Common approaches

The youngest children in the education system are the most in need of stability and consistency. Yet most three-to six-year-olds experience multiple transitions from one setting to another. Some may move from a pre-school to a nursery class and then to an infant or primary school in just three years. Others will enter reception at a very young age, and in some cases may struggle with an over-structured day and poor staff ratios. The Government is starting to address these concerns by establishing a single phase, the 'Foundation Stage', for children aged from three to the end of the reception...