Play underpins the learning and all aspects of children’s development in EYFS. Through play, children develop language, practice new ideas and skills, take risks, show imagination, develop motor skills and learn how to solve problems independently and with others.

The EYFS is about how children learn, as well as what they learn. Children need opportunities to develop their play and independent exploration. This is enjoyable and motivating. They also need adults to ‘scaffold’ their learning by giving them just enough help to achieve something they could not do independently. Helping children to think, discuss and plan ahead is important, like gathering the materials they need to make a den before they start building. These are ways of helping children to develop the characteristics of effective learning.

When children are at earlier stages of development than expected, it is crucial to notice what they enjoy doing and find out where their difficulties may lie. They need extra help to become secure in the earlier stages of development. It is not helpful to wait for them to become ‘ready’. For example, children who are not speaking in sentences will not be able to write in sentences. They will need lots of stimulating experiences to help them develop their communication. That’s why the time you spend listening to them and having conversations with them is so important.

Children learn and develop more from birth to five years old than at any other time in their lives. If children are at risk of falling behind the majority, the best time to help them catch up and keep up is in the early years. Every child can make progress if they are given the right support. When we give every child the best start in their early years, we give them what they need today. We also set them up with every chance of success tomorrow.