Nursery World - Settings provide vital support to disadvantaged and vulnerable children

Early years settings are providing invaluable extra support for disadvantaged and vulnerable children during the lockdown, as shown in the responses of three London nurseries. Caroline Vollans reports

Before the 'new normal': a child arrives at Sheringham Nursery School in Newham, east London

It has been clear during the last few months that a global health crisis accentuates the huge divisions in society. As well as the alarming number of deaths from Covid-19 there are a vast number of side-effects prevalent among the most disadvantaged in our societies. Professor Becky Francis, the EEF’s chief executive states, ‘The combination of economic hardship and school closures caused by this pandemic will have a potentially devastating impact on the poorest children and young people in our society. It’s vital, then, that we do all we can to alleviate this impact.’

In The Sutton Trust’s Social Mobility and COVID-19 report, key points are made for the early years – the main one being that having providers temporarily closed is likely to have the biggest impact on disadvantaged communities. It notes: ‘Making sure parents from all backgrounds have the right support, which is helpful but not prescriptive (given the challenges many families are facing during this time), could help to reduce the impact of differences in the home learning environment between children from different backgrounds.’

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