Summary In the past 20 years a substantial literature has accumulated on intervention with deprived preschool children. The unrealistically high hopes of the 1960s have largely been replaced by a more sober analysis of the relevant factors in social disadvantage. One of the more recent developments has been an approach through the skills and attitudes of those adults most concerned with under‐fives, including the staff of pre‐school centres and parents. In Britain the available research has been focussed almost exclusively on nursery schools, neglecting the situation of day nurseries, many of whom cater to deprived inner‐city areas. The present research was an attempt to explore the possibilities and monitor the problems of working with the trained staff of six London day nurseries. Three programmes were introduced ‐‐ a developmental assessment form, a series of workshops on coping with behaviour problems and workshops on language development. The project is discussed in terms of the particular difficulti...