The McMillan Sisters, The Roots of the Open-Nursery, and Breaking the Cycle of Poverty

Betty Liebovich

doi:10.17583/hse.2018.2925

Abstract

This article explores the impetus and motivation for the McMillan sisters, Christian Socialists committed to creating change for the working class in England, to create an innovative and enduring ideal of nursery education through the open-air nursery. Influenced by their membership in the Fabian Society and the Independent Labour Party, they created health and dental clinics for people living in deprivation in Yorkshire and East and South East London, England, campaigned for the 1906 Provision of School Meals Act, and created night camps for deprived children in Deptford in 1908.The night camps were the inspiration for educating young children and in March 1914, the open-air nursery opened for the youngest children living in the tenements of Deptford.Using archival methods, the conclusion is reached that the McMillan sisters, and Margaret specifically, worked tirelessly to create social change through the open-air nursery serving the deprived surrounding community. By modelling good practice, both educationally and hygienically, they hoped to make a difference in the lives of families stuck in a cycle of poverty. The enduring work and ideas formulated in this nursery has informed many initiatives focused upon reducing social disadvantage, to include the UK framework ‘Every Child Matters’.

Highlights

This article explores the impetus and motivation for the McMillan sisters, Christian Socialists committed to creating change for the working class in England, to create an innovative and enduring ideal of nursery education through the open-air nursery
Influenced by their membership in the Fabian Society and the Independent Labour Party, they created health and dental clinics for people living in deprivation in Yorkshire and East and South East London, England, campaigned for the 1906 Provision of School Meals Act, and created night camps for deprived children in Deptford in 1908.The night camps were the inspiration for educating young children and in March 1914, the open-air nursery opened for the youngest children living in the tenements of Deptford
In order to understand the roots of the Rachel McMillan Nursery and the impetus for the McMillan sisters to establish this revolutionary ideal for social change in the impoverished area of Deptford, archival material was sought that offers artefacts about the sisters, their networks, the nursery, families and children who took advantage of the nursery’s services and any other information that would assist in painting a picture of who these women were and what they accomplished

Summary

80 Liebovich – The McMillan sisters

Margaret and Rachel were born in Westchester County, New York, USA and lived there until they were 5 and 6 years old. 89), and believing children require fresh air, nutritious food and good hygiene, Margaret and Rachel created the nursery to support the young children and families living in squalor and deprivation in Deptford through education, nutrition and health and hygiene In light of these convictions: Margaret McMillan was keen to introduce and utilise new educational methods for the teaching of the pre-school children who attended the Baby Camp. She had made extensive trips abroad to observe the experimental work of other educationalists and had extensively studies the work and writings of Fredrich Froebel and Edouard Seguin among others. She had come to believe that children should be nurtured and encouraged with love and kindness to think for themselves and to learn through the freedom of play. (McMillan Legacy Group, 1999, p. 28)

Methodology

Conclusion