Who is Dr Jools Page?
Dr Jools Page is a senior lecturer in early years at the University of Brighton, previously working as a lecturer at the University of Sheffield. Having worked in many positions throughout the sector involving implementing policy into practice before her academic career, Jools has dedicated her working life to conducting research and developing practice for working with children and their families, aged birth to three.
The concept of love
The concept of love is one we usually associate with family, close friends, our personal sphere. But, when working in a caring environment, where nurture and attachment is synonymous with professionalism, it raises interesting questions about our capacity to ‘love’ in a professional, permissible way. Jools Page’s work grapples with the tensions between love and care in early education, examining the professional principles of effective practice, underpinned by foundations in attachment and care. Coining the term ‘Professional Love ©’, Page’s work explores the complexities of care and genuine, intimate, mutual relationships between early education and care professionals and the infants in the context of formal out-of-home care provisions within England. Page’s theorising of ‘Professional Love©’ highlights the essential nature of caring, intimate relationships within the early years that allow children to thrive in an emotionally-secure environment to feel safe and secure, develop emotional literacy and feel valued as an individual and part of wider society, whilst also contemplating the tensions surrounding parent and carer perceptions, opinions of professionalism, and apprehension around supervision and safeguarding.
Working with under threes
Working with infants aged birth to three requires highly skilled practitioners who are able to consider the dependency of that child upon the adult, emphasising the essential need for high-quality care throughout the environment and experiences of the provision. The professional working with under threes in a formal early education and care provision is constantly met with tensions surrounding their professional conduct and priorities in practice that do not always marry up to the policies in place to govern and support their role. Jools highlights that, “in the context of raising quality, caring is frequently diluted in favour of education,” (Page, 2017, p.4) which makes it particularly challenging for professionals to consider the caring aspects of their role and responsibilities. Page’s work contributes to this ongoing conversation around education and the role of care, for caring’s sake, through a discourse of professional love© and ethical care.
The role of play in Froebel’s theory
Play is not only one of the Froebelian principles, but it is also an underpinning factor to highlight here as Froebel emphasised that play is the main way in which children learn, by constructing their understanding of the world through direct experiences (Froebel Trust, 2023). Froebel’s belief in learning through direct experiences is also supported by his focus on hands-on and active play, as evidenced by his gifts and occupations.
Tina Bruce, an influential and award-winning Froebelian educator, explains that play is all about wallowing in ideas, feelings and relationships, and the ‘prowess of the physical body’ (Froebel Trust, 2023). This fits in so well with a number of the Froebelian principles and highlights both the active nature of play and just how deep and complex it is.
Professional Love©: what does it mean?
‘Love’ can be defined in many different ways and can be considered as dynamic and constantly evolving. It is therefore something that cannot be defined by a specific context or lens, and should instead be embraced for its complexities, forming from a kaleidoscope of viewpoints and intertwined with discussions of care and relationships within the professional early years sphere. Page’s development of ‘Professional Love©’ is one that she describes to be a:
“complex construction because there are many instances when aspects of love, intimacy and care are overlapping and cannot be compartmentalised, which is why it is difficult to distinguish these – one from another – within actual professional early years practices in any tangible way.”
(Page, 2018, p.126).
So, when thinking about ‘Professional Love©’, there is no fixed definition for what this might mean to the professional or how they use the theory to meet the individual needs of each child. ‘Professional Love©’ is all about recognising the professional craft of care as a pedagogical thread for working with the youngest children in our early education and care settings. Through the lens of ‘Professional Love©’, we can consider caring routines, intimate connections, and loving relationships between children and their out-of-home caregivers to be valid in their own professional context: beyond their necessary function as part of routine (such as a nappy change, for example) or as a facilitating factor of curriculum-shaped learning and development.
Permission to love
In a 2011 research article, Page contemplated the question “Do mothers want professional carers to ‘love’ their babies?”, exploring the influence of attachment theory upon professionalism, ‘love’ and ‘care’, and interrogating the decision-making of mothers returning to employment. Page sought to understand the attitudes of mothers who used formal early education and care provision, where professionals would be developing loving and nurturing care-based relationships with their young children. Amongst a variety of opinions, a conclusion was drawn that the concept of ‘love’ is not easily defined and difficult to communicate in the context of early education and care, yet remained an important consideration for the decision-making process for mothers returning to paid employment. The concept of ‘Professional Love©’ aligned with the mothers’ desire for adults involved in this out-of-home caregiving to ‘love’ their children, even if this wasn’t explicitly named as love. The theory enlightens avenues for conversations around the importance of loving babies and recognising the value of reciprocal love within early education and care. As Page succinctly concludes, giving practitioners “permission to love them [children], but not too much,” (Page, 2011, p. 319).
Scrutiny and safeguarding
Page’s theorising of ‘love’ and ‘intimacy’ encompasses some of the tensions and apprehensions of safeguarding, where confident implementation of ‘Professional Love©’ is met with an “increased suspicion and even fear amongst early years professionals in England about how to interpret policies and procedures in relation to appropriately enacting loving, intimate and caring relations,” (Page, 2017, p.389). It is important to consider this challenge when thinking about how ‘Professional Love©’ is considered within policy and practice, where the individual is often left to negotiate for themselves what constitutes ‘excessive’ attention in accordance with safeguarding polices, and what is an appropriate attention to meet the unique needs of the child, in line with the statutory framework’s emphasis on building relationships for children, families, and professionals to thrive. Birth to Five Matters, a non-statutory guidance for supporting effective practice in early years education and care in England, highlights that, whilst a “joyful and privileged position” to be able to engage in Professional Love© opportunities and establish genuine and loving relationships with young children, it is also one that comes with risks of “specific and potentially heavy demands” that highlight the importance of effective supervisions to support professionals too (Early Years Coalition, 2021). In acknowledging the unique position of the key worker through the pivotal pedagogy of love, the Birth to Five Matters guidance works to also highlight a stark absence of a substantial framework for ‘Professional Love©’ within statutory policy, which, combined with emotive national headlines surrounding child abuse in education and care, and the power imbalance between young children and adults contribute to a “hotbed for professional and parental caution, anxiety and fear” for implementing loving practices throughout early education and care (Page, 2018a, p. 131).
