A frontline service? Nursery Schools as local community hubs in an era of austerity

Abstract

Nursery Schools in the UK have been described as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of early years provision because of the quality of education and a wide range of other support services that they provide, particularly for children from socio-economically disadvantaged families and those with complex special educational needs (SEN). In this paper, we explore the role of Nursery Schools in the local community, arguing that they have been re/constructed as a frontline service in the context of austerity policies enacted in England over the past decade. The data presented in support of this argument arise from detailed interviews with 17 staff based in four Nursery Schools. Our data lead us to argue that, in the current context of austerity and cuts to a range of local services, Nursery Schools are filling welfare gaps for families by providing clothing, trips and food voucher advice to families. They are also supporting increasing numbers of SEN children and are described as a first point of contact with state-run services by many, especially minority ethnic and working-class families. We conclude by arguing that Nursery Schools’ funding must be protected so that they can continue to provide support to some of the most vulnerable children and their families in England.

Empowerment and mobility of women from domestic to public spaces in improving family welfare

“…Subject targets were determined purposively, namely, women who are vulnerable to socio-economic problems and who are already empowered. The object of research in this study is the socio-economic conditions of women who are vulnerable to socio-economic conditions before and after empowerment in increasing welfare; supporting and inhibiting factors for socio-economically vulnerable women in developing a productive economy (Hoskins et al 2021). Data collection techniques used interviews, this technique used interview guidelines to reveal the socio-economic conditions of socio-economic vulnerable women, strategies to maintain the socio-economic life of the family, and the contribution of socio-economic vulnerable women in improving family welfare.…”

‘New normal’ or continued ‘social distancing’? Preschool practitioners’ responses to poverty across post-lockdown England and the USA

“…Consequently, it is claimed ‘social consciousness’ as a quality marker has become more prevalent across ECEC settings in the US as they are said to be increasingly addressing social problems and the ‘particularities of inequity’ while performing a key social role (Hernández, 2022: 797). Similarly, in England, ECEC settings were before COVID being identified as ‘community hubs’ and ‘front-line services’ (Hoskins et al, 2021) as they were increasingly being asked to step in and stop families in poverty falling through the cracks in the disintegrating welfare state ( Early Education , 2020: ONLINE). Austerity and closure of specialist services in preschool designed to work with disadvantaged families also added to pressure on more general ECEC provision (e.g.…”

Policy actors in a hostile environment: the views of staff in maintained nursery schools in England

“…The theoretical framing of policy enactment discussed above informed the analysis of the data discussed here. Codes were drawn from the research questions but also arose out of detailed analysis of the research data, leading to key areas of focus which are detailed here and in other publications (Hoskins, Bradbury, and Fogarty 2021).…”