Early years: Cognition and learning

Getting advice, setting adjustments

Staff awareness of typical developmental patterns for children, to establish realistic expectations, set goals and identify difficulties.

Training to develop an understanding of play development and the importance of play for developing cognitive and learning skills.

To help develop an understanding of their environment/ the world:

• Give babies/ small children opportunities to look in mirrors and play with objects that offer different sensory experiences
• Play hide and seek games where children must find toys
• Play people games

Provide different objects and places to explore, in both indoor and outdoor areas (eg, jumping in puddles, running up and down little hills, playing with pots, pans, spoons, paper etc).

Provide activities to develop early learning and cognitive skills, including verbal and non-verbal reasoning skills. These may include:

• Attending to relevant cues (looking at a speaker or attending to the source of a sound, looking at target objects or pictures in books).  
• Cause and effect (hypothetical) reasoning (eg, games with anticipation of responses such as Round and Round the Garden; cause and effect toys).  
• Comparison (identifying which item is bigger or smaller, heavier or lighter, longer or shorter etc).
• Categorisation (grouping items by given categories such as colour, size or shape).
• Correspondence (assigning number names to objects; sharing things between two or more people).
• Focused perception (looking and listening carefully to visual, verbal or physical cues or items).
• Conservation of constancy (understanding that some things stay the same whilst others change eg, changing the layout of a group of items but keeping the same number, pouring liquid or sand between containers).
• Identifying defining criteria (identification of an object based on colour, size, shape etc; matching objects to their function).
• Labelling (using labelling words and concepts to describe objects eg, colour, heavy or light, big or small, naming things about an object, pointing to or naming specific items on request).
• Pattern recognition/seriation (recognising and continuing patterns of colours or shapes; lining up sticks in order of height).
• Planning behaviour (developing capacity to plan actions and not act impulsively (eg, gathering equipment in advance of an activity; planning how all items will fit into a box; testing out ideas; trial and error reasoning).
• Relating past to present experiences (demonstrating that past events have influenced present behaviour eg, knowing how previously shown toys work, re-enacting familiar actions or situations in role-play area).
• Role taking (Theory of Mind) taking on another ‘role’ and acting as that person or thing would (eg, different roles in role play; moving like a specific animal).
• Self-regulation (physical and behavioural) ability to control impulses (eg, stopping or starting something when needed; delaying gratification; attending – may be seen through sharing, turn taking, moving on if something isn’t available, persevering if something is difficult).
• Sequencing (sequencing letters, number cards, ladybirds with dots on their backs; sequencing routines using picture cards).
• Systematic searching (looking through a set of items to find a specific one or the next one needed eg, stacking cups by size; looking through pictures to find the odd one out; shape sorting).
• Using several sources of information (combine and understand different sources of sensory information, eg, “Look at the teddy and point to his hat”).

Staff training and development in assessing children through play (eg, Let’s Play Guide; Play Based Assessment as part of Emotionally Friendly Settings (EFS) from Salford Educational Psychology Service). 

Getting help, SEN support interventions

Targeted small group support and interventions to develop skills for learning, such as sustained, focused and joint attention (eg, Attention and Listening Skills programme from Salford Educational Psychology Service.)

Play opportunities in small groups that include good peer role models.

Differentiation of the adult’s role in supporting and facilitating play, depending on the group/ activity being undertaken, eg:

• Modelling skills and feelings
• Observing play
• Providing resources
• Mediating learning (see below)
• Physically positioning an adult nearby
• Allowing a balance of child-led and free play, as well as adult-directed tasks
• Questioning and making suggestions
• Joining in when needed or invited. Being a ‘play partner’ rather than controlling the play
• Supporting and extending child-led play

Consider which forms of adult mediation are most appropriate or useful for some children:  

• Helping the child feel at ease (building rapport, using familiar and enjoyable activities).
• Focusing the child on the task (eg, using visual and verbal prompts, moving things into their line of sight).
• Using ‘hand over hand’ guidance.
• Modelling how to do the activity or task first.
• Mediating meaning by focusing the child on relevant features of the task (eg, feeling objects, demonstrating use, pointing to buttons or switches).
• Focusing the child on the adult’s role and involvement (turn-taking, modelling, demonstrate trying and failing and asking for the child’s help).
• Assisting generalisation of the skill (eg, show the child how to use a toy in a different way, or different toys in the same way).
• Helping the child to plan (eg, making tasks visually clearer by reducing the number of items in front of child, providing non-verbal demonstration, talking through what to do next).
• Helping the child to break down tasks through modelling and demonstration (do one-step at a time and encourage child to copy); teach the sequences of pretend play).
• Helping the child to feel successful (using verbal and non-verbal praise, encouragement, and tangible rewards).
• Helping the child feel that they’ve made progress (providing task-specific praise; stating what they can do at the end that they couldn’t at the start).

Increased use of play-based assessment for children who may require more fine-grained assessment of their skills, or who may not fit easily into EYFS tracker (eg, those with language difficulties).

Getting more help, personalised interventions

Further adaptation of the adult role in play and learning and the form(s) of mediation needed: children in this group may need more frequent and higher levels of mediation (eg, ‘hand over hand’ guidance).

