Today's report focuses on what progress looks like for pre-school aged children in the 4 specific areas of learning - literacy, mathematics, understanding the world, and expressive arts and design.
The research is clear: early education is too important to be left to chance. A high-quality early years curriculum is particularly important as not all children get the same start in life - for example, due to differences in the level of help they receive at home.
Read the full report 'Best start in life part 3: the 4 specific areas of learning'.
Today's report highlights how the 4 specific areas of learning give breadth and richness to the early years curriculum, and show how early learning is connected.
A strong foundation in literacy and mathematics gives children lifelong benefits and is crucial to their future success. Early literacy development helps with children's language and vocabulary and can support their emotional understanding. Equally, effective early mathematical learning and encouraging positive attitudes to numbers and maths are crucial to children's later achievement. Expressive arts provide children with opportunities to learn new skills and be creative. Understanding the world is a broad area and, for babies and young children, learning needs to be connected so they can build on their pre-existing knowledge to learn new ideas in the familiar contexts around them.
To deliver a high-quality early years curriculum, practitioners need to understand how children develop and learn, so they can plan the next steps in their learning. Teaching in the specific areas should also offer children opportunities to develop their executive function skills, which are one of the best predictors of a child's later success.
Today's report draws together all the findings from the research series and suggests the key indicators of an effective early years education include:
- interactions between children and adults that are high-quality, including both caring interactions and those promoting children's thinking. Finding out what children know and can do is more useful than standing back and observing
- carefully considering what we teach our youngest children so that adults can make the best use of available time and ensure all children learn important knowledge, concepts and ideas
- helping children to learn new things by making links with things that they already know
- making sure that what children learn is sequenced appropriately for each area of learning. For example, in mathematics children need to build understanding of concepts in a clear hierarchy, but in other areas a different approach to sequencing might be better
- developing a child's executive function, such as a child's ability to hold information in their working memory and work with that information, is not left to chance. These skills are crucial and do not just develop of their own accord
- ensuring practitioners avoid making tasks too complicated, so that children's working memory isn't overwhelmed
- setting out activities that children might experience is not enough. Practitioners ensure that learning is not left to chance and that all children have the support and guidance they need
Sir Martyn Oliver, His Majesty's Chief Inspector, said:
A high-quality early education benefits all children, particularly the most vulnerable, and is far too important to be left to chance. Learning in the early years is fundamental to providing children with the tools they need to thrive throughout their education, and beyond. That is all the more important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. If we get early education right for our most vulnerable children, we'll get it right for all children.
Early years practitioners deserve our gratitude for their hard work in making sure that every child gets off to the best start in life. I hope that this research series helps them to consider what an excellent early years curriculum for all children might look like.
Today's report builds on the findings of part 1 and part 2. The series of early years reviews aims to help practitioners raise the quality of early years education.
