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Primary Education (1959) (page numbers in brackets) Notes on the text
Part 1 Historical
Part 2 The Primary Schools
Part 3 The Fields of Learning
Part 4 The Special Problems of Wales
Index (331-334) |
Primary Education (1959)
Suggestions for the consideration of teachers and others concerned with the work of primary schools London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1959
[page 27] The nursery school is for children between the ages of two and five; the nursery class, for children from three to five. Though the nursery class is a part of an infant school and not a separate institution, as is the nursery school, what is said about the nursery school applies also, as far as conditions allow, to the nursery class. Some necessary differences are discussed later in this chapter. The lives and characteristics of children under five years old, and what a good home contributes to their education, have been described in the previous chapter, which should be read in connection with this one. (a) Nursery school and home As long as the home can give a child all he needs, there is no better place for him. But not every home can give a child all he needs between the ages of two and five. His mother may be away or occupied most of the day, and there may be no one else able fully to take her place; there may be no other children whom he can meet; there may be no space, indoors or outdoors, in which he can safely play; the home may be too overcrowded for him to have and to use the toys and materials he needs. There are some children who, earlier than most, reach the stage of wanting the company of more children than they can meet at home, and the stimulus of adults other than those they know. They outgrow their home's resources and for them the nursery school, at the right time, can supplement what the home provides. The nursery school has always accepted children from the age of two, but recent observations have drawn attention to the fact that there is no lessening of the dependence of a child on his mother round about this age, and that the tie between them is still very close. For, paradoxically, a child striving his uttermost to establish his independence needs his mother's reassurance and [page 28] support to achieve that independence. The earliest age of admission to nursery schools is, therefore, tending to rise towards three years of age. In any case, it is increasingly clear that children vary so greatly in their rate of development that the decision about the proper age for any child to enter a nursery school should always depend on his particular needs. A child's first attendance at school is made as gradual as possible. He may not, to begin with, spend the whole day there; in any case he should have visited it beforehand with his mother and stayed to watch the other children and to make the acquaintance of the teacher. Nevertheless, the change from home to school is always a time of strain for a child and for his mother; it is essential, therefore, that from the beginning the contacts between home and school should be close, genuine and visible. The mothers should always be welcome in the school, and a child should see his mother and teacher in friendly relationship. An informal atmosphere is made all the easier because the most satisfactory nursery school buildings are small, simple and homely. (b) Staff The adults in the nursery school play many parts and all should form part of a close-knit community led by the superintendent or teacher in charge. In a school of forty children the superintendent normally has an assistant and two helpers, both of whom may have taken training in the care of young children provided for girls between 16 and 18 years old; the place of one helper might be taken by two students in training. The helpers, partly because of their youth, play a valuable role in the life of the nursery school. The cook and the caretaker also usually play a part far beyond their actual duties. All become well known to the children, and so do the various people who visit the school - the tradesmen, milkman, nurse and, less frequently, the doctor. The superintendent is, of course, known to all the mothers and children, but it is usually the member of staff who is continually with a child's group who matters most to him. She is the adult of whose care he must be assured, so that he can enjoy the presence of other people, and confidently reach out to something new. A nursery teacher has to create an atmosphere which is serene and comforting. She needs patience and understanding of when to participate or interfere in the children's doings and when to [page 29] stand by or stand aside. Above all she needs a genuine affection for children and an interest which is something more than professional. She has to win the confidence both of the children and of their parents; in addition to these personal qualities, she needs the knowledge and skill which a full professional training gives. (c) Life in the nursery school The small child should find in the nursery school an atmosphere of natural affection, a feeling of space and security, an ordered and regular way of life. He should be on friendly terms with teachers and others who minister to the needs of the children, and should have at hand the material through which he may develop his powers and enlarge his experience. In a good nursery school the children show the gaiety, curiosity, friendliness, and spirit of adventure which are as desirable as they are characteristic of this period of life, and they show also increasing self-control as well as more power of self-expression. (i) Materials for children to use