Elinor Goldschmied

Violet Elinor Goldschmied was an English educationalist. Educated at the London School of Economics and qualified as a psychiatric social worker, she worked in an Italian state institution for illegitimate and abandoned children before moving to a home for single mothers in Milan, overseeing changes to the education of children and the training of staff, leading to a transformation of childcare in Italy. Goldschmied developed the concept of the "treasure basket" containing safe, multi-sensory household items in a low, open basket, for children able to sit and explore independently without physical adult intervention. The concept of "heuristic play" grew out of the treasure basket as a means of autonomous play for babies under the age of two. Goldschmied also developed the “Key Person approach” within non maternal childcare settings for establishing meaningful attachment relationships within nurseries.