Pedagogy Guidance (Birth–5) | Whole-Setting Document

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Pedagogy Guidance (Birth–5)

A Comprehensive Guide to High-Quality Teaching and Learning in the Early Years

For Leaders, Managers and Practitioners in EYFS Settings

Document Overview

About This Document

This Pedagogy Guidance has been designed to support early years leaders and practitioners in delivering high-quality, research-informed practice across all age groups from birth to five. It draws on the EYFS Statutory Framework, developmental theory, and established UK best practice to provide a clear, practical and consistent approach to teaching, learning, and environment design in Early Years settings.

Whether your setting is a nursery, preschool, childminding service or school-based EYFS unit, this guide offers a shared language and vision for high-quality pedagogy.

Why This Guidance Is Important

High-quality pedagogy is the foundation of strong outcomes for children. This document helps settings to:

• Establish a unified approach to teaching and learning across birth–5

• Ensure consistency in how staff interact, plan, scaffold, observe and respond to children

• Support new staff and students with clear expectations and professional standards

• Strengthen language-rich, play-based learning, aligned with current research

• Ensure equitable, inclusive practice for children with SEND, EAL and diverse backgrounds

• Promote ambitious curriculum goals while maintaining warm, child-centred care

• Embed reflective practice and raise the overall quality of provision

What This Guidance Includes

Inside, you will find:

• The core principles that underpin effective pedagogy in the EYFS

• Clear descriptions of the adult role, including interactions, modelling and scaffolding

• Detailed guidance on continuous and enhanced provision

• Approaches to play pedagogy, schema learning and outdoor learning

• Expectations for adult-led learning that complement child-led exploration

• Age-specific pedagogical approaches for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and Reception

• Strategies for fostering language development, social-emotional wellbeing and independence

• Guidance on inclusive practice, SEND, EAL and cultural responsiveness

• Tools for reflection and quality improvement

How to Use This Document in Your Setting

For Leaders & Managers

• Use as a foundation for your curriculum, environment planning and quality assurance processes

• Embed into staff induction, appraisals and performance management systems

• Use sections to support staff meetings, CPD sessions and coaching conversations

For Practitioners

• Refer to the guidance when planning experiences or evaluating your provision

• Use it to strengthen interactions, extend children’s learning and refine your teaching style

• Reflect on your own practice and identify areas for professional development

For Teams

• Create a shared, consistent approach across rooms and age groups

• Use selected sections during team meetings, room audits or peer observations

• Align pedagogy with your setting’s curriculum intent and ethos

Our Pedagogical Promise

By using this resource, your setting is committing to a reflective, child-centred approach that values:

• Strong relationships

• Play as the primary mode of learning

• High expectations for every child

• An enabling environment

• Skilled and sensitive adult interactions

• Equity, inclusion and belonging

• Continual improvement and professional growth

Together, these values form the foundation for high-quality early years practice that supports children to thrive, learn and flourish.

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DOCUMENT

Pedagogy Guidance (Birth–5)

A Comprehensive Guide to High-Quality Teaching and Learning in the Early Years

For Leaders, Managers and Practitioners in EYFS Settings

1. Introduction

Purpose of this guidance

• Clarify what high-quality EYFS pedagogy looks like across all age groups (0–5)

• Ensure consistency in practice across the setting

• Support practitioners in making informed decisions about teaching, interactions, curriculum and environment

• Bridge the gap between theory, current research and day-to-day practice

Definition of pedagogy in the EYFS

Pedagogy refers to how we teach, interact, support, guide and prepare the environment so children can learn effectively.

