Made to measure

For too long, says Eva Lloyd, chief executive of the National Early Years Network (NEYN), public architecture in the UK has been failing young children. In so many schools and nurseries, she says, 'The children have been made to fit in with the environment, instead of the environment being made to fit the children.' She points to windows too high for small children to see out of, cramped, dingy indoor spaces and poor provision for outdoor play.

This state of affairs is lamentable, but hardly surprising - children and design are both traditional blind spots for the British. Although it might now be more accurate to say they used to be. After years of jabbing from lone prophets such as architect Mark Dudek, director of the Education Design Group, the British are beginning to open their eyes. Articles on the subject have begun to proliferate in the architectural and the early years press, influential books such as Dudek's Kindergarten Architecture (published by SPON) have become required reading for nursery managers, and views from both design and childcare camps are being aired at workshops and conferences. There is still much debate about what constitutes the perfect environment for young children, but at least everyone agrees the issue is an important one.