When we first embarked on the “Building on EYFS” project back in spring 2021 I had no idea of the inspiring journey that would ensue. What started as a one-off online session with Dr Julie Fisher for our city’s schools to support the transition of reception children to key stage one (KS1) during the Coronavirus pandemic has evolved over the last two years into an incredible project of EYFS and school cross-phase collaboration, development of a professional learning community, academic research papers and the co-creation of evidence informed guidance for the sector.
As we came out of the second lockdown in March 2021 I was becoming increasingly concerned about the developmental and learning needs of reception children, a cohort of which had missed much of their time in nursery and reception as a result of the pandemic lockdowns and school disruptions of 2020 and 2021. In addition, both the lockdowns and Covid restrictions when schools reopened had created restricted physical and exploratory play opportunities, together reduced opportunities for developing social and emotional skills. Many children had in effect experienced a “developmental desert” from age 3 to 5, one of the most pivotal times for learning and child development.
Transition into year 1 (Y1) and getting to grips with the more formal learning expected by many schools has always been acknowledged as a challenging time for the wellbeing and learning of 5-year-olds (Fisher, 2020; Allingham, 2015) that is best supported by developmentally appropriate pedagogies. As we headed out of the second lockdown, both the published evidence on Covid impacts (Bakopoulou et al, 2021) and anecdotal feedback though our school networks confirmed that more than ever, children were going to need a continuation of EYFS approaches and play-based learning in KS1 if they were going to catch-up on the development and learning required for later success.