2. Principles Underpinning Our Pedagogy

A. Children learn best through relationships

• Warm, secure attachments are the foundation for all development

• The Key Person role is central

• Co-regulation and emotional tuning enable self-regulation

B. Play is the natural vehicle for learning

• Play is purposeful, complex and deeply cognitive

• Every area of learning can be developed through play

• Adults play a crucial role within—not outside—play

C. A carefully planned environment guides learning

• Continuous provision offers repeated, rich opportunities to practise skills

• Resources are open-ended, accessible and reflective of children’s lives

• The environment acts as the “third teacher”

D. A balance of child-led and adult-led learning is essential

• Responsive, in-the-moment teaching supports interests and autonomy

• Brief but focused adult-led sessions ensure progression and coverage

• Both approaches feed into one another

E. Inclusive practice ensures equitable learning

• All children experience high expectations and challenge

• Adapting, scaffolding and enhancing support individual needs

• SEND pedagogy is embedded, not separate

3. The Role of the Adult

A. Interactions: the most powerful teaching tool

High-quality interactions include:

• Modelling language, thinking and behaviours

• Commenting (not quizzing): narrating children’s activities and thoughts

• Open-ended questioning to encourage reasoning and creativity

• Sustained Shared Thinking

• Extending play through vocabulary, tools or ideas

• Recasting and expanding language

Non-verbal elements

• Attuned body language

• Respect for play

• Emotion coaching

B. Scaffolding

Types of scaffolding

• Physical

• Verbal

• Environmental

• Social

• Cognitive

When to scaffold

• When children need a “nudge” rather than the solution

• When play stalls or becomes repetitive

• When a child shows readiness for next steps

C. Modelling

• Introducing new vocabulary in context

• Demonstrating problem-solving strategies

• Showing perseverance and curiosity

• Modelling collaborative behaviour

D. Co-regulation and Emotional Support

Essential across all age groups but especially babies and toddlers.

Practitioners support:

• Naming feelings

• Calming strategies

• Social problem-solving

• Secure attachments to support risk-taking in learning

4. The Learning Environment

A. Continuous Provision

High-quality continuous provision should:

• Be available daily and consistently

• Offer breadth across all learning areas

• Be predictable enough for independence but open-ended enough for challenge

• Include purposeful, culturally representative resources

Features of excellent provision

• Loose parts

• Natural materials

• Real-life objects

• Open-ended creative media

• Varied mark-making opportunities indoors and outdoors

• Books across all areas

B. Enhanced Provision

Enhancements should:

• Build on observed interests

• Deepen knowledge in curriculum themes

• Support specific skill development

• Be limited in number to avoid overstimulation

C. Outdoor Learning Pedagogy

Outdoor learning is:

• A full learning environment, not “playtime”

• Essential for physical development and regulation

• Rich in STEM, risk-taking and imaginative play

5. Play Pedagogy

A. Types of Play

• Free play

• Guided play

• Role play and socio-dramatic play

• Heuristic play

• Schema play

• Physical play

• Creative and imaginative play

• Exploratory play

• Problem-solving and construction play

B. Recognising and Supporting Schemas

Practitioners identify repeated patterns of behaviour and enhance the environment accordingly.

6. Adult-Led Learning

Adult-led learning ensures progression and coverage while remaining developmentally appropriate.

Principles

• Brief, purposeful and engaging

• Tailored to developmental stage

• Linked to curriculum progression

• Followed up through continuous provision

• Delivered in small groups where appropriate

Examples

• Songs and rhymes

• Story times with rich book talk

• Focused fine-motor activities

• Early maths sequences

• Communication groups

Reception-specific clarification

In Reception, adult-led learning includes systematic phonics and mathematics teaching delivered in developmentally appropriate ways, without replicating Key Stage 1 structures.

7. Language-Rich Pedagogy

Language development is central to EYFS outcomes.

Key features:

• Adults speak often but do not dominate play

• Vocabulary is taught explicitly and embedded

• Repetition and rephrasing support understanding

• Storytelling, singing and rhyming are daily routines

• Dialogic storytime supports comprehension

For EAL learners

• Home language is valued

• Visuals and gestures are used

• Language is modelled without shaming correction

8. Pedagogy for Each Age Group (Birth–5)

A. Babies (0–18 months)

Pedagogy focuses on:

• Attachment, security and routine

• Sensory exploration

• Early communication and turn-taking

• Real-life objects (treasure baskets)

• Floor-based, movement-rich experiences

Care as curriculum clarification

For babies, learning is inseparable from care. Routines such as feeding, nappy changing, settling and sleep are intentionally recognised as core learning experiences, supporting development across the prime areas of learning, as outlined in our Care as Curriculum guidance.

