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Preschools in United Kingdom (UK) |
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History of Preschools or Early Child Education in United Kingdom (UK)
It is believed that the first preschool was established in
United Kingdom in 1816 by Robert Owen for a philanthropic cause. The preschool was more of a childcare center wherein children of cotton mill workers, aged between one and six years) were taken care of when parents worked in the mills.
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Owen used free and unstructured play in educating young children. Informal teaching was the rule and Owen did all his teachings through informal, physical methods. His concept led to the founding of many early childhood care centers in Britain.
Concepts behind UK preschools
There are many schools of thoughts attached to preschools in United Kingdom (UK). In fact, English preschools lay a lot of stress on free play and an environment where the children can explore, feel and learn. The preschools have this strong belief that play is indeed the work of the child and it is through play that he can learn the best. This concept basically focuses on developing a child's personality by giving the child a free hand, without imposing any sort of restrictions. Then there is another section who believes that preschools should focus more on subjects, they follow a subject-oriented concept.
Current scenario of Preschools in United Kingdom (UK)
The government has been taking keen interest in developing the standards of the children studying in preschools in UK. And to achieve this, a large number of learning goals have been set for the children to achieve. Recently, the Childcare Bill received the Royal Assent and has become the Childcare Act which ensures all children under five will have access to high quality early learning and care and better access to early childhood services.
Standards of UK Preschools
Early education providers, such as nurseries, playgroups are registered and inspected by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). All such organisations have to meet a set of 14 national standards for childcare. Nursery schools and nursery and reception classes in primary schools are also inspected by Ofsted. Many providers of early education are also accredited through a quality assurance (QA) scheme. QA schemes will only accredit providers if they meet certain standards, and are committed to keeping those standards by monitoring their work. For more information, you can click here-Directgov.com
Choosing Preschools in UK
When looking for early education centers in UK, a parent can go ahead and check if the preschools are registered to provide early education and also read a copy of their latest inspection report. You can also find out if they belong to the above mentioned QA scheme. Last but not the least, it is always worth taking other parents' opinion about the preschool they are sending their children to.
In order to help you search for preschools in United Kingdom, we have tried to list the preschools in England, playgroups in Scotland, preps and nurseries in Wales; and early education care centers in Northern Ireland. We have tried our best to provide correct and updated details of these preschools, playgroups and daycare centers in UK, but if you encounter any discrepancy in the details, please do write to us about it. We would welcome any kind of feedback that will help improve the quality of this site, a site that strives to provide the best details on preschools, playgroups and daycare centers in UK.
Please click on the links below to access the details of preschools in United Kingdom (UK)-
Preschools in Avon
Kindergarten Bedfordshire
Kindergarten Berkshire
Preschools in Borders
Preschools in Buckinghamshire
Kindergarten Channel Islands
Elementary Schools Cheshire
Elementary Schools Cleveland
Preschools in Clwyd
Kindergarten Codurham
Preschools in Co.Down
Preschools in Cornwall
Preschools in Derbyshire
Preschools in Devon
Preschools in Dorset
Preschools in Dyfed
Preschools in Eire
Preschools in Essex
Preschools in Gloucestershire
Preschools in Hampshire
Preschools in Hereford & Worcester
Preschools in Hertfordshire
Preschools in Humberside
Preschools in Kent
Preschools in Lancashire
Preschools in Leicestershire
Preschools in Lincolnshire
Preschools in London
Preschools in Manchester
Preschools in Merseyside
Preschools in Middlesex
Preschools in Norfolk
Preschools in Northamptonshire
Preschools in North Yorkshire
Preschools in Nottinghamshire
Preschools in Oxfordshire
Preschools in Shropshire
Preschools in Somerset
Preschools in South Yorkshire
Preschools in Staffordshire
Preschools in Suffolk
Preschools in Surrey
Preschools in Sussex
Preschools in Tayside
Preschools in Tyne & Wear
Preschools in Warwickshire
Preschools in West Midlands
Preschools in West Sussex
Preschools in West Yorkshire
Preschools in Wiltshire
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