To achieve this kind of life in the nursery, the need for an adequate supply of suitable materials is second only to the need for teachers and assistants of quality. At one time, the material provided for children's play tended to be didactic and limited in scope. Experience and a closer linking of home and school have shown that children enjoy using the kind of materials and playthings they find in and around their homes. It is fortunate that many of the things that interest and absorb children cost only a little money, though they may require some imagination and ingenuity to procure and arrange; water, sand and clay are essential, whatever else can or cannot be had. The children need a variety of materials and tools: wood and cardboard, paper, fabric, paint, crayons, pencils and brushes, blocks of various shapes and sizes for building, and collections of miscellaneous objects. The household tools and utensils which the children play with should be durable and of a sensible size. Plenty of attractive picture books and pictures are wanted. There should be flowers, plants and pets indoors and in the garden. The storage and upkeep of so great a variety of materials is no small problem, and, especially in schools where space is scanty, calls for constant ingenuity and vigilance on the part of the staff. It is essential that all the things for the children's use should be [page 30] of such quality that they can be used safely; they should be clean and in good repair, and should be replaced when necessary. (ii) Arrangement and use of materials; the teacher's part What is provided for the children should be used wherever it is convenient, both in and out of doors, the children being able to move freely from one place to another. Indoors, alcoves and odd corners can be put to good use; sometimes furniture can be moved to provide quiet places where children can play alone if they wish. While the children play, the teachers and their assistants are not mere spectators. Frequently the teacher takes part and opens up new ideas and possibilities. She asks questions, listens to children who want to talk and encourages conversation when the opportunity arises. Now and then she reads or tells a story, or sings a song or plays to them. The choice of stories, poems or music is as important at this stage as at any other, and the art of so reading that justice is done to the author's work, and of so telling a tale that the children can enjoy it, though they are not talked down to, is an essential part of the nursery teacher's preparation for her work. She is always accessible to the children, giving them a sense of security they need, helping them in their difficulties, and ensuring that they are well cared for physically - that they are warm and comfortable and are suitably fed and clothed. At times groups of children may be taken by one of the staff to visit places outside the school, such as the park, the bus station or railway, shops, a road being repaired or a house being built. These expeditions should be short and informal, and the groups should be quite small. Between about four years of age and five, children's intellectual interests develop rapidly. They ask questions increasingly, and need satisfying answers. Many are capable of careful and shrewd observation and of intelligent discussion with an adult of their own interests and experiences. The teacher has to be ready and able to talk, to see that books with good illustrations are available, and to encourage the children to follow through enquiries they have set themselves. Her link with the newcomers, or with diffident children, is especially important. A new child may stand aside from other children for a long time before he tries to join their play. Even a child apparently used to school may temporarily seek his teacher as a refuge from some suddenly [page 31] overwhelming situation. Other difficulties may arise. Sometimes jealousies, contentions and even fights flare up. Trouble may come from competition to get a favourite toy; sometimes apparatus and material suggest games which do damage to other children or property. No situation is exactly like another. There can be no rules; only an understanding and experience of children and a quick apprehension of the situation can solve or better still anticipate each difficulty that arises. It is surprising to the outsider to see how comparatively rare serious difficulties are, and how, through imitation and gradual absorption in a regular unhurried life which they find satisfying and pleasant, nearly all children show an increasing measure of adaptability and self-control. In dealing with children's difficulties, close association with mothers and some knowledge of the children's homes is of inestimable value. Many nursery teachers are welcome visitors in the children's homes. A difficult phase of behaviour at school may be due to strain or emotional upset at home. The arrival of a new baby, anxiety somehow caught (though not understood) from parents, or some change in family habits, are amongst the many things that might contribute to some setback in a child's development. The cooperation of parents, doctor, nurse and teacher may sometimes be the only means of solving some of the difficulties. (iii) Grouping the children and arranging the day Nursery schools used to be organised so that the younger children were all in one room and the older ones in another, and each group had little to do with the other. But the obvious benefits which a child derives from living in a family of children of mixed ages, and the continual tendency of the nursery school to become more domestic and less institutional, have led to the children's being