Shrinking social spaces: The role of nurseries as social infrastructure and brokers of support in times of crisis

Abstract

AbstractCOVID‐19 produced temporary closures and changes to organisational practices in nurseries, which shrank social spaces and presented challenges in providing and accessing parental support. Limited attention has been paid in early childhood literature to the role of nurseries. We explored how one nursery mediated the impact of the pandemic on mothers. Our London case study showed that mothers valued it as social infrastructure and as a broker of support networks. Our findings contribute to conceptual understandings and have important implications for the recognition of the role of nurseries in providing supportive spaces in times of economic and public health crises.