Nursery School

When my own children were young, parents were still being told that nursery school was good for children.

My wife and I visited the nursery school at the end of our road. It was well run, in a private house, but we still could not believe the noise and the sense of isolation that surrounded many of the children that were there.

Later, our children attended a Steiner nursery, which one of us always attended with them. It had its good points but it tended to involve all the parents playing with their own children for most of the time.

I came to doubt the need of very young children to socialise outside their immediate family.
Nursery schools are most successful when they emulate the conditions  found in the home and a good home will always be better than a good nursery school.

Academic successes claimed by nursery schools should be treated with caution. Nursery schools can pre-empt the early school curriculum by teaching very young children to read. This may help the child to get ahead in the early years of school but may still not be in their long-term best interests.

Useful links:
Steiner and Waldorf Education UK- comprehensive site with information about all the recognised Steiner initiatives in the UK and around the world.

Montessori Centre International  - information about Montessori nursery schools in the UK.

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