ABSTRACT
Lillian de Lissa Nursery School, part of Lillian de Lissa and Belgravia Children’s Centre, is close to Birmingham city centre and has a transient population made up of families from many cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Eighty-eight per cent of our children are from an ethnic minority background, including several newly arrived families; over 40 per cent of children have English as an additional language and come from a range of diverse backgrounds using up to 20 different languages. In order for all children to be successful it is vital that we are in tune with our children and families many of whom have pressing economic needs and difficulties in managing everyday life. The nursery is able to draw on the rich mix of cultural resources from both immigrant and more established families which the children bring with them to school.
