Features

My working life… Nursery school head

In the final article of this series, Gabriella Jozwiak hears about life at the helm of the country’s oldest nursery school

Theresa Lane is head teacher of the Rachel McMillan Nursery School and Children’s Centre in Greenwich, London. This setting was the first ‘open-air’ nursery school, set up in England in 1914 by two sisters to help children living in slum conditions.

‘I learned about the McMillan sisters’ pioneering work when I studied my MA. When the head teacher position became available at their nursery school, I knew how special it was.

‘A nursery school is like any other school. We have qualified teachers, but our age range is from two to five. It’s more education than care-based. But we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage like all early years settings, and our learning involves play and is child-led.

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