Children, families and nursery provision

With reference to the ecological theory of Bronfenbrenner (1979), this paper examines the relationship between families and nursery provision at four levels of analysis as well as making some observations about longitudinal developments in the relationship. The study describes the features of families using the nurseries and illustrates how integrated nursery provision was supporting vulnerable families to cope better with their children which, in part, stemmed from the different perceptions that parents held of traditional and integrated provision. The nurseries had a stabilising effect on the families involved, parents reporting emotional and interpersonal gains for themselves and their children.