ABSTRACT

The nearly 400 maintained nursery schools in England are schools for children aged 2–4 years. They hold a unique position in offering state-funded provision for this age group, outside of a primary school environment, and are disproportionately located in areas of disadvantage [EE. 2020. Briefing Note: The Comprehensive Spending Review and Funding for Maintained Nursery Schools. Accessed 13 October 2020. https://early-education.org.uk/sites/default/files/Briefing%20note%20-%20CSR%20and%20maintained%20nursery%20schools%27%20funding.pdf]. While there have been policy-based attempts to reduce the impact of social deprivation on educational outcomes, we argue that education policy has created a hostile environment for nursery schools. This arises from the national strategies on funding, ‘free hours’ for parents, and staff qualifications, alongside social policy. Based on interview data with staff and leaders in four nursery schools, the paper explores the views of these teachers and discusses them as policy actors within a precarious environment, faced with possible closure. We explore their agency as they navigate this hostile terrain and their ways of maintaining their sense of professional pride and commitment to social justice.

摘要

英格兰近 400 所维护的托儿所是 2-4 岁儿童的学校。他们在小学环境之外为这个年龄组提供国家资助的服务方面处于独特的地位，并且不成比例地位于劣势地区[EE。2020.简报：维护托儿所的综合支出审查和资助. 2020 年 10 月 13 日访问。https://early-education.org.uk/sites/default/files/Briefing%20note%20-%20CSR%20and%20maintained%20nursery%20schools%27%20funding.pdf]。虽然已经有基于政策的尝试来减少社会剥夺对教育成果的影响，但我们认为教育政策为托儿所创造了一个敌对的环境。这源于有关资金、家长“免费时间”和员工资格的国家战略以及社会政策。基于对四所托儿所工作人员和领导的采访数据，本文探讨了这些教师的观点，并讨论了他们作为政策参与者在不稳定的环境中面临可能关闭的情况。