Blogs

What has prison got to do with early years?

2 mins read The Early Years Blog
Many of you will have heard me say that the early years is a highly political space. We find ourselves addressing poverty, social services, education and housing and now I find myself within the social justice space, in particular, prisons.
June O'Sullivan is chief executive of LEYF. Picture: LEYF
June O'Sullivan is chief executive of LEYF. Picture: LEYF

I became aware of the impact of prisons on small children through a chance conversation with one of my managers.

She noticed the grandparent was bringing the child to nursery much more often and they were no longer seeing mum. Nobody said anything until the manager gently broached the mum’s absence with the grandparent.  It turned out the mum was in prison and the grandparent was very embarrassed and ashamed of the situation but really struggling. The manager was highly sensitive to the grandparent’s position and figured out ways with her team to support the grandmother without her feeling judged. Like it or not, we live in a very judgy environment these days despite all the talk of inclusion, but that’s for another blog.

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's Included

  • Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month

  • Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here


More like this

Youth Work in Hertfordshire

Opportunities in districts across Hertfordshire

Trainee Social Worker

London (Central), London (Greater)