In the slightly more affluent areas of this country, there are still the pre-prep schools attached to their older and more ilustrious big brother or sister school. The very expensive fee paid system in this country does still produce our leaders and top brass for all careers. Well most, maybe not the nuts and bolts professions. However the nursery school provsion these days is certainly a great deal better and more cohesive than in years gone by for the average family.
There was a a time some years ago, when a working mother had to rely on child minders for their pre school child care. Kindergardens were available but very often only in cities and with the premium of usually being attached to a particular school stream. The council nurseries were very often over crowded with children from problem families and this caused a few headaches for the families inbetween. Not these days. There are nursery hours available from age 9 moonths to 4 years, paid by the government. Various other age specific activities are also available and fall under the early years foundation stage which sets the standard that every early years provider must meet – thus ensuring a carefully designed blueprint to ensure children learn and develop well, from the same song sheet as it were and in healthy, safe environment. The ‘eyfs’ ensures children head towards state school in a school readiness position. They encourage parents to view education seriously and to be prepared to help their children take respnsibility for themselves to prepare them for a productive and educational school life to come.