Children at play / Department of the Environment.

  • Great Britain. Department of the Environment.
Date:
1973
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Children at play / Department of the Environment. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    play facilities 1. Local authorities have a wide variety of powers to provide facilities for play. For example Section 53 of the Education Act 1944°° enables local education authorities to provide facilities for recreation, including play centres, and powers under Section 22 of the National Health Service Act 19467°, Section 65 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 19687!, Section 46 of the Children’s Act 194877, and Section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 196373, enable social services committees to provide suitable day care and play facilities either through their own resources or by giving assistance to voluntary organisations. Powers under the Children and Young Persons Act 19697* enable social services committees to encourage the development of play and leisure time facilities. Under Section 4 of the Physical Train- ing and Recreation Act 19377* local authorities may provide and equip playing fields and buildings for recreational purposes and provide leaders so that effective use may be made of facilities. The use of these powers is, however, for them to decide having regard to other demands on their resources. In Wales, central govern- mental responsibility is dealt with by the Welsh Office. A For the under-fives Organisation 2. Responsibility for the under-fives at central government level is divided between the Department of Education and Science and the Department of Health and Social Security apart from Wales where it is dealt with by the Welsh Office. At local government level local education authorities and local authority social services committees share it. The Department of Education and Science and local education authorities are responsible for maintained nursery schools and classes. The Department of Health and Social Security and social services committees of local authorities are responsible for the day care of under-fives and for legislation governing the registration and supervision of child-minders and private nursery groups. Examples 3. Nursery schools and nursery classes Nursery schools and nursery classes attached to primary schools are maintained by local education authorities and are usually staffed by qualified teachers with the help of nursery assistants. The emphasis is on education and a gradual introduction to primary school. Educa- tion in these schools and classes is provided free of charge. They cater for children aged three and four, with a handful of two- year-olds. Many nursery schools and classes have part-time sessions, and at present about two-thirds of the children attend full-time and one-third part-time, with a group in the morning and another in the afternoon. Because of the limited provision of nursery education, which is available for about 6% of the com- bined three and four-year-old age groups, priority is often given to children referred by social workers and doctors, and, in the case of those nursery classes specially established to enable more married women to return to teaching, to their children. 4. Day nurseries Day nurseries are provided by local authority social services departments and are staffed mainly by trained nursery nurses. They provide a day care service for children from six weeks to five years-of-age whose mothers are unable to care for them or, because of adverse social conditions, need to go out 104 to work. They are normally open for 10 or 11 hours on five days a week for 50 or 52 weeks of the year. Charges are assessed on the ability to pay. Standards of care and accommodation, equip- ment and staffing have been laid down by the Department of Education and Science. 5. Part-time nursery groups Some local authority social services departments also run part-time nursery groups for the under-fives from socially deprived backgrounds to provide them with oppor- tunities for imaginative and constructive play, and relief from continuous care by parents where this is thought to be essential to family welfare. The staff have suitable training. Hours of opening vary according to need. Minimum space standards have been recommended by the Department of Education and Science. 6. Premises registered under the Nurseries and Child-Minders Regulation Act 19487° Local authority social services depart- ments have a duty under this Act* to register premises in their area where children are received to be looked after for two hours or more. This includes the registration of premises used as private day nurseries, private nursery schools and playgroups. The authorities have power to impose requirements in respect of, quantity and standards of accommodation, equipment, staffing and care, on which the Department of Education and Science has suggested standards to local authorities. The minimum recom- mended space standards are the same as for local authority premises. The nursery groups are run by individual and private and voluntary organisations and provide for full-day and part- day facilities in a variety of ways: (a) PRIVATE NURSERY SCHOOLS Private nursery schools for children under five are not the responsibility of the Department of Education and Science, but are registrable under the Nurseries and Child-Minders Regulations. Some offer facilities similar to those in main- tained nursery schools and may be staffed by trained teachers. Fees for admission are often high, which inevitably means that they cater mainly for children from a relatively prosperous background. (b) PRIVATE NURSERIES Private day nurseries vary in size and purpose. Some are run as small business concerns while others are organised by voluntary bodies and care mainly for socially deprived children. They may provide facilities comparable to those of local authority day nurseries and are usually open for longer hours and for more weeks of the year than private nursery schools; they are, therefore, attended by children of working mothers. Factories, hospitals and other institutions provide day nurseries where they consider there is a need. (Cc) PLAYGROUPS Playgroups cater for children between the ages of two and five and usually meet for two to three hours at a time. Most playgroups provide a service all the year round apart from weekends and public holidays. Some groups open daily, *As amended by Section 60 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 19687!