing the sector was "simply laughable" and cautioned against "reform on the cheap".
Another idea being floated is extending the school day to 4pm to help parents, which is likely to trigger a backlash from teaching unions.
Longer school days were mooted by Boris Johnson's Covid catch-up tsar Kevan Collins to help kids make up for lost learning during the pandemic.
However the idea was ditched by the-then Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi earlier this year.
Mr Johnson's Government had also decided to look at changing the staff-to-child ratio in England, from one adult per four children to one adult to five kids, like in Scotland.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years alliance, said: "In the eight years since then-early years minister Liz Truss firstly introduced childminder agencies in England, the number of childminders across the country has fallen from just under 52,000 to just over 31,000 - a decline of 40% - while the number of agencies currently stands at a grand total of six.
"The idea, therefore, that agencies are even part of the answer to the problems currently facing the early years is simply laughable."
He said childminders value their hard-earned Ofsted ratings - and said the "damp squib" of a policy showed ministers failed to understand the sector.
Mr Leitch added: "Attempting reform on the cheap is simply a waste of everyone’s time."
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “As the Chancellor has confirmed, we will be taking forward reforms to make childcare easier to access and more affordable which will help boost economic growth through getting people back to work.
"We are exploring a wide range of options, but no decisions have been made."
It comes as the threat mass strike action by teachers looms, with hundreds of thousands of education staff poised to walk out before Christmas.
Internal figures compiled by the National Education Union (NEU) suggest as many as nine in 10 teachers are prepared to back industrial action.
