Nursery World - Seeing the whole child

By Nigel Williams, Northern Ireland commissioner for children There is increasing evidence that it is nursery schools who are facing some of the most difficult problems in coping with challenging behaviour from children aged three and four. Certainly by primary school, many teachers can predict those children who are most likely to get into trouble as they grow older. It is essential that we focus resources on identifying and helping young people at risk before they get into trouble.

There is increasing evidence that it is nursery schools who are facing some of the most difficult problems in coping with challenging behaviour from children aged three and four. Certainly by primary school, many teachers can predict those children who are most likely to get into trouble as they grow older. It is essential that we focus resources on identifying and helping young people at risk before they get into trouble.

Now I know that this point does cause problems for Government funding streams. While the Criminal Justice Division in the Northern Ireland Office would love to see the number of young people involved in crime drastically reduced, even if it was demonstrated that intervening in nursery schools helped they couldn't devote resources to that. That is where overarching children's strategies are so important, which recognise the links between different aspects of children's lives and ensure that money is spent on prevention and early intervention.

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