Toddler → Preschool Transition Pack

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Toddler → Preschool Transition Pack

Toddlers (18–36 Months)

A practical set of strength-based documents to support secure, consistent transitions from 18–36 month provision into the 3–4 year room

EYFS Curriculum & Pedagogy Membership (Professional)

(This pathway component will be available for download by: March 31st 2026)

What this document is

This is a multi-document transition toolkit designed to support developmentally appropriate, emotionally safe transitions from toddler provision into preschool.

It brings together child voice, parent partnership, and professional handover in a clear, practical format. The documents support consistent practice across teams, reduce transition-related anxiety, and ensure important information travels with the child (including communication, regulation, schemas, and any SEND/medical considerations).

This pack supports professional judgement and safeguarding-ready information sharing. It does not replace statutory guidance, medical plans, or SEND processes.

What’s included in this pack

This pack contains eight linked transition documents, designed to be used together or selected as needed:

1. Toddler → Preschool Transition Passport (child-facing)
   A warm, positive “travels with the child” profile including: child voice, relationships, strengths, communication, schemas, routines, and photo support.

2. Staff-to-Staff Professional Handover Summary (internal/confidential)
   A structured overview of C&L, PSED/regulation, PD/sensory profile, CoEL snapshot, SEND/agency involvement, safety/care needs, and first half-term priorities.

3. Parent Guide: Supporting Your Toddler’s Transition
   Plain-English guidance for families with practical home strategies and transition-safe language.

4. Mini Social Story: “My New Room” (editable, photo-ready)
   A short social story supporting predictability, emotional validation, and “I can ask for help” messaging.

5. “All About Me” Parent & Child Input Form
   A family voice + child voice document supporting partnership expectations and inspection-ready evidence of consultation.

6. SEND / Medical / Care Plan Summary (travel-ready)
   A concise, instantly readable summary of needs, current plans, effective strategies, triggers, distress signs, calming supports, agencies, and consent status.

7. Visual Routine Strip (editable text for photo/PECS conversion)
   A transition routine scaffold with practitioner notes (photo-first, vertical format, Velcro removal, emotion tiles).

8. Transition Reflection & Debrief Sheet (QA/CPD/Ofsted evidence)
   A staff-facing evaluation tool capturing what worked, what to adjust, wellbeing indicators, parent feedback, and follow-up actions.

Who this is for

• Toddler room practitioners and key persons (18–36 months)

• Preschool room practitioners receiving children (3–4 years)

• Room leaders, managers, and SENDCos coordinating transitions

• Families supporting their child’s move to a new room

• Multi-agency partners (where appropriate and consented)

What this document helps you do

• Ensure transitions are relationship-led, predictable, and emotionally safe

• Capture child voice and parent voice in ways that are practical and usable

• Strengthen professional handover without deficit language

• Support children with additional needs through travel-ready strategies and visuals

• Reduce transition-related distress by improving consistency and preparation

• Provide clear evidence of parent partnership, inclusion, and transition intent for leadership and inspection conversations

How this fits within our Toddler framework

This pack forms part of our wider Toddler Curriculum & Pedagogy pathway (18–36 months) and sits within the Transition & Parent Partnership strand.

It directly connects to:

• Supporting Emotional Regulation Through Language (Toddlers)

• Language-First Approaches in Toddler Rooms

• Toddler Behaviour & Regulation: A Quick Guide

• SEND & Inclusion Strategy Pack (18–36 months)

Together, these documents ensure transition is handled as a developmental process—built on attachment, communication, predictability, and inclusion—rather than a one-off event.

This document is part of our EYFS Curriculum & Pedagogy Membership (Professional), which provides full access to age-specific curriculum frameworks, planning guidance, assessment tools and leadership support.

(This pathway component will be available for download by: March 31st 2026)

Recommended next read Selection

Or read our ‘Little Owls Resources’ Curriculum Intent Statement’

Additional Documents | Professional Membership Contents (Toddler 18-36 Months)

Navigate our Curriculum & Pedagogy guidance documents here.

Pedagogical identity:
Relationship-led, sensory-rich toddler practice grounded in schemas, play, and responsive adult interaction.

• 1. Welcome to the Toddler Room (Start Here)

  👉 This section prevents over-planning and aligns practice.

  • Toddler Pedagogy Position Statement – How Toddlers Learn (18–36 Months) [Free Orienting Sample]

  • Toddler Curriculum Overview & Rationale[Free Orienting Sample]

  • How Our Toddler Curriculum Works

  • The Role of Schemas in Toddler Practice

  • Curriculum Intent in Toddler Rooms (What It Means — and What It Doesn’t)

  • FAQs: Toddler Planning & Pedagogy

• 2. Toddler Curriculum & Developmental Progression

  👉 Adult understanding, not child targets.

  • Toddler Curriculum Maps

    • Progression across 6-month bands (18–24 | 24–30 | 30–36 months)

  • Intent → Progression Grids (Practitioner Reference)

  • Area of Learning Progression Maps

• 3. Observation-Led Practice & In-the-Moment Planning

  👉 Observation is the driver of planning.