B. Toddlers (18–36 months)

Pedagogy focuses on:

• Heuristic play

• Language explosion and naming

• Repetition and schemas

• Early independence

• Beginning simple rule-following

• Emotional co-regulation

C. Preschool (3–4 years)

Pedagogy focuses on:

• Sustained shared thinking

• Imaginative and socio-dramatic play

• Early mathematical reasoning

• Problem-solving

• Independence and collaboration

• Extended projects and inquiry

D. Reception (4–5 years)

Pedagogy blends:

• Play-based learning

• Systematic phonics

• Early writing and maths sequences

• High challenge supported through modelling and scaffolding

• Refining self-regulation and executive function

• Purposeful provision matched to curriculum steps

9. Assessment and Pedagogy

Assessment supports — not dominates — pedagogy.

Assessment informs:

• Enhancements

• Adult-led focus sessions

• Interactions and vocabulary

• Individualised support

• SEND adaptations

Professional judgement statement

Practitioner knowledge of the child remains the primary assessment tool, with written evidence used selectively to support reflection, planning and communication.

Avoiding over-assessment

• Limit unnecessary documentation

• Capture learning through professional knowledge

• Use observation sparingly but purposefully

10. Inclusive Pedagogy

SEND

• Break tasks into manageable steps

• Offer sensory regulation tools

• Use visuals, gestures and objects of reference

• Model social interactions explicitly

• Provide alternative communication methods

EAL

• Maintain and value home language

• Provide bilingual resources where possible

• Use peer modelling

11. Pedagogy and Family Partnership

Families are children’s first educators.

Practices include:

• Sharing learning prompts

• Welcoming parental contributions

• Cultural responsiveness in resources and curriculum

• Joint planning for SEND and additional needs

12. Quality Assurance and Reflective Practice

High-quality pedagogy is sustained through reflection.

Tools include:

• Environment audits

• Interaction audits

• Peer observations

• Learning walks

• Supervision meetings

• Practitioner reflection journals

Document Updated: January 2026

Recommended next read Selection

Additional Whole-Setting Guidance | for Professional Members

Explore our whole-setting guidance below, including overarching curriculum and pedagogy documents, early years schemas and EYFS setting policies.

• Curriculum & Pedagogy

  • Little Owls Resources’ Curriculum Intent Statement

  • EYFS from Birth to 5: Curriculum Coherence & Pedagogical Throughline

  • Whole-Setting Curriculum Map (Birth-5): Curriculum Intent & Progression

  • Pedagogy Guidance Document

  • Speech & Language Development - Setting Statement

  • EYFS Inspection-Facing Summaries

• Early Years Schemas

  Early Years Schemas - Practitioner Toolkit | EYFS Birth-5

  ↪ Schema Cards (definition, behaviours, age-related examples, enabling resources)

  ↪ Schema Observation & Responsive Provision Planning Template

• EYFS Setting Policies

  • EYFS Group Setting Policies Pack

    ↪ x 22 Policy Documents

    ↪ Policy Sign-Off and Confirmation Document

    ↪ EYFS Setting Policy Folder Contents List

  • Childminder Setting Policies Pack

    ↪ x 22 Policy Documents

    ↪ Childminder Assistant or Volunteer Policy Sign-Off and Confirmation Document

    ↪ Childminder Policy Folder Contents List

• EYFS Glossary

  EYFS Glossary

  ↪ Clear, practitioner-friendly explanations of key curriculum and pedagogy terms used throughout our guidance.

Looking for age-specific pathway documents?

Select the pathway that best reflects your role or the age group you work with. You do not need to use everything. (Some practitioners may use more than one pathway.)

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Content within the EYFS Curriculum & Pedagogy Membership is provided as professional guidance and support. It reflects current understanding of the EYFS statutory framework, Development Matters and inspection expectations at the time of writing. Practitioners are responsible for applying professional judgement and ensuring practice aligns with current statutory requirements and their specific context.

Updated: January 2026