Long before social media was even dreamt of, Nursery World magazine was a place where like-minded people could link up and find a sense of belonging – that feeling of acceptance, inclusion and security that comes from being part of a group.
The Nursery World Friendship League (NWFL) was started in the magazine 99 years ago with five enquiries from lonely nannies who wanted to meet local children’s nurses. The NWFL was used by readers – both those who worked with children and, in those days, mothers – to establish correspondence clubs where they would write ‘round robin’ letters about the joys and frustrations of their work and home life.
The ‘Can any mother help me?’ plea on the magazine’s ‘Over the Teacups’ page in 1935 prompted a raft of sympathetic responses and led to the formation of the Cooperative Correspondence Club (CCC). It became an important part of many of the members’ lives – detailing the highs and lows of motherhood, difficulties during wartime and the general mundanity and hilarity of daily life – only brought to an end after 55 years by the contributor’s failing health.
The CCC’s correspondence is a fascinating piece of social history and became the focus of a book in 2007 (see Further information).
BELONGING TODAY
‘Belonging’ is an important word in the lexicon of early years language. An understanding of belonging underpins best practice with children, families and staff teams.
Belonging also continues to encompasses the wider community of all those who work in the sector, providing the impetus for modern-day networking.
The EYFS recognises that developing a sense of belonging is an essential part of inclusive practice and is vital for children’s mental health.
Writing in Nursery World two years ago, London Early Years Foundation chief executive June O’Sullivan said, ‘Every child needs to feel a sense of belonging in their setting – feeling welcomed, accepted and secure… Children need to feel wrapped in warm and harmonious relationships’ (1 June 2023).
The importance of attachment and belonging was not always so keenly understood. While John Bowlby had been developing attachment theory since the 1950s, it was not published until 1969. Boarding schools and children being kept out of sight with a nanny in the home nursery were frequent topics in early issues of Nursery World.
One adult, writing in the 10 January 1957 magazine, painfully recalled the wrench of their nanny leaving: ‘My own darling nannie left when I was 13, and I suppose I never got over the loss, for whenever I see her even now (usually once a year) the moment of parting seems to re-open the old wound and I want to run away and weep.’
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
In her 2022 Anti-Racist Leadership series, Liz Pemberton, The Black Nursery Manager, considered how managers could encourage a sense of belonging through the ‘4 Es of anti-racist practice’ (see ‘Do I belong?’, Nursery World, 29 March 2022).
Meanwhile, the adage of children being ‘seen but not heard’ has long been overthrown. Last year, staff at Bright Horizons in Worthing shared with Nursery World how they had been exploring big ideas around belonging with children through the Voices of Children project (see ‘We’ve explored…belonging’, Nursery World, 8 January 2024). Manager Sara Rodriguez explained how their pre-school children were adversely affected by the Covid lockdowns and needed a lot of support with wellbeing: ‘We thought it would be empowering to be part of a project so the children could learn that their voices can and should be heard – to be proud of who you are.’
Belonging is often described by parents as their child talking about ‘my nursery’ to family members and feeling proud to show family and friends around their nursery. It’s why having a good policy to support parent partnership and home learning matters. Activities such as Grandparents Tea or encouraging a visiting auntie to be given a nursery tour by her nephew are not to be underestimated.
Nursery World, 1 June 2023
FURTHER INFORMATION
- Can Any Mother Help Me? Fifty years of friendship through a secret magazine by Jenna Bailey (Faber & Faber)
