New Excellence in Reception Teaching Framework Issued
The Excellence in Reception Teaching Framework highlights the essential knowledge and practice that early years professionals need to deliver strong outcomes for all children.
High-quality teaching in Reception lays the foundation for children’s lifelong learning, development and wellbeing. Children develop rapidly from birth to age five, but at different rates and in different ways. The new framework is underpinned by the core principle that secure understanding of child development is at the heart of effective practice. It states that:
- Every child is unique and requires responsive support tailored to their needs
- Early experiences significantly shape long-term outcomes, including emotional health
- Warm, consistent and positive relationships provide a secure base for learning
- Communication, language, and self-regulation are critical building blocks
The framework acknowledges that teaching young children is a complex and highly skilled endeavour, with children arriving with a diverse range of experiences, needs and characteristics. It extols the virtues of language-rich interactions, storytelling, and opportunities to explore mathematics through play, as central to supporting early achievement.
Inclusion is another core principle of the framework. High-quality teaching benefits all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). In order to support this, the framework identifies the following as key to inclusion:
- Prioritising inclusive, high-quality classroom teaching as the first step
- Adapting teaching to meet diverse needs without lowering expectations
- Identifying additional needs early and putting targeted support in place
- Creating predictable, structured environments that support engagement
A strong focus on communication and language is especially important for children who face disadvantage or speak English as an additional language.
Collaboration with parents, carers and other professionals, plays a vital role in children’s success. Building positive, two-way relationships with families and sharing practical strategies to support learning at home can improve attendance, behaviour and wellbeing. Alongside working closely with other settings and services, particularly during transitions, strong partnerships help create consistency between home and school, reinforcing children’s development.
This framework is part of the Government's Best Start in Life strategy, and will underpin a new national professional development programme designed specifically for Reception teachers.
