The government must provide expert training to make its school-based nurseries initiative work, says this former early years teacher…
There’s a memorable scene in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Kindergarten Cop where, after his first day in a nursery classroom, he collapses into bed, exhausted. During my first six weeks as a Reception teacher, that was me – every single day.
The government’s plan to open 3,000 school-based nurseries is a welcome step forward, but its success will depend on avoiding the mistakes I made in that first month and a half.
The early years experience is fundamentally different from teaching older children, yet people often misunderstand this distinction. Even as someone who had already adapted from training as a secondary teacher to teaching Year 4 in a large junior school, I was unprepared for the shift to EYFS.
The challenge wasn’t the children – it was me and my misunderstanding of what the role required.
In my previous jobs, I was used to being the teacher in the room. I planned when we’d tackle each topic, the approach I would take, and the outcomes I expected from each lesson.
My class would sit at their tables, they would listen to what we all had to say, and then (mostly) get on with what they needed to do.
When I stepped into my first Reception classroom, I thought I was ready. I’d met the children, spoken with the team, and prepared for what we were going to do.
But I hadn’t planned for what I would experience – which at the time felt like complete chaos. I’m embarrassed to admit it now, but during those first weeks I was not the best person for that classroom.
Thankfully, I had incredible support, which kept things on track and ensured the children had a great start to their first year at school.
And then, sometime during that first half term, something clicked. I realised that my role in early years wasn’t to “teach” in the traditional sense. I was there to facilitate the children’s learning. Most importantly, I was there to help them understand that they were learners.
The skills you need to teach in early years are not the same as those for teaching older children. I assumed they were.
In early years, teachers focus on the fundamentals that need to be in place to ensure the next phase of learning can happen – like supporting the development of fine motor skills and gross motor skills that will enable pupils to write.
A deep understanding of how a child learns is essential in EYFS. I’d sat through countless staff meetings on supporting children to read; however, none addressed how to teach them to begin reading.
How do you help a four-year-old to recognise the shapes on a page as letters, understand how those letters represent sounds, and blend those sounds to make words?
I found my calling in early years, and I hope many others will, too. But if the plan to open 3,000 school-based nurseries is to succeed, we need to face facts: asking teachers to work “flexibly” across Key Stages 1, 2 and early years will not work.
As with my own experience, there is a persistent, mistaken view that teaching younger children is somehow easier. People often see early years as the lightweight end of teaching.
But the reality is that early years teachers require specialised knowledge, a deep understanding of child development, and a thorough grasp of the EYFS statutory framework.
Unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop, early years teachers don’t need to be thrown into the deep end to learn the ropes. They need training, support, and time to observe effective practice.
Teachers moving into school-based nurseries should have opportunities to work alongside experienced teams, to understand how our youngest children learn, and to develop the skills required for this unique and rewarding role.
I urge the government to take this into account when making plans for school-based nurseries. The future success of this initiative – and, more importantly, the future success of our youngest learners – depends on it.
The writer is an education advisor and a former early years teacher.
