Two hundred years ago, in a small town in Scotland, a man hailed ‘the father of British socialism’ set up the world’s first infant school and workplace crèche, providing childcare and education for children whose parents worked at his mill.
From the moment the children in the village of New Lanark could walk, they were sent to Owen’s School for Children and looked after by two young village girls. Toys were rarely seen in the nursery and children were ‘not to be annoyed with books’ but were to be taught the ‘uses and nature or qualities of the common things around them’ by familiar conversation when the children’s curiosity ‘was excited’, according to Owen’s instruction.
Free-flow access to an outdoor playground area was an integral feature of the provision, allowing for plenty of opportunities to promote health and wellbeing. Natural materials and objects from gardens, fields and woods were available for the children to investigate, allowing them to discover the properties and possibilities of the materials and living processes using their senses. Music and dancing formed a core part of the offering.
ROBERT OWEN (1771-1858)
Owen was often described as a man ‘centuries ahead his time’. He was born in Newtown, Wales to devoted parents – his father was a saddler, ironmonger and postmaster and his mother’s family were farmers. He was an avid reader from a young age and borrowed books from educated families in his hometown. At the age of ten, he travelled from Shrewsbury to London alone to live with his eldest brother and work with a friend of his father who was a lace merchant.
Between the ages of ten and 19, Owen worked in Manchester, Lincolnshire and London as a draper. He became a member of a debating group that included the famous scientist John Dalton and he worked with Richard Arkwright, inventor of the spinning jenny.
In 1799, an opportunity arose that defined Owen’s legacy. He married Caroline Dale and bought her father’s textile mills in New Lanark. At the time, it was one of the largest industrial groups in the world with over 2,000 people living or working in the village. Children as young as five were said to be working up to 13 hours a day in the mills and their education was nominal to non-existent. So, Owen set about reform.
He provided villagers with decent homes, fair wages, free healthcare, a new education system, and he founded the first workplace nursery in the world. Children under ten were not allowed to work in the mill under his leadership.
His belief in improving the lives of workers helped improve conditions in workplaces all over the world. Owen described his work at New Lanark as ‘the most important experiment for the happiness of the human race that has yet been instituted in any part of the world’.
Early years
Owen attributed his achievements to his early experiences. He believed that nurture, the way in which children are brought up and taught, is the key to their later morality, sociability and success in life.
He insisted that control could be achieved through kindness and affection and that there would be no punishment or rewards, the emphasis being on self-directed learning and sharing in the process.
During fine weather, the children were encouraged to play all day in a large playground outside the institute. There were three rooms for use on wet days.
It is thought that Owen’s educational views were influenced by the work of the Swiss writer and teacher Johann Pestalozzi, who was also Froebel’s early mentor.
RESOURCES
Up close with nature
- Examine leaves, minibeasts and blades of glass with TTS’s See and Speak Recordable Magnifying Glasses, £83.93 for 6, or watch birds from afar with TTS’s See and Speak Recordable Binoculars, £84.99 for 6.
- Collect and sort leaves, pine cones and wild flowers with TTS’s Wooden Collect and Sort Table, £319, or examine bugs up close with its Bugs Life and Planter, £309.99.
- Muddy Faces’ Easy Hold Magnifier, £9.23, is perfect for small hands, or try its Bug Viewer, £2.99.
- Investigate plant roots with Cosy’s Beefier See Through Planter, £115.95, or watch minibeasts take up residence in its Bug Tower, £76.99.
- Get creative with nature
- Explore the environment and celebrate nature’s shapes, colours and patterns through the seasons with TTS’s Sea Grass Weaving Frames, £39.99, or its Natural Frames and Weaving Collection, £109.99.
- Take Scavenger Friends, £26.39 for 10, from Muddy Faces on a nature walk and create ears, antlers, horns, tails and legs with natural found materials.
- Create a viewing frame with Muddy Faces’ set of 4 Maths Poles, £3.62, and activity sheet, or showcase children’s exploration of nature with Cosy’s Nature Keepers, £27.99.
- For transient art activities, try Muddy Faces’ Natural Materials Sorting and Art Set, £113.99, or use Cosy’s Lightweight Tuff Spot Mirror, £39.99, to create natural backdrops of the sky or trees, combined with leaves, sticks and petals.
CASE STUDY: Windows of Learning
Today, New Lanark is a UNESCO World Heritage Site providing educational visits for children and families. Children can learn about toys and games that children played with in the past and enjoy a school day in Robert Owen’s time (1825) with a teacher in costume.
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the formation of Owen’s Institute for the Formation of Character in 1816, New Lanark Primary School Parent Association, along with four local primary schools and two nurseries, ran a ‘Windows of Learning’ project.
Adults in the community were invited to join free ‘Ways to Nurture a Joy of Learning’ sessions, which included a talk by Sue Palmer, author of Toxic Childhood, and outdoor learning.
To commemorate Owen’s favourite book – Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe– the children of Lanark found themselves on an imaginary journey, cast away down the river Clyde to a remote island, where they would discover hidden talents to survive and return home safely.
Farah Crook, head teacher at Lanark Primary ELC, and Margo Thomson, head teacher at Robert Owen Memorial Primary ELC, said, ‘Throughout the workshops, which were delivered by specialists in drama, drumming and nature craft, the children followed instructions and carried out actions relating to scrubbing the deck, manning the rigging and captain’s coming. They discussed their five senses, which enabled them to imagine what it might be like on an island. They loved it when they became the “animals” on the island, developing their skills in drama.
‘These experiences helped support Robert Owen’s overarching principles of curiosity and play, areas that continue to be valued within the early years environment. Through our learners’ experiences of self-directed play, free-flow outdoor learning and use of natural resources, our learners continue to build resilience and problem-solving skills while working with each other in a kind and co-operative way – principles strongly linked to the foundations of Robert Owen’s work.’
To promote Owen’s love of Lanark’s natural assets, Forest School training for parents, teachers and childcare workers ran alongside the workshops to support the development of outdoor learning skills.
Tila McDonald, formerly a member of New Lanark Primary School Parent Association, explains, ‘The whole project engaged families in discovering a joy of learning: the most fitting tribute we could make to Robert Owen on the 200th anniversary of his Institute.
‘By re-examining his principles of kindness in pursuit of happiness, we have found ways to learn and grow together as a community.’
FURTHER INFORMATION
- Donnachie I (2003) ‘Education in Robert Owen’s New Society: the New Lanark Institute and Schools’, https://bit.ly/3Dfr72t
- New Lanark: Living with a Visionary by C. A. Hope