Editorial Note

On July 18 1988, the Centre celebrated the 30th Birthday of the Nursery School. It was a well-attended and festive occasion and a source of pride to all of those involved in the Nursery over the years. We are publishing the formal papers from these celebrations in order to record the innovative thought that went into the planning of the Nursery School as well as to give our readers an up-to-date account of its present work and some indication of future directions.

The day began with a formal session chaired by Rose Edgcumbe, a former consultant psychotherapist to the Nursery. Hansi Kennedy opened the proceedings with some remarks concerning the Nursery's pre-history, which she traced to the Jackson Nursery in Vienna and the Hampstead War Nurseries. Manna Friedmann and Nancy Brenner, who have been the Nursery School's only two teachers since its inception, then gave their presentations. Manna Friedmann described the intricate plans for setting up the Nursery School, as well as its development over its first two decades, whilst Nancy Brenner spoke of continuities and changes that have occurred over the past ten years, in addition to offering some thoughts about its future.

Marie Zaphiriou-Woods, the present consultant psychotherapist to the Nursery, described the various interventions used in dealing with developmental problems. These range from parent guidance, to adjustments in handling children within the Nursery arising from observational study of the strengths and weaknesses of their developing personalities, to full psychoanalytic treatment where necessary. Peter Wilson, another of the Nursery's past consultants, poignantly addressed the limitations of a combined psychotherapeutic and educational intervention with reference to a case in which there was an intractable family disturbance in the child's background.

The morning's formal proceedings were followed by a celebratory lunch in the Nursery and the day concluded with a premiere showing of a video film on the s