classified less strictly by age. They are now more frequently arranged in small groups containing children of different ages, with one of the staff, teacher or assistant, in general charge of each group. There is no doubt that younger children gain much in confidence and learn much by imitation from being with older ones, and older children learn much by helping the younger and by being aware of their needs. But there are problems. The youngest children occasionally need to escape from the over-stimulating atmosphere created by lively four- [page 32] year-olds, while the older children need opportunities to pursue interests with friends of their own age, uninterrupted by the younger ones. A good nursery teacher ensures that, while there is much beneficial mingling of older and younger children, the welfare of individual children is not sacrificed to that of the group. Changes are also being made in the arrangement of the day. It was at one time the custom for the children to do particular kinds of things at specific times; a common differentiation was between 'free activities' and 'directed activities'. While it is true that children like and need an ordered routine, especially in such matters as food and sleep, they differ greatly in initiative and in the length of time they can concentrate. Nursery teachers, therefore, find it helpful to have most kinds of play material available throughout the day. This not only allows fuller use of all that is provided, but avoids sudden clamping down on a child's interest in what he is doing, and unnecessary clearing away. This changed practice has to be developed by individual teachers gradually and according to the physical conditions of the room and school as a whole. (d) Some special considerations (i) Health The younger the child, the less immunity he has from infection; and the risks of infection are increased with every addition to the group. In a well-run nursery all possible precautions are taken to safeguard health. The number of children brought together is kept small and the child who, when he arrives, is obviously unwell is sent home with the person who brought him. The children should spend as much time as possible in the open air. It is essential that the highest possible standard of cleanliness should be maintained, without depriving the children of the play and activities they enjoy and need and without producing an intimidatingly antiseptic atmosphere. Fortunately many of the measures which lessen infection are pleasing to the children and contribute to their education. Most healthy children would rather be out of doors than in if they are suitably clad and fed. They are helped to get clean at appropriate times, and thus are led to form healthy attitudes and habits. Medical inspections, both by the doctor and by the nurse, are very much more frequent in nursery schools than in schools [page 33] for older normal children. Doctor and nurse are concerned in all that affects the children's health and their advice is available to the teachers whenever necessary. Careful records are kept of the progress which the children make, physically and otherwise. (ii) Food, drink and the midday meal During the morning, milk and sometimes something to eat are provided. In addition, a thirsty child should always be able to quench his thirst, and a hungry one to get something to satisfy him; for although by the time they are two most children have accepted a rhythm of ordinary mealtimes there are some who cannot always eat, or eat enough, at these regular times, and who, for a period, cannot eat with many others, and some who use up energy at a rate which requires extra sustenance. A good nursery, like a good home, caters for these idiosyncrasies without fuss and in such ways that a child gets over them without self-consciousness. Towards the end of the morning it is usual to find each child gathering his toys and material together sufficiently early to make the service of the midday meal convenient and pleasant. There are visits to the lavatory and washing of hands and faces, combing of hair and general personal preparation for the midday meal. The meal should be leisurely and as homelike as possible. It is usually taken in the room where the children live and play, and the children may take a share in setting the tables. There are many ways of serving it: but it is important that the groups should be kept very small, that the children should not be kept waiting for their food, and that, where possible, the adults should sit with the children, as in a family. The meals themselves should be carefully planned from a nutritional point of view; they should be well cooked and look attractive to the children. In the management of their food and the use of cutlery, plates and mugs, the children learn most from imitating the teacher and each other, guided by the encouragement of the adults. They gradually need less and less help and take pride in growing independence. Some allowance has to be made for children's likes and dislikes in food, and it is important never to pay too much obvious attention to what a child does not eat. More often than not the desire to be like others and try what they are enjoying overcomes [page 34] most of a child's aversions, and the teacher's encouragement will do the rest, Sometimes the difficulty is just that the food offered is unfamiliar or served in an unfamiliar way, or it may have unhappy associations. If the helpings are not too big, if there are second helpings when they are wanted, and if there is plenty of time to eat calmly, the children can the more easily form good habits. (iii) Sleep When the meal is over, the children rest. The practice, at one