Playgroups – a dying breed?

After four years as a primary school teacher, I made a move to join the local community playgroup, Barbican Playgroup, based in the City of London. I was amazed by the huge differences between the different types of early years settings.

The Barbican Playgroup has a much smaller number of children and staff than that of the average nursery school or children’s centre. Nearly all aspects of its running and maintenance fall to the two full-time members of staff. This not only includes the planning and resource orders that are expected in these roles, but also the admissions and cleaning, which surprised me, having had experience in places where people are employed to carry out these tasks.