Beatrice Merrick: Early Education's Centenary provides long view of sector's achievements and challenges

Our free Centenary Festival (16-18 May 2023) marks 100 years since a group of nursery pioneers met for 'mutual support' at a conference in 1923. This was the beginning of the Nursery School Association (NSA), which later became Early Education. A century on, we continue to connect practitioners across the UK to learn from one another, develop their professional knowledge and campaign.   

Our Centenary, prompts reflection on the achievements of the last 100 years.  Though the context has changed immeasurably, some fundamental issues remain unsolved.

The 1918 Education Act gave local authorities a mandate to establish nursery schools, but by 1923 numbers of nurseries had not increased much.  Progress in establishing more nurseries was slow, due to lack of funding and priority being given to statutory school-age provision.  An NSA resolution of 1927 expressed concern that nursery schools were 'merely an extra', not a requirement.

The Act limited admission to nursery schools to 'children who by reason of unsuitable environment require careful attention to their physical welfare'.  Today the 2-year-old entitlement for the most disadvantaged families, focuses on educational outcomes rather than prioritising health.  Children’s health has improved in many ways, with better nutrition and medical care. Health concerns have shifted from rickets and ringworm to obesity and tooth decay, but poverty and poor housing remain far too prevalent and still negatively affect children’s health and wellbeing.  Our founding President, Margaret McMillan campaigned for free school meals, arguing that nurseries should provide children with three meals a day.  A century on, only a small proportion of children qualify for a free lunch in nursery.

Margaret McMillan, wrote in 1924:

'The parliament has not made it incumbent for the Local Education Authorities to set up nursery schools… The utmost pressure on Members of Parliament belonging to all political parties will be needed to effect this important change.'

She was right about the importance of political pressure. Public opinion has influenced the role of the state in early childhood education and care (ECEC). Moves towards the state funding universal ECEC are apparent since 1998 for four-year-olds, then three-year-olds, and in Scotland and Wales also for two-year-olds. The autumn 2022 budget announcement followed intensive lobbying from an increasingly diverse coalition of voices: parents, trades unions and employer bodies, as well as early years providers.

Issues concerning the early years workforce remain remarkably persistent. An NSA Statement of Policy in 1927 argued:

'[A teacher] should be as fully educated and qualified for their work as it is possible to make them. Should we trust our bodies to an unqualified surgeon? How much less the opening minds of our children to an unqualified teacher?'

The necessary mix of staff skills and qualifications can be debated, yet most agree that current qualification requirements are a bare minimum. We should aspire for raised qualifications to improve quality for children and address inadequate practitioner remuneration and status. Those early days saw frequent reports of a lack of qualified staff, because the opportunities for training and employment were in early development. Why, with early childhood education now a universal entitlement for many children, are workforce issues still an unsolved challenge?

As Early Education enters its second century, our priorities remain to connect all engaged in ECEC for 'mutual support' and professional development, and to continue campaigning to address barriers to the availability of high quality early years provision.

• We hope you’ll join us for our Centenary Festival on Playing, Learning, Living on 16-18 May, with sessions led by practitioners and early years experts.
• Details of Centenary celebration events are at www.early-education.org.uk/centenary/#events