I joined Nursery World in August 1996, when my daughter was at nursery – she has now just turned 30 and I am about to leave my job after 26 years! (Liz's daughter Evie as a cover star - right)
It was the beginning of a time of great change for the early years education and childcare sector. Nursery vouchers had recently been introduced by the then Conservative government, to be followed by the election of Tony Blair's Labour government in May 1997, bringing in the first-ever National Childcare Strategy.
I had been a freelance journalist, and started writing about children and families, including on The Guardian's Parents page, so it was a natural step for me to take in early years education with Nursery World.
I'd previously been editor of Media Week magazine and the change was quite marked. From having advertising agency bosses shouting down the phone about not liking the story we’d written about their cornflakes campaigns, to people dedicated to something that truly matters appreciating an article that had really helped them.
I felt an immediate connection with the early years sector, and my job on Nursery World has always been hugely rewarding, interesting and worthwhile, despite (and often because of) all the challenges that the early years has faced and still faces.
I feel very proud of the job our team has done in supporting and championing the sector that is the ‘greatest profession in the world’ as the first issue of the magazine said in 1925.
Many of the same issues about status, pay, professionalism and practice have continued. In my time as editor, Nursery World campaigned hard against the fall in mandatory qualification levels (our Stop The Drop campaign in 2000 called for 50 per cent of staff to be qualified at Level 3, resulting in a Government concession). We also fought against the proposals to weaken staff:child ratios, and highlighted the poverty pay of childcare workers and the unintended consequences of the 30 hours policy (our special investigation into this was raised in Parliament).
Liz on a Nursery World tour of India
Liz and many of the team with Laurence Llewelyn Bowen at a 4Children event
POLICY, POLICY, POLICY
The past 26 years have been a whirlwind of change, challenge, opportunity and threat for the early years sector. However, the decade from 1997 under Labour was quite remarkable for the expansion that took place, the number and scale of the initiatives brought in, and the attention paid to nursery education and childcare.
It was really exciting to report on all this activity, both positive and negative, which included:
- The National Childcare Strategy, introduced in 1998.
- Introduction of the Nursery Education Grant and increasing ‘free’ hours – even then criticised as underfunded.
- Early Excellence Centres.
- Sure Start and Children's Centres.
- The Foundation Stage, introduced in 2000; the first-ever early years curriculum.
- Working Families Tax Credit and Childcare Tax Credit.
- Care Standards – with anger over childminders being allowed to ‘smoke and smack’ and the need for more Level 2 and 3 qualified staff (our Stop the Drop campaign).
- Neighbourhood Nurseries.
- Ofsted taking over registration and inspection of the sector from local authorities in 2001.
- Recruitment drives.
- Birth to Three Matters in 2002.
- Children's Workforce Strategy.
- Plans for the new Early Years Foundation Stage.
Much of what was put in place has not survived. Children's Centres were decimated, and some organisations supporting the sector are no more.
Liz meeting Gordon Brown
Former childcare minister Nadhim Zahawi at Nursery World's Business Summit
NO MINISTER!
I have seen an ever-changing roster of children's and early years ministers since Margaret Hodge was the first to take on the role in 2003, with the revolving door spinning ever faster over the past year or so.
Step forward Beverley Hughes, Dawn Primarolo, Sarah Teather, Liz Truss, Sam Gyimah, Caroline Dineage, Robert Goodwill, Nadhim Zahawi, Kemi Badenoch, Michelle Donelan, Vicky Ford, Will Quince, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Kelly Tolhurst and Claire Couthino.
Some have shown a genuine interest in the early years (Beverley Hughes wrote a monthly column for Nursery Worldthrough her four years in office), but too many have seemed to see the position as a stepping stone.
Liz Truss, of course, made the first attempt to worsen staff: child ratios in her ‘More Great Childcare’ report in 2013, and resurrected the proposal in her brief, disastrous stint as Prime Minister. The initial move was fiercely resisted by the sector, parents and Nursery World.
I was called by the DfE to say that the Minister would like to meet me for coffee in Pret a Manger in Westminster. Halfway there, I received another call to say the venue was now Costa Coffee. Truss was there, with no minder or security, and spent 40 minutes trying (and failing) to persuade me that diluting ratios was a great idea. Continued resistance is needed!
UPS AND DOWNS
The shape of the early years sector has altered greatly over the past few decades. The rise of nursery groups, chronicled in our Nursery Chainssupplement, is accelerating as smaller businesses have exited and international organisations have entered the UK market.
Meanwhile, the numbers of state-run nurseries and nursery schools, as well as childminders, have all dropped significantly. Other trends have also been noticeable, with outdoor nurseries and Forest Schools becoming popular, and philosophies such as Froebel, Montessori and Steiner continuing to influence modern practice.
MEDIA MATTERS
Both the role of the journalist and Nursery World itself have changed greatly over the past 26 years. The development of websites and social media have meant that an ever-greater proportion of what we do is online. I never imagined that Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and our website would become such a big part of my job.
Events, too, have added to how we can communicate with our audience, and bring them together. We run much-appreciated conferences, plus our annual Business Summit. There are webinars, the Nursery WorldShow, the Nursery World Exchange events for early years suppliers and nursery providers, and our EYFS Essentials training videos.
And there is, of course, the Nursery WorldAwards, which has grown into a fantastic, much-needed and well-deserved annual celebration of the passion, dedication and skills of the early years sector.
MEMORABLE MOMENTS
My role on Nursery World has included some wonderful experiences. The trips we ran to visit nurseries in other countries saw me acting as a tour guide in China, going to state kindergartens, new private nurseries and an orphanage, as well as going up the Great Wall, seeing the Terracotta Warriors and sailing up the Li River. India took in a pre-school in a slum, private nursery chains and rural kindergartens, plus tigers and elephants. Scandinavia was memorable for many things, including an overnight cruise from Helsinki to Stockholm in very rough seas!
I saw Dolly Parton perform in a very small room at the Savoy in London, when she came to launch her children's free books scheme in the UK; went to Tony Blair's early years party in Number 10; and was invited to a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
The greatest privilege, however, has been to meet and work with so many of the fantastic professionals in the early years sector and to support the work that you all do. I have been sent many lovely emails and messages recently, which I appreciate so much, and which make me realise how much I will miss my job. I will miss all of you, but will enjoy being able to spend more time on music with my band and choir, gardening, learning Spanish, and much more. And of course I really want to keep in touch with the early years sector, which will always be close to my heart.
I know Nursery World will go from strength to strength, and that you all will continue to be custodians of best practice to meet the needs of young children and their families. Times are really tough, too little is being done to help, and there are many battles still to be fought. Keep fighting – and Nursery World will be right there with you.