The Pre-school Learning Alliance (PLA) is an early-years educational

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

and a

voluntary sector In relation to public services, the voluntary sector is the realm of social activity undertaken by non-governmental, not for profit organizations. This sector is also called the third sector (in contrast to the public sector and the private sec ...

provider of

childcare Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

for young children in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Introduction

The Pre-school Learning Alliance (the Alliance) is the largest early years membership organisation and voluntary sector provider of quality affordable childcare and education in England. An educational charity, the Alliance represents the interests of over 14,000 member settings who deliver care and learning to over 800,000 families every year. The Alliance employs over 2,000 national and local staff and is supported by more than 750 volunteers every year. They directly contribute towards the care and well-being of very young children and their families in England. A registered charity, the Alliance was established by parent volunteers in 1961 and has grown significantly since then. The Alliance believes that children learn best through play and first-hand child-led experiences, involving exploration and discovery, which encourage their development and learning. Families are involved in every aspect of service planning and delivery and they encourage parental involvement through consultation, parent-led fundraising events, open days, outings and family learning.

Early days

In 1961 a reader of the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Belle Tutaev, pointed out the inadequacy of state-provided

nursery education Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is up to the equivalen ...

in the UK. She set up her own playgroup by co-operating with a neighbour. Her suggested Nursery School Campaign resulted the formation of the Pre-School Playgroups Association (PPA) on 16 July 1962. The PPA received a grant that year from the

Nuffield Foundation The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established in 1943 by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors Ltd. It aims to improve social well-being by funding research and innovation projects in education and social pol ...

, and in 1966 from the

Department of Education and Science An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, at which point 600 groups were affiliated. The ''

Plowden Report The Plowden Report is the unofficial name for the 1967 report of the Central Advisory Council For Education (England) into primary education in England. The report, entitled ''Children and their Primary Schools'', reviewed primary education in ...

'' of 1967 recognised the value of playgroups.

The PLA

A change of name to Pre-school Learning Alliance occurred in 1995, and followed organisational changes. A further more recent change of name to Early Years Alliance has since taken place.

References

Nursery World article celebrating 50 years of the Alliance in 2011 http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/nursery-world/news/1095847/analysis-pre-school-learning-alliance-happy-birthday-pla

External links

PPA timeline
{{Authority control Early childhood education in the United Kingdom Early childhood educational organizations Educational charities based in the United Kingdom Organisations based in the London Borough of Islington

Introduction

Early days

The PLA

References

Further reading

External links