The education and care of children outside the home in nurseries

This paper deals with the education and care of children outside the home during the first three years of life. The focus is on the effects of this on the child’s relationship with its primary caregiver. Starting with an overview of the debate on non-domicile education and care for children in their first three years of life, chapters follow on the transition from family to non-family education and care, the influence of this on child development, the basics of attachment theory and the importance of the attachment relationship between the child and its primary caregiver for child development. Furthermore, factors that hinder the separation of the child from its primary caregiver and the effects of this are discussed. Finally, there are explanations of how education and care can work in a non-domestic context.