High-quality early years education – in the first five years of life – is a hugely important foundation for lifelong learning and behaviour. An increasing number of governments around the world are recognising its importance and are reorientating their understanding of early years provision to focus on not just childcare, but more on early education.
Here, we consider this growing interest and the importance of high-quality training and development for early years educators in optimising their environments and thereby giving children a strong start in life.
A child’s first five years are some of their most formative in life. During this crucial period, children’s brains are at their most potent stage of development, and they are developing critical physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional skills which will be fundamental to their future achievements in education and adult life. In this context, countries need to pay attention to the quality of children’s early years education as the most effective means to assure the wellbeing and skills of the next generation – and to achieve more equitable outcomes across families and communities.
In this think piece, we examine not only the importance of this critical period, but also draw on our own expertise in the delivery of professional development for early years educators. We use this experience to highlight both the challenges faced by those teaching the youngest children, and the key opportunities for improving both their practice and the eventual learning outcomes of the children in their care, with attention to communication and language development, early mathematics, and personal, social and emotional development (PSED), as well as leadership within early education settings.
Download our think piece: High-quality education in the early years.