Seven Key Features of Effective Practice

The Curriculum:
The Best for Every Child High-Quality Care
What We Want Children to Learn
• All children deserve to have an equal chance of success. • The child’s experience must always be central to the thinking of • The curriculum is a top-level plan of everything the early years setting
every practitioner. wants the children to learn.
• High-quality early education is good for all children. It is especially
important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. • Babies, toddlers and young children thrive when they are loved and • Planning to help every child to develop their language is vital.
well cared for.
• When they start school, children from disadvantaged backgrounds • The curriculum needs to be ambitious. Careful sequencing will help
are, on average, four months1 behind their peers. We need to do more • High-quality care is consistent. Every practitioner needs to enjoy children to build their learning over time.
to narrow that gap. spending time with young children.
• Young children’s learning is often driven by their interests. Plans need
• Children who have lived through difficult experiences can begin to • Effective practitioners are responsive to children and babies. They to be flexible.
grow stronger when they experience high-quality early education notice when a baby looks towards them and gurgles, and respond
and care. with pleasure. • Babies and young children do not develop in a fixed way. Their
development is like a spider’s web with many strands, not a
• High-quality early education and care is inclusive. Children’s special • Practitioners understand that toddlers are learning to be independent, straight line.
educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are identified quickly. so they will sometimes get frustrated.
All children promptly receive any extra help they need, so they can • Depth in early learning is much more important than covering lots of
progress well in their learning. • Practitioners know that starting school, and all the other transitions things in a superficial way.
1
Education Policy Institute: Education in England Annual Report 2020 and Early years foundation stage profile
in the early years, are big steps for small children.
results: 2018 to 2019

Pedagogy: Assessment: Checking Self-Regulation and Executive Function Partnership with Parents
Helping Children to Learn What Children Have Learnt
• Executive function includes the child’s ability to:
• Children are powerful learners. Every child • Assessment is about noticing what children • It is important for parents and early years
can make progress in their learning, with the can do and what they know. It is not about • hold information in mind settings to have a strong and respectful
right help. lots of data and evidence. partnership. This sets the scene for children
• focus their attention
to thrive in the early years.
• Effective pedagogy is a mix of different • Effective assessment requires practitioners
• think flexibly
approaches. Children learn through play, by to understand child development. • This includes listening regularly to parents
adults modelling, by observing each other and Practitioners also need to be clear about • inhibit impulsive behaviour and giving parents clear information about
through guided learning and direct teaching. what they want children to know and be their children’s progress.
able to do. • These abilities contribute to the child’s growing ability to
• Practitioners carefully organise enabling self-regulate: • The help that parents give their children at
environments for high-quality play. Sometimes, • Accurate assessment can highlight whether home has a very significant impact on their
they make time and space available for a child has a special educational need and • concentrate their thinking learning.
children to invent their own play. Sometimes, needs extra help. • plan what to do next • Some children get much less support for their
they join in to sensitively support and extend
• Before assessing children, it’s a good idea • monitor what they are doing and adapt learning at home than others. By knowing
children’s learning.
to think about whether the assessments and understanding all the children and their
• Children in the early years also learn will be useful. • regulate strong feelings families, settings can offer extra help to
through group work, when practitioners guide those who need it most.
• Assessment should not take practitioners • be patient for what they want
their learning.
away from the children for long • It is important to encourage all parents to
• bounce back when things get difficult
• Older children need more of this guided periods of time. chat, play and read with their children.
learning. • Language development is central to self-regulation:
children use language to guide their actions and plans.
• A well-planned learning environment, indoors
Pretend play gives many opportunities for children
and outside, is an important aspect of pedagogy.
to focus their thinking, persist and plan ahead.

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