Old Church Nursery Since 1930

At the end of the First World War, some form of elementary schooling was compulsory for all children and the school leaving age was raised to 14. Yet a need for nursery places for younger children also emerged, as large numbers of women had undertaken work in factories rather than within the home during wartime, and patterns of family life had changed. At the same time, elementary school teachers and pediatricians were noticing that health problems in children had set in before they even arrived at infant school. Nursery education, it was hoped, would ensure children were clean, nourished and healthy in the early years, in the hope of averting serious illness later on.

The 1918 Education Act permitted, but did not compel, Local Education Authorities to provide or fund nursery schools. The 1920s and early 1930s saw many authorities develop plans for nursery schools some of which bore fruit, although others were abandoned following the economic crisis of 1931.

In 1928, the London County Council resolved to build two experimental detached nurseries of 150 places each on two Tower Hamlets sites in their possession, the result was Columbia Market Nursery School and Old Church Nursery School. Both schools were opened on the same day in August 1930.

The choice of location was unsurprising; the poverty of the area meant that many East End mothers worked and infant health was poor. The first head-teacher estimated that of the 88 children on the opening roll, a third had rickets, a third had problematic tonsils or adenoids, and around 80 percent were inadequately nourished. The schools' experimental purpose meant that it received many visitors, over 100 in a few months in spring 1931, including students from training colleges and educationalists from overseas.
The single-storey school consisted of two large and two small classrooms; drying, lavatory and bathing rooms; medical inspection room; kitchen, staff rooms and stores with the rooms around a central courtyard.

Source: www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk