Keeping children at the heart of education is an ongoing challenge when it comes to Early Years leadership. Here’s what those shaping settings’ practice must remember, says Holly Bowman…
In today’s education landscape, leaders are navigating unprecedented levels of pressure. Accountability measures, policy shifts, inspection frameworks and funding constraints create a constant hum of external noise.
Amid this, one vital question remains: are children still at the heart of what we do?
I recently carried out my early years master’s dissertation with Pen Green Research Base, exploring the lived experiences of teachers, leaders and children in early years and Key Stage 1 in school. The research offered both reassurance and a warning.
It showed that while value-led leadership can protect child-centred practice, the system itself often pulls schools away from what children need most: time, relationships, autonomy and meaningful learning.
Child-centred practice values children beyond data and test scores; it develops them holistically and does not compartmentalise social and emotional learning from cognitive abilities.
This article distils the key messages gained from my research that leaders need to hold on to if they are to safeguard children’s wellbeing, learning and joy, while also supporting staff and themselves.
One of the strongest findings from the research is the power of value-driven leadership. In the case study school, leaders were deeply committed to inclusion, care and breaking cycles of disadvantage.
These values were not simply written into policies; they were lived daily through relationships, language and decisions.
Children experienced warmth, familiarity and genuine connection. Leaders knew children by name, remembered their lives beyond school and modelled attentiveness that no data dashboard could ever capture.
This kind of leadership sends a clear message: children matter as people, not just as outcomes. However, values were also under strain.
Leaders spoke openly about compromise; the tension between what they believe is right for children and what the system demands.
This is the reality many leaders recognise. The key difference here was that values acted as an anchor. When leaders are clear on why they do, they are better placed to make principled decisions, even within constraints.
Leadership lesson: Values must be explicit, shared and protected. When external pressure increases, values should become louder, not quieter.
Accountability doesn’t stop at the leader’s door. The research highlights how pressure filters through the system: from policy decisions to leadership, from leadership to teachers, and ultimately into classrooms and onto children.
Teachers described feeling constantly “compromised”, “juggling” and fearful of “not being good enough”. Many worked long hours, sacrificed family time and carried a deep sense of responsibility for children’s outcomes.
While their commitment was extraordinary, it came at a cost.
When adults feel anxious, uncertain or emotionally depleted, this inevitably affects children. Learning becomes rushed. The curriculum narrows. Time to listen, observe and respond shrinks. Children may comply, but they do not always thrive.
Leaders play a critical role in interrupting this cycle. While they cannot remove all external demands, they can act as filters, deciding what truly matters and what can be softened, delayed or challenged.
Leadership lesson: Protecting children means protecting teachers from unnecessary pressure. Emotional health is foundational to quality practice.
A recurring concern in the research was the narrowing of the curriculum. Increased emphasis on phonics, maths, writing and testing has reduced time for creative, physical and exploratory learning.
Leaders and teachers alike recognised that while attainment data captures what children can do, it rarely shows who they are or how far they have come.
Children’s passions, interests and cultural identities were often squeezed out by rigid schemes and fast-paced timetables.
Leaders described having their “hands tied”, despite knowing that children learn best when they are engaged, curious and emotionally invested.
The research reinforces a long-standing truth from early years pedagogy: play, creativity and deep engagement are not in opposition to learning; they are how learning happens.
When children have opportunities to collaborate, explore and lead their learning, they show stronger dispositions such as persistence, confidence and intrinsic motivation.
Leadership lesson: Curriculum coherence matters, but flexibility matters more. Leaders must champion pedagogy that honours how children learn, not just what they are expected to achieve.
Teachers in the study valued the autonomy they were given, but with limits. While leaders encouraged adaptation and creativity, fixed outcomes and accountability measures still framed what was possible.
This partial agency left teachers grateful, but conflicted. Research consistently showed that teacher agency (the ability to make informed professional decisions) is closely linked to job satisfaction, wellbeing and effectiveness.
When teachers feel trusted, they are more likely to take thoughtful risks, respond to children’s needs and sustain their commitment to the profession.
Without agency, teaching becomes performative. With it, teaching becomes relational, responsive and deeply human.
Leadership lesson: Trust is an act of leadership. When teachers are trusted as professionals, children benefit directly.
Perhaps the most powerful message from the research is this: relationships are the true infrastructure of education. Strong relationships between leaders and staff created a sense of belonging and shared purpose.
Positive adult-child relationships supported children’s confidence, engagement and wellbeing. Where relationships were prioritised, the school felt calm, connected, even under pressure.
Yet relationships need time and emotional space to flourish. When schedules are overloaded and accountability dominates conversations, relational work becomes invisible and undervalued.
Leaders must actively create conditions where reflection, relational supervision and emotional containment are possible.
Without this, self-sacrifice becomes normalised, burnout becomes invisible, and children lose access to emotionally available adults.
Leadership lesson: Relationships require intentional investment.
Keeping children at the heart of education is not about resisting accountability altogether. It is about rebalancing the system so that data, policy and inspection serve children, not replace them.
Leaders cannot do this alone; however, through value-led decision-making, relational leadership and courageous advocacy, they can create spaces where children are seen, heard and valued.
In a complex system, the most radical act of leadership may simply be this: to keep asking, what does this mean for the child in front of us?
Not every external demand needs to land in classrooms. Decide what genuinely serves children and what can be adapted, delayed or challenged.
Revisit your school’s moral purpose regularly. Use values as a lens for decision-making, not just a statement on the wall.
Give teachers permission to adapt, slow down and respond to children. Trust their expertise and practise wisdom.
Build in opportunities for reflective supervision, dialogue and emotional processing. Well-supported adults support children better.
Defend play, creativity and enrichment. These are not extras; they are essential to children’s learning and wellbeing
Holly Bowman is an ex-maintained nursery school headteacher. She has extensive experience in the early years sector in a career spanning 30 years. Currently, she leads Initial Teacher Education at Pen Green Research Base, delivering both the 3–7 and 5–11 PGCE with QTS.
Staff wellbeing – Creating a culture of genuine care
Editors picks