time universal, of settling all the children in a nursery to sleep on stretcher beds for a required period in the afternoon is being widely reconsidered. Children vary greatly in the amount of sleep they need, and the amount and quality of sleep they get at home are also very different. It would be generally agreed that all children up to five benefit from some rest after the midday meal, but for how long it should be, and whether it should invariably be taken lying on a bed, are matters open to question. The teacher should do all she can to arrange for a quiet time during which there is opportunity to sleep - out of doors if there is adequate protection from wind and weather. Some children sleep best on a stretcher bed with a blanket and some sleep so for an hour or more. As at home, a child of three or four may curl up naturally in an easy chair, if there is one, with a book or a toy, and rest, more or less asleep, for half an hour or so. Other children, again, either do not sleep at all, or if they sleep, wake up soon, and arrangements have to be made for them. In practice they become used to playing quietly indoors or in the garden, and it is fortunate that children really in need of rest generally continue asleep through noise or disturbance, provided that they are not suddenly or roughly jerked or pushed. Never, if it can be avoided, should a child be wakened suddenly. Little need be said here of the life and equipment in nursery classes, because, as far as circumstances allow, these follow the lead of the nursery schools though they are integral parts of infant schools and of the general responsibility of the Head. They do not admit children under three years of age and their hours are usually the same as those for the infants. The number [page 35] in a class is limited to thirty and the teacher is helped by an assistant of the kind found in the nursery school. There may be no separate kitchen for the nursery class, but otherwise the closer its space and amenities approach those of the nursery school the better. The visits of medical officer and nurse are usually not as frequent as in the nursery school, though there are notable exceptions to this. The children in the nursery class are sometimes brought there by older brothers and sisters in the same school, an arrangement which, though convenient, may prevent the close contact with the mothers which the nursery school has. Difficulties, when they arise, are usually due to the association of these young children with so many older and bigger ones, and to the fact that the nursery is part of a large building. The particular difficulty of providing a midday meal in circumstances suitable for the children is overcome when the meal is taken in the nursery itself. Where the nursery classroom and amenities are good, where outdoor space or a garden specially reserved for these children is immediately available, where the Head understands and allows for their needs in all the general arrangements, and especially where the nursery class teacher has close contact with the parents, the children lead a life very like that of the nursery school. Where space and amenities adequate in amount or kind are not available for under-fives, or where teachers of the right quality and training cannot be found, it is questionable whether these young children ought to be admitted at all. It is still necessary to draw attention, as was done in the last edition of the Handbook of Suggestions,** to the unsatisfactory life and education of children under five in schools where no special provision is made for them. In some areas children of four and even younger are so admitted, though the wisdom of doing so is much to be doubted, especially when, as happens in *'Under five' does not include the children who are admitted, as many are, at the beginning of the term in which they become five.
**See also Ministry of Education Circular 313. [page 36] rural areas, they form so small a group that they have to be taught in the same class as children of five, six or seven. A good teacher does what she can to provide at least some of the elements of a normal nursery school regime. Nursery education has slowly changed throughout the years. What has been described is typical of the practice in nursery schools and classes today, but much is still being learnt about how to care for young children in groups so that the needs of individuals are met and undue strains are avoided. It is becoming increasingly certain that the size of the school or class which the children join should be small, and also that for some children of two, three or even four, a whole day spent away from home and mother is too long. There are already some interesting experiments in nurseries which are attended by the children for only half a day, different groups coming in the morning and the afternoon. Here there is no midday meal, and adjustments in the day's programme are of course necessary. There are also some nursery schools where some of the children stay all day while others attend for either mornings or afternoons. The advantages of such arrangements are obvious, as well as the aspects which may cause difficulty or diminish the effects of good nursery education. The principles of the care of young children remain the same, but in the years ahead we may expect to see an extension of the more flexible arrangements described. Since children are so different one from another, and since the customs of life generally change under economic and other influences, nursery education, as research and experience teach more about children, should respond to what is properly asked of it. 
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