The McMillan Sisters, the Roots of the Open-Air Nursery, and Breaking the Cycle of Poverty

• In Event: 53.035 - Problematizing Early Childhood Education Since the 19th Century

Abstract

The McMillan sisters created health and dental clinics for people living in deprivation in Yorkshire and East and South East London, campaigned for the 1906 Provision of School Meals Act, and created night camps for deprived children in Deptford in 1908. In March 1914, the Nursery opened for the youngest children living in the tenements of Deptford. Deptford, South East London experienced extreme deprivation with a shortage of space, clean and affordable housing and reasonably well-paid jobs (Bradburn, 1976). Children were living in squalor leading them to experience health issues and social deprivation. The nursery was designed to offer these children a chance to experience clean clothing, healthy food and have space to learn in fresh air.

Author

• Betty J. Liebovich, University of London - Goldsmiths