Training the “Child Care Reserve”, National Council for Maternity and Child Welfare, 117 Piccadilly, Westminster, Greater London

A woman using a model to practise how to carry a baby while another woman places a pillow in a cot ready to put the baby to bed. Ernest Bevin’s scheme for providing nurseries in munition factories, so the children of munition workers could be cared for while their parents were at work resulted in creation of free courses on child care. Short training courses for the Child Care Reserve consisted of twelve lectures and demonstrations on “child management”, lasting two weeks. Candidates, who could be aged 18-55, then had to pass an examination and complete 50 practical hours of work in an institution. The short training courses did not provide qualifications for a future career, nor was the course a guarantee of employment. The Child Care Reserve was established to be called upon in the event of widespread air-raid damage, and to work in nurseries connected with munitions factories.

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