Page’s work also draws important attention to the emotional labour involved in ‘caring’ and ‘loving’ young children, and the safeguarding of professionals’ wellbeing when working with young children, as the burden is placed directly upon the individual professional not only to negotiate safeguarding and scrutiny surrounding ‘loving pedagogy’ but also the emotional toll of professional, reciprocal love. Her discussions touch upon the devaluing of the pedagogy of love and professionalism of working with infants, too.
The influence of attachment theory
Within her work developing the theory of ‘Professional Love©’, Page draws upon the influence of Attachment Theory, originally developed by John Bowlby, to recognise the importance of primary caregiving and its influence in contemporary early years policy in the form of the ‘key person approach’. Bowlby’s work built upon the notion that children thrive in building strong attachments with their primary caregiver and, in turn, the development of a healthy ‘internal working model’ to feel safe and assured that their needs will be met in unpredictable and new situations, from which they can learn and grow. However, the theory has been heavily criticised for its Western approach that neglects to consider alternative community-based ways of raising children, where multiple caregivers are significant influences in children’s lives and multiple caregivers build strong, loving relationships with these young children. As such, children do not live in isolation or with the influence of one adult/caregiver and this raises interesting questions regarding the role of other adults outside of the immediate family unit who take on a significant caring responsibility. Today, this can be suggested to highlight the significance of the love and care of professionals within the context of early education and care settings. Attachment theory has its part to play in explaining why these relationships and core attachments through loving and nurturing bonds are critical to healthy development, but later critiques and developments of the theory contribute towards legitimising ‘Professional Love©’ and discourses of care outside of the home, too.
Key takeaways
- Page argues that the concept of ‘Professional Love©’ is an “integral, essential pedagogical concept both in early years settings and in training and education for them,” (Page, 2018b, p.123).
- It’s important to consider the role and positionality of the child, professional, and parents/carers within these dynamics of ‘Professional Love©’, something Page explores in greater detail as the ‘Triangle of Professional Love©’ (Page, 2018c).
- ‘Professional Love©’ is intrinsic to effective relationships within early education and care but there is often apprehension from professionals concerning safeguarding policies and how ‘Professional Love©’ in practice may be considered within these frameworks. Page argues that greater recognition of ‘Professional Love©’ within frameworks and policies should support professionals and families to recognise the value of love and intimacy within caring for young children.
Critical considerations
- Page talks about some of the complexities surrounding emotional labour when working with young children. How might training and qualification processes better prepare professionals for the emotional complexities of ‘Professional Love©’ and care pedagogy?
- The ‘Triangle of Professional Love©’ (Page, 2018c) refers to the coexistence and mutual understanding of child, parent/carer, and professional within a caring and intimate relationship. What strategies can help to build trust and “permission” with parents so that Professional Love© is understood and valued by everyone involved?
- ‘Love’ is an evolving and subjective term that cannot be easily defined within early education and care contexts. What does ‘love’ mean to you within the context of early years, and how might ‘Professional Love©’ differ from other perspectives of ‘love’ that you have elsewhere in your life?
Explainer
Page’s work refers to early education and care within England, referencing the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE, 2025), the statutory framework for the learning, development, and care of children under 5 years old. This includes policies and procedures pertaining to health and safety, safeguarding, and curriculum which are discussed within the research.
References
Early Years Coalition. (2021). Birth to 5 Matters: Non-statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage. St Albans: Early Education. Available at https://birthto5matters.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Birthto5Matters-download.pdf
Department for Education (2025) Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework. Department for Education. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework–2.
Professional Love©, Dr Jools Page.
Page, J. (2011) ‘Do mothers want professional carers to love their babies?’, Journal of Early Childhood Research, 9(3), pp. 310–323. doi:10.1177/1476718×11407980.
Page, J. and Elfer, P. (2013) ‘The emotional complexity of attachment interactions in nursery’, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 21(4), pp. 553–567.
Page, J. (2016) ‘Educators’ perspectives on attachment and professional love in early years settings in England’, in White, E. J. and Dalli, C. (eds.) Under-three Year Olds in Policy and Practice. Singapore: Springer, pp. 131–142.
Page, J. (2017) ‘Re-framing infant toddler pedagogy through a lens of professional love: exploring narratives of professional practice in early childhood settings in England’, Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 18(4), pp. 387–399.
Page, J. (2018a) ‘Characterising the principles of professional love in early childhood care and education’, International Journal of Early Years Education, 26(2), pp. 125–141. doi:10.1080/09669760.2018.1459508.
Page, J. (2018b) ‘Love, care and intimacy in early childhood education and care’, International Journal of Early Years Education, 26(2), pp. 123–124. doi:10.1080/09669760.2018.1459509.
Page, J. (2018c) The Triangle of Professional Love. Available at: https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/professional-love/ (Accessed: 28/09/2025).
Reference this article
Askew, E. 2026. An introduction to Dr Jools Page. The Voice of Early Childhood. Available at: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/introduction-dr-jools-page/