  • In-the-Moment Planning Prompt Sheets (Toddlers)

  • Weekly Planning Template

  • Toddler Narrative Observation & Analysis Template

  • Focused Observation Templates

    • Communication & Language

    • PSED

    • Physical Development

    • Maths Seeds

    • Characteristics of Effective Learning

    • Behaviour & Emotional Regulation

    • Schema Observation & Analysis

• 4. Continuous Provision in the Toddler Room

  👉 The environment does the teaching.

  Universal Continuous Provision

  • Continuous Provision Setup Guides | Toddler Room

    • Small World

    • Messy / Wet Play

    • Dry Sensory & Loose Parts

    • Construction

    • Role Play / Home Corner

    • Mark Making

    • Book Area / Reading Nook

    • Music & Sound

    • Outdoor

  • Continuous Provision Maps (18–36 Months)

    • C&L

    • PSED

    • PD

    • Maths Seeds

    • Literacy Seeds

    • UW

    • EAD

  • Continuous Provision Audit & Resourcing List

  • Continuous Provision Rotation Planner Toolkit

  • Toddler Visual Support Labelling Pack | 18–36 Months

• 5. Outdoor Learning

  👉 Movement, regulation and sensory experience.

  • Outdoor Continuous Provision Pack

    • Outdoor Zone-by-Zone Setup Guide (Gross Motor, Sensory/Nature, Creative/Mark Making, Small World Outside, Water/Mud)

    • Seasonal Adjustments Planner

    • Outdoor Risk–Benefit Assessment Template + examples

    • Nature-Based Learning & Schema Guide

    • Outdoor Mark Making & Literacy Opportunities Sheet

    • Outdoor Maths Seeds Sheet

  • Why We Learn Outdoors in All Weathers (Parent Handout)

• 6. Projects, Themes & Schema-Responsive Contexts

  👉 Projects are optional contexts, not directives.

  • Year-Long Project / Theme Curriculum Map (52 Weeks)

  • How Projects Work in Toddler Rooms (Guidance)

  • Schema Coverage & Support Map

  Project/Theme Planners:

  • 12 × Main Project Planners (3–4 Weeks)

    • All About Me & My World

    • People Who Help Us

    • Autumn - Senses, Colours & Change

    • Light, Dark & Celebrations

    • Winter-Weather, Warmth & Cosy Spaces

    • Transport & Journeys

    • Growing & Changing

    • Animals & Their Homes

    • Food & Nutrition

    • Minibeasts & Nature Explorers

    • Summer - Sand, Sea & Sun

    • Playful Patterns & Construction

  • 8 × Mini-Project Planners (1 Week)

    • Big Machines & Building

    • Cooking & Food Play

    • Teddy Bears’ Picnic

    • Colours Everywhere

    • Water Play Week

    • My Favourite Things

    • Rhyme Time Week

    • Weather Wonders

• 7. Adult-Focused Invitations & Activity Resources

  👉 Invitations, provocations and shared experiences.

  • Activity Cards Pack

    Supports Child-led learning and responsive provision

  • Area of Learning Progression Maps & Adult Focus Sessions

    (Organised by Age Band: 18–24 months | 24–30 months | 30–36 months)

    Supports intentional teaching, vocabulary development and staff confidence

    • Communication & Language

    • PSED

    • Physical Development

    • Maths Seeds

    • Literacy Seeds

    • Understanding the World – Experience Progression Pack

    • Expressive Arts & Design – Creative Media & Expression Toolkit

• 8. Language, Interaction & Emotional Development

  👉 Interaction is the curriculum.

  • Toddler Room Poster – Five Sentence Stems For Toddler Practitioners

  • Supporting Emotional Regulation Through Language

  • Language-First Approaches in Toddler Rooms

  • Toddler Behaviour & Regulation: A Quick Guide

• 9. Assessment, Statutory Requirements & Leadership

  👉 Proportionate, meaningful assessment.

  • Progress Check at Age 2

    • Report Template

    • Practitioner Guidance

  • OFSTED Questions We’re Ready For

• 10. SEND & Inclusion

  👉 Early identification, gentle support.

  • SEND Inclusion Strategy Pack (18–36 Months)

    • Practical SEND & inclusion strategies for toddlers aged 18–36 months

    • Six quick-reference strategy sheets covering communication, sensory needs, anxiety and behaviour

    • Aligned with the EYFS Framework and the Assess–Plan–Do–Review approach

    • Inclusive, diagnosis-free guidance ready to use in everyday practice

    • Ideal for observations, provision planning, team use and Ofsted evidence

• 11. Transition & Parent Partnership

  👉 Strong partnerships, realistic expectations.

  Transition

  • Toddler → Preschool Transition Pack

  Home–Setting Communication

  • Toddler Room Parent Update & Home Learning Sheet

  • Letter Templates Pack

  Parent Information Pages

  • Why Mark Making Matters (Before Writing)

  • Supporting Speech & Language at Home (0–3 Years)

  • How To Build Language Through Play

  • Why We Learn Outdoors in All Weathers

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 a different age group pathway?

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.)

What is Professional Membership?

Find our more about our Professional guidance for confident, reflective EYFS practice (Birth–5)

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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. All resources, experiences and environment arrangements must be risk assessed by the setting and used in accordance with individual children’s developmental stages, needs and supervision requirements.

Safeguarding content does not replace a setting’s safeguarding and child protection policy or the statutory role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). All concerns must be managed in line with current statutory guidance and local safeguarding procedures.

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