Not yet five / issued by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health.

Date:
1946
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Not yet five / issued by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    enough space, light and air; and ample opportunities for playing out-of-doors. (2) It should be in as convenient a place as possible so that mothers will not find it too difficult to bring their children to and fro. (3) The premises must be suitably warmed ; water must be laid on; there must be drainage for the lavatories, and means of cooking meals for the children and staff. Next there is the equipment : this will be provided by the Authority responsible for setting up the Nursery. After the essentials have been provided, however, much may still be done to make the Nursery more home-like and attractive, so that children who enter rather anxiously on the first day can recognise at once that someone has understood what children like. How can this be done? To begin with, it will make all the difference if there are light and colour in the Nursery ; toys painted in bright colours, perhaps some gay little curtains in front of the shelves and attractive-looking flowers, pictures, books, crockery. Then in the planning of the Nursery the height and reach of the children must influence the arrangements, and the Authority will see that there are shelves and cupboards which the children can reach ; basins and towels at the right height ; mirrors they can see themselves in ; chairs and stools they can sit on easily ; handles they can turn, and boxes they can carry. There will be proper places for storing big toys and small toys, dolls, chalks, paints, a bath for water play, and so on. Now for the staff. There are, generally speaking, several groups of people who are needed to look after young children in Nurseries. There are specially trained Nursery Teachers, Nursery Nurses, or Wardens who have taken courses of training. There are also assistants and helpers who work under the guidance of the more expert members of the staff. There are cooks, gardeners, and cleaners who all make an important contribution. Finally, there are doctors, dieticians and state registered nurses who act as expert advisers. All those who have the well-being of young children at heart are agreed on one important thing, that it is as bad to care only for the body and neglect the mind as it is to care only for the mind and neglect the body. The child who is scrupulously clean but desperately unhappy is not being helped to grow into a useful member of the community ; the child who is bright and intelligent and is physically unhealthy or has bad habits may become an unsatisfactory citizen later on. This is why it is most important to see that the staff of the Nursery can, between them, look after all sides of the children’s welfare. They must each respect the work of the other ; it is ideal when they all study all sides of the work of the Nursery and think of it as one complete job.
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