Nursery World - Breaking the cycle

Basic Skills Agency projects working with children and families are turning the tide of decline in deprived communities, says Dr Jacqui Cousins Three years ago, while working on an Action Research project project in Wales, I witnessed the neglect being experienced by the most disadvantaged families on a local estate.

Three years ago, while working on an Action Research project project in Wales, I witnessed the neglect being experienced by the most disadvantaged families on a local estate.

The church and community centre had long been boarded up against vandals, and there were syringes and beer bottles strewn about in the long grass.

When I met local families I felt there was a tangible sense of hopelessness, but among them were older women who spoke eloquently of better times in the past.

I felt their embarrassment when young people (and one angry mum) told me to 'F*** off', showed that they associated me with their school and called their teachers 'old cows'.

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