Increased sensory play activities for children with more complex needs.

Adaptation of play resources and environments to meet complex needs eg:

• Physical needs  
• Visual impairment  
• Hearing impairment support from specialist services may be required (see sensory and or/physical needs section) 

Implement appropriate play interventions for children with specific individual needs (e.g. Play Bank or Identiplay).

Use individualised Play Plans and or Engagement Profile and Scale to address specific skills identified through assessment.

Provide time and space for targeted support on a consistent basis (eg, access to a smaller space to complete interventions, increased staff: child ratios for times when intensive support and interventions are being delivered).

Use the Plan-Do-Review process to monitor the child’s progress, alongside any external agencies’ advice, whilst collating evidence of the impact of the strategies being used (please refer to the Best Practice Walkthrough document). 

Where the child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), refer to described outcomes and provision and implement. Continue to use the Plan Do-Review process against the specified outcomes and provision. Regularly update with strategies as they are tried. Complete Annual Review of EHCP (please refer to the Best Practice Walkthrough document). 

Getting advice

Implement evidence-based recommendations around preparing for literacy in the Early Years. 

Staff to receive training in literacy approaches used, to ensure a consistent approach.  Staff should also be aware of what to expect at each age and stage, how children’s literacy skills typically develop, and how to assess this development.

Engage parents/carers and share activities with them, so that children can use the same approaches outside of the setting (eg, create ‘story sacks’ or ‘toy sacks’ for children to take home and share with parents; send the group teddy home for the weekend and ask families to describe activities completed together the following week).

Regular tracking and assessment/ observation of children’s early reading and writing skills.

Combined early literacy approaches, eg: 

• Storytelling and group reading.
• Activities to develop letter knowledge, knowledge of sounds and early phonics.
• Singing songs and rhymes together; missing out words of familiar songs to allow children to fill in the gaps.
• Introductions to different kinds of writing. Approaches should cover a range of activities and focus on both early reading and writing skills.

Reading:

• Collect a range of books appropriate to the age and developmental stage of the children.
• Allow children to handle books from an early age and draw their attention to pictures.
• Read board or cloth books to babies. Allow them to hold the book as you read and talk to them about what you can see in the pictures.
• Create an attractive book area where adults and children can share books together – use puppets, soft toys and real objects as props to share stories.
• Provide frequent opportunities for children to read books with adults, where adults model reading skills and comment on pictures.
• Adults point to words as they read them.
• Adults ask questions about concrete information from the story.
• Create a ‘print-rich’ environment where children can learn words and model the language of print.
• Provide opportunities to act out stories in play.
• Adults demonstrate phonic decoding of words (eg, by using ‘big books’).
• Sort pictures or real-life objects into semantic categories (eg, clothes vs toys) to support understanding of different types of words.
• Use Story Pictures/Story Stones to create a story. The child chooses cards/stones which each contain features of a story (eg, location, characters etc.) and then think of a story.
• Use Black Sheep Press Narrative icons to support structuring stories.

Early phonics activities:

• Clapping syllables.
• Actions/noises for keywords (ie, clap when you hear…).
• Story bags – pick out an object that’s mentioned in a story. Lift the object up when they hear the object.
• Tongue twisters.
• Singing and rhyming games to encourage recognition of rhyme, the sounds in words, patterns, rhythm.
• Tuning into sounds (eg, nature sounds, different instruments).
• Listening, remembering, and copying sounds (clapping patterns etc).
• Support in recognising their own name (eg, read name on coat peg etc).
• Picture sequencing (ie, providing child with pictures which tell a story, ask the child to order the pictures to tell the story in the correct order. This supports understanding of story patterns, sequencing etc).
• Phonics programmes such as Letters and Sounds, Jolly Phonics etc. 
• Activities/games to support phonological processing: matching sounds to pictures/objects (eg, things with a ‘Ch’ sound); Robot phonics (breaking words up into phonemes accompanied by robot arms); looking for the same letter/sounds in a book.

Writing:

• Ensure that babies hear a wide variety of words.
• Allow babies to explore what happens when they use their hands and feet.
• Draw and paint with the child and comment on what you’re drawing.
• Attach meanings to marks in various contexts (eg, point out simple words on displays and read what they say).
• Provide regular access to activities to develop gross and fine motor skills underpinning handwriting skills (eg, painting big pictures/ circles to build shoulder strength and stability, use of playdough and hand and finger exercises to improve fine muscle control, such as Dough Disco). 
• Provide frequent mark-making opportunities using different techniques (eg, sand writing, painting etc.) to encourage recognition of spelling patterns and familiarity with writing words.
• Record things that children say to highlight that what they say can be written down and read by others (eg, write something they say to share with parents).
• Model writing for a purpose (eg, shopping list, letters to friends they can pretend to post, messages or cards for parents).
• Provide opportunities for writing during role-play activities (eg, notepads in doctor’s surgery role-play).

Getting help

Targeted small-group support, in addition to whole group early literacy activities.

