From September, nursery staff can now be called on to look after five two-year-olds single-handedly, following changes to staff:child ratios. Many in the sector have argued this change will place unfair demands on staff and make settings less safe and enriching for children.
We are Grow Your Own – an oral history project that is uncovering the often little-known history of childcare and early years activism across London.
Almost 40 years ago, in 1984, nursery workers in Islington went on strike to lower the ratio of staff to children. As Julia Manning-Morton, one of those who went on strike, explains: ‘In 1982, Islington Council came to power after specifically identifying improvements for nursery staffand ratios in their manifesto.
'Two years later, the council had made no efforts to fulfil their promises and, after much discussion and soul-searching, all nursery workers went on strike. We had never before taken action on our own behalf and most of us were totally inexperienced in these sorts of negotiations and processes, but we felt strongly that our working conditions were potentially damaging for children and we had such amazing support from parents, who joined us on demonstrations and organised delegations to the town hall, that we were able to come together and sustain our action until we achieved most of what we set out to change. We were fighting for better conditions for the children as well as ourselves. That is just as important today as it was then.’
After four months on strike, the ratio was lowered from 1:5 to 1:4 in Islington nurseries.
A banner from the Islington nursery workers strike in 1984, photo credit Julia Manning-Morton
On 9 September, we will be holding an event to discuss how this was won and what could be achieved today if nursery workers come together. We will be asking: What are the consequences of low pay and high ratios? And what can we do to create a childcare system that works for children, providers and parents?
Join us on 9 September at London Metropolitan University from 12pm-2:30pm for a panel discussion bringing together nursery workers who were on the front line during the 1984 strike and speakers from Early Years Equality, the Post Pandemic Childcare coalition and Early Years Alliance.
The ‘Raising ratios: remembering the 1984 Islington nursery workers strike’ event is free, and all are welcome, but places must be reserved here
Grow Your Own’s podcast series, Childcare Voices, launches on 20 September.