Common standard
I believe I am right in saying that England was the first country to train women in the care of normal healthy children and is still the only country to do so. Our trained children's nurses hold posts in America, Japan, India, Greece, Roumania - all over the world, in fact. It is therefore obvious that a profession whose members cover so wide a field, who have a chance of influencing the outlook of the children of other countries, as well as their own, is a profession which needs recognition. The demand for nursery nurses still exceeds the supply, and so an association of Nursery Training Colleges has been organised with a view to keeping up the standard of training set by the existing colleges, and to assure the welfare and status of the nursery nurse. 9 December 1925
Four-year plan
Major Nathan, chairman of the National Society of Children's Nurseries, has put forward a 'Four Years Plan' for children's nurseries after the war. He claims that these nurseries must be maintained after the war, pointing out the important part they have to play in the building of a healthy nation, both by caring for the children themselves, and by relieving mothers who run their homes without help of any kind. 'Don't forget,' says the Archbishop of Canterbury, 'that family life is one of those things which flourish best when not subject to unendurable strain.' 29 April 1943
Parent power
The Parents' Guild had its beginnings last year when a number of parents, meeting at a summer conference organised for them by the National Froebel Foundation, decided that it was up to them to take lively interest in the proposals for educational reconstruction which were then being made by Mr Butler and his famous White Paper. 21 December 1944
Get together
The big reunion meeting which the Nursery Nurses Association is having on July 5th will be the first to be held at 17 Queen's Gate Place since VE Day. 31 May 1945
Good progress
Speaking of the parents' club reminds me of the progress of another group of parents which was formed through the Nursery World readers' letters.
This is the Lone Parents' Association. It is steadily enrolling new members. 15 January 1959
Fun times
'The aim of the Association is to encourage its members to provide a relaxed and permissive environment for creative group and individual play, which will in turn provide enjoyment and happiness for the young children in our care.' These are the simple-sounding but not so easily attained aims of the National Association of Pre-School Playgroups, stated in a new and useful leaflet. 14 January 1965
Lagging behind
The National Union of Teachers accuses the Government of having turned Britain into the backwater of Europe for nursery education, and of giving toddlers a rough start in life. In a hard-hitting report, the union says the Government is guilty of failing to take advantage of the drop in the birthrate and has ignored the chance to increase provision in schools for these children. Britain lags well behind other Common Market member countries in nursery school provision. Only 5 per cent of our three-year-olds attend school, compared with more than 80 per cent in Belgium and more than 50 per cent in France and Italy. The situation is little better for four-year-olds. 10 November 1977
Join the campaign
Workplace nurseries set up by go-ahead employers to care for the pre-school children of their women workers are under threat from the Inland Revenue.
In at least two creches, both in London, parents are faced with a tax bill. Under a recent change in interpretation of policy by the Inland Revenue, payments made by employers for the nurseries are being treated as taxable benefits to employees...
...The National Childcare Campaign, at a national policy meeting, condemned the action by the Inland Revenue. Many women workers would no longer be able to pay the costs of childcare and would be forced to leave their jobs.
If this happened, nurseries would close. They invite campaign members to join their 'Save Workplace Nurseries Campaign' and are calling for a change in the law...
As Julia Phillips of the National Childcare Campaign told Nursery World, 'To put childcare in the same category as company cars is absurd.' Nursery World agrees! 19 April 1984
Fixed rates
It is very difficult to fix a standardised rate of pay (for childminders) for the whole country, or even for different parts of the same town.
The National Childminding Association suggested (in 1984) a minimum fee of 25 per week, or 70-80p per hour. 16 January 1986
In its own right
In 1982 a group of nursery nurses working in a nursery school admired the union that the teachers they worked with belonged to. The union is the 40,000-strong Professional Association of Teachers, a union dedicated to improving the professional status of teachers and with a no-strike rule. It was this philosophy that professional status could be improved without harming children that impressed nursery nurses, and they applied to join PAT.
The national council of PAT considered the request and, after much debate, decided to help the nursery nurses form their own union. It was on 26 October 1982 that the Professional Association of Nursery Nurses was officially launched as a sister union to the Professional Association of Teachers. At the launch, the membership of PANN consisted of founder Mrs Ingrid Darrant and little more than a handful of colleagues. Now, three years on from the launch, the membership is heading for the 2,000 mark, with PANN now registered as a trade union in its own right.
30 January 1986
A royal affair
Twenty-five years of playing, learning and developing. That is what the Pre-school Playgroups Association is celebrating this year, with the support of their patron, Princess Diana. Last weekend 1,500 playgroup workers, parents, tutors, area organisers and committee members met together for the Silver Jubilee AGM and conference. 8 May 1986
Improving practice
The new Under-Fives Unit at the National Children's Bureau started work last month. The unit, which was set up with government funding, will be a national centre providing advice, guidance and information on current practice and research in the under-fives field. Its overall aim will be to improve practice and generate more coherent policies for the children and their families. One of the Unit's first priorities will be to look at the provision of day care and at new ways of approaching old problems - at the changing role of day nurseries; at the links between daycare and the health and education services; at the flexibility of daycare provision and at how well it suits the needs of working parents. 5 June 1986
Inspections needed
Following the kidnap of baby Farrah Quli, and her subsequent return to her London home by a girl answering an advert for the post of mothers' help, the National Childminding Association (NCMA) has called for all forms of home-based childcare to be subject to local authority inspection.
'This sad event highlights the need for the Government to now consider the inclusion of all categories of childcare within the registration procedure,' said Jan Burnell, director of the NCMA. The Association wants residential nannies, daily nannies and even babysitters to be subject to reference and police checks, overseen by the local authority. 27 August 1992
Amazing endeavours
'In My View', Marion Dowling, president of Early Education: Over the years early education has been influenced by four themes - insufficiency, diversity, lack of resources and commitment. Without the amazing endeavour of early years practitioners there would be fewer pre-school places, much of the provision would not be as good, and the education and care of young children would be lower on the political agenda today. 3 January 2002
Changing times
Rosemary Murphy, on stepping down as chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association: I've never regarded it as a job - it's much more than that.
In 1998 I was chairman when I was approached to take on the role of NDNA's first chief executive. I agreed to do so because I wanted the voice of the day nursery sector to be heard. The organisation then grew much faster than we all expected. We have gone from two people in a tiny office to a large head office, a presence in the regions and a total of nearly 100 staff.
Although I am now stepping down as chief executive, I can't imagine not continuing to be involved in the sector. I will continue to support NDNA's policy work in an advisory role.
We have achieved a lot from our early days as a small organisation. While representing and supporting nursery owners, we have developed the Quality Counts accreditation programme, promoted high-quality childcare, developed five regional early years centres with a total 7m investment and tried to redefine day nurseries as socially responsible businesses. 24 March 2005
Make a difference
The National Campaign for Real Nursery Education is urging the Government to examine the proposals for children's centres put forward by local education authorities to ensure that they 'maintain their investment in nursery schools'. The resolution passed at the NCRNE's annual conference on 25 June was proposed by education consultant Margaret Edgington, who said, 'Only if this is ensured will the large investment being made result in outcomes for children and families that will make a sustained difference to their lives.' 14 July 2005