As the government announces its Best Start in Life Strategy, it’s a good time to reflect on how we support early childhood development. The social and economic context is challenging, putting strain on children, families and communities. Yet, even in these circumstances, we can take steps to enable socio-economically disadvantaged children to thrive, now, and for their future.
Science shows us that the early years — from pregnancy to age five — are a period of uniquely rapid growth (Harvard Center on the Developing Child, 2007). Babies’ and children’s brains are particularly malleable, shaped by their relationships, surroundings and experiences. Nurturing relationships with caring adults — parents, carers, grandparents, early educators and others — are vital for all aspects of development. Importantly, these relationships drive the essential back-and-forth interactions that fuel learning. As the EEF explain, ‘research evidence tells us that developing these high-quality interactions is crucial to every aspect of practice in the early years’.
Foundational skills to play, learn and thrive
As children enter Reception, they need foundational skills to play, learn and thrive with their peers. Social and emotional skills, like managing emotions and getting along with others, are crucial.
The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood’s Shaping Us Framework explores these skills in more detail. The framework:
- outlines the social and emotional skills which matter most, based on research evidence
- groups the skills into six clusters and describes them in plain English.
When children develop these skills in early childhood, they can seize opportunities for learning and development. These are also core skills for life.
As educators, we can use the framework when we are talking with families about the importance of children’s social and emotional skills. The framework can also help us to use a shared language and approach when working with other professionals, like the Health Visiting or Family Hub team.
Bringing the science of early interactions to life
The Centre’s new Explainer series brings the science of early interactions to life through short, creative, and engaging animated films. They zoom in on aspects like co-regulation – when a child receives warm, responsive support from an adult to bridge the gap between the child’s current and their potential capacity to regulate in a particular task or situation. They show how such interactions help children feel safe and loved, supporting their learning and development. Each animation is accompanied with practitioner guidance and science briefings for those who want to explore the evidence further.
You could use these resources with colleagues to:
- highlight the importance of children’s social and emotional development
- explain the important role that high-quality adult-child interactions play in children’s development
- reflect on the importance of everyday moments in early years settings, from the welcome children receive in the morning to the guidance and encouragement we give when a child attempts a new challenge
- consider how you might use the animations with parents – they are an accessible and relatable way to share insights about children’s development.
You could also build the Explainer series into your programme of staff professional development, using them alongside videos and other resources from the EEF’s Early Years Evidence Store. This is a powerful way to identify promising approaches for improving children’s learning and wellbeing, develop your teams’ pedagogical knowledge, and obtain buy-in to develop the quality of practice. In addition, think about embedding systems to support staff wellbeing. A well supported team will be more able to build and sustain relationships, engage in high quality interactions, and ensure they are in a position to make the most of continuous professional development.
The Explainers communicate a simple but powerful message: the things you do every day —comforting a crying baby, calming an over-excited toddler, celebrating progress, showing interest in play — make a huge difference. In these moments of connection, we are building lifelong skills. We are shaping the people children become — and, in turn, the society we all live in. This is where our hope lies.
Find out more:
- High-quality interactions in the early years: Improving early education through high-quality interactions | EEF
- The shaping us framework: understand the social and emotional skills that matter most: The Shaping Us Framework – CFEC
- InBrief: the science of early childhood development: InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development