Month: December 2018

The first pre-school institution was opened in 1816 by Robert Owen in New Lanark, Scotland.[The Hungarian countess Theresa Brunszvik followed in 1828. In 1837, Friedrich Fröbel opened one in Germany, coining the term “kindergarten

Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel or Frobel (April 1782 – 21 June 1852) was a German pedagogue, a student of Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique needs and capabilities.

He created the concept of the “kindergarten” and coined the word, which soon entered the English language as well. He also developed the educational toys known as Froebel garten

At the start of November, the DfE published its bi-annual Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers.

This survey looks at the number of the different types of childcare provider (childminder, nursery, school-based childcare, wraparound care, etc), number of childcare places, levels of qualification and fees charged, for the period 2016 to 2018.

There are some interesting statistics, but the most striking one is the fact that the number of childcare providers has dropped by 8,800 in the past two years with childminders showing the biggest fall in numbers. (If you read the full survey it’s worth noting that before and after-school care is split between the ‘group based providers’ and ‘school-based providers’ categories, which makes it more difficult to identify trends in this sector).

Read the full survey: www.gov.uk