ABSTRACT
This opening chapter deliberately focuses on nursery education, not just because there is increasing discussion of provision for under-fives by politicians and the media, nor because a nursery may be the first experience for a child of formal education. It is primarily because, by the nature of their organisation, nurseries, often provide models for working in partnership both within the school and beyond. Thus, this section is presented as a microcosm for the rest of the book. Here there will be a description of a range of initiatives and patterns of working that exist within (arguably) the smallest unit in the school system. Later in the book the focus will be on separate issues in separate schools.