Alongside the EYFS tracker identify and complete appropriate assessments to establish a greater understanding of the child’s needs. For example:

• Observation.
• Discussion with parents/ carers.
• Play-based assessment (see ‘Thinking Skills’ above).
• Fine-grained assessment tools (eg Early Support Developmental Journal).
• Refer to A Celebratory Approach to SEND Assessment in the Early Years document for further guidance.

Increased use of play-based assessment in an ongoing way for children who may require more fine-grained assessment of skills or who may not fit easily into EYFS tracker (eg those with language difficulties).

Use of appropriate mediation strategies (see Thinking Skills).

Getting more help

Further adaptation of the adult role in play and learning and the form(s) of mediation needed – children in this group may need more frequent and higher levels of mediation (eg ‘hand over hand’ guidance).

Increased sensory play for children with more complex needs.

Adaptation of play resources and environments to meet complex needs, eg:

• Physical needs
• Visual impairment
• Hearing impairment Support from specialist services may be required (see Sensory and or/Physical needs section)

Use individualised Play Plans and or Engagement Profile and Scale to address specific skills identified through assessment.

Use of appropriate mediation strategies (see Thinking Skills).

Getting advice

General:

Implement evidence-based recommendations around Improving Mathematics in the Early Years.

Staff to receive training in mathematics approaches used, to ensure a consistent approach. Staff should also be aware of what to expect at each age and stage and understand how children’s Maths skills typically develop, and how to assess this development.

Engage with parents and share activities with them, so that children can use the same approaches out of setting.

Regular tracking and assessment/ observation of children’s early maths skills.

Use of concrete resources (eg, cubes, counters, small toys).

Games/activities for developing early maths skills:

• Hold babies’ hands and help them to clap as you sing songs.
• Sing songs/ rhymes with numbers and actions.
• Give opportunities to explore categories (eg, different types of spoons, different shapes).
• Count with children as you do things (eg, put on their coats or fasten the buttons on their coats).
• Allow opportunities to make choices between different objects, modelling the language relating to different categories (eg, colour, size, shape).
• Activities where children can order or categorise by size, shape, number etc.

Number:

Support understanding and use of numerical concepts/language:

• Modelling numerical language (big, bigger, small, smaller, more, less, how many, enough etc.)
• Opportunities for sand/water play eg, filling containers and transferring water/sand to different containers, which encourage thinking about quantity/amount.
• Use language such as ‘full’ and ‘empty’ alongside water/ sand play.

Opportunities for counting:

• Model touching/moving objects to count them.
• Model arranging objects (eg, into a line) to make counting easier.
• Chanting with visuals to match words to numbers.
• Building towers and counting blocks as you go.
• Purposeful counting opportunities (eg, number of children allowed in an area at once; games that allow counting such as Hide and Seek).
• Regularly singing counting songs (eg, 3 cheeky monkeys, 3 little men in a flying saucer, 10 green bottles).

Encourage recognition of graphical representation of numbers (matching number cards). Display number lines in the environment.

Encourage subitising (recognising small numbers of objects without counting). Offer subitising games and activities using visual picture cards/small numbers of objects.

Encourage use of numeracy in roleplay activities (eg, coins at the supermarket, tickets for a bus).

Shape/ space/ measure:

• Give babies and young children opportunities to play and find out what their hands and feet can do. Encourage this by providing toys of interest, cause, and effect toys etc.
• Opportunities to play with puzzles where pieces go into matching spaces.
• Point out and label different shapes in the environment, complete shape hunts where children must find and sort shapes.
• Provide different sizes and shapes of containers (eg, role play, sand, and water play) so that children can experiment with quantities and measures and find where things belong.
• Play games that involve children positioning themselves or objects (eg, inside, behind, on top etc.). Adults use and model this vocabulary as they play.
• Copy box games (one box contains a set of objects, child to collect the same objects).
• Activities/games involving looking for or recognising patterns; provide collections of interesting things for children to sort and label in their play.
• Identifying times of day – morning, afternoon etc.

Getting help, SEN support interventions

Opportunities for small group work and play activities around early Maths skills. A balance of guided interaction with direct teaching and child led activities (depending on age/ capabilities of the child).

Alongside the EYFS tracker Identify and complete appropriate assessments to establish a greater understanding of the child’s needs. For example:

• Observation
• Discussion with parents/ carers
• Play-based assessment (see ‘Thinking Skills’ above)
• Fine-grained assessment tools (eg, Early Support Developmental Journal)
• Refer to A Celebratory Approach to SEND Assessment in the Early Years document for further guidance

Increased and ongoing use of play-based assessment for children who may require more fine-grained assessment of skills or who may not fit easily into EYFS tracker (eg, those with language difficulties).

Getting more help

Further adaptation of the adult role in play and learning and the form(s) of mediation needed – children in this group may need more frequent and higher levels of mediation (eg, ‘hand over hand’ guidance).

Increased sensory play for children with more complex needs.

Adaptation of play resources and environments to meet complex needs, eg:

• Physical needs
• Visual impairment
• Hearing impairment Support from specialist services may be required (see Sensory and/or Physical needs section)

Use individualised Play Plans and or engagement profile and scale to address specific skills identified through assessment.

Use of appropriate mediation strategies (see Thinking Skills).