Ready for school or are schools ready?

Following a report into ‘school-readiness’ among reception starters, we dive into what this phrase means, along with ways both settings and schools can flip the script

When we talk about the transition from early years settings to schools, a term that’s used a lot is ‘school readiness’. In short, this refers to the full range of developmental measures and milestones outlined for pre-school children who are transitioning to school, as opposed to academic attainment.

In February 2025, charitable foundation Kindred² – which works with partner organisations to improve early education and early child development – released a report identifying that, according to parents and teachers, children across England and Wales are starting school behind developmental expectations.

The statistics, taken from focus groups and surveys of both parents and teachers, compare perceptions of the September 2023 and September 2024 reception cohorts. The report shows that reception teachers found 33% of children weren’t school ready in September 2024, with 49% of teachers believing the school-readiness problem is worse than in September 2023. In comparison, 90% of parents say their child was ready for school in September 2024.

In the 2024 reception cohort, teachers report that 36% of children struggled to play and share with other children, 34% struggled to listen or respond to simple instruction, and 25% weren’t toilet trained when they started school.

Other findings include:

• 54% of teachers say boys are less school-ready than girls, compared to just 3% who say girls are less school ready.
• 49% of parents and 45% of teachers say parents don’t feel it’s their role to ready children for reception.
  
• 43% of parents and 54% of teachers state that children’s screen time is a major factor in children not being school ready.
  

Shortly after this report was released, The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood released its Shaping Us framework, which aims to improve the awareness and understanding of young children's social and emotional skills, outlining 30 “crucial” life skills that begin to develop in the early years and impact throughout life. The publication followed its annual public perception survey, which revealed that, though 94% of adults surveyed believe social and emotional skills are important to happiness, 42% reported having little to no understanding of how these skills develop in early childhood.

The picture that’s emerging here, then, is one demonstrating holes in the information families have regarding developmental milestones, the expectations of school, and social and emotional development.

So, what can be done about it?

A key element of the Kindred² report is the fact that it focuses on children being school ready and not on schools being ready to meet children where they’re at. This nuance is important – particularly in the wake of reporting on the widespread impact of lockdowns during the pandemic on young children’s physical, social and emotional development since 2020, as it suggests that being ‘behind’ developmental markers and milestones isn’t isolated to some groups of children, but is instead a more overarching concern for all children.

Tackling the issue of children not being ‘school ready’, then, means changing the narrative of school readiness itself to reflect modern concerns and differences.

But, how?

Balance – While children do indeed need to be prepared for the changes in expectations that will come with transition to school, there also needs to be emphasis on schools’ responsibility to meet reception cohorts where they’re at already and build in planned support for children to address any concerns before they arrive at school. If studies are showing that more and more children are starting school with limited knowledge of books, for example, schools should consider integrating book exploration sessions with the assumption that many will be unaware of what one is, how it works, and the purpose of books and stories.

Integrated, well-rounded support – As Early Years Alliance CEO Neil Leitch said following the Kindred² report, there needs to be a cohesive system of early years support, “one that ensures nurseries, preschools and childminders have the resources and funding they need to deliver quality care and education, and invests in comprehensive, joined-up systems of family services to ensure the parents are adequately supported during their child's earliest years”. Recent government initiatives have started to address these concerns, outlining integrated family hubs and funding specifically aimed at joining up the dots between services and support in the early years, while also providing education for families.

How can settings help with ‘school readiness’

Work closely with families to aid with ‘school-readiness’ so they understand what this is and consists of (almost 50% of families surveyed had either not heard of this phrase or didn’t understand how it related to parenting).

Focus on children’s social and emotional development using the Royal Foundation Centre’s new framework, Shaping Us, to develop well-rounded children as opposed to ones who tick all the boxes of being ‘school-ready’, according to teachers.

Integrate targeted CPD training that can build educators’ confidence with the concept of school readiness and how to support social and emotional development, to enable them to support families – such as the Alliance’s upcoming training on both areas!

What is school readiness?

20 March 2025, 6.30pm - 7.30pm
Book here: bit.ly/u5-schoolreadiness.

Supporting early social and emotional development using the Shaping Us Framework

9 April 2025, 6.30pm - 7.30pm
Book here: bit.ly/u5-socialemotionaldev.

COMING SOON: Transition Toolkit

A smooth and successful transition is essential to support the emotional health and wellbeing of children.

In early years settings, children experience various transitions with one of the most significant being when children start ‘big school’.

Readiness for school is a process and not an event, therefore, the Transitions toolkit has been developed to support providers to recognise ways in which they can support the transitions children make in the early years, with a particular focus upon starting school.

The toolkit is designed to support providers in identifying and supporting children through critical elements of transition and assist with action plan to support good practice in this area.

We are delighted to be able to offer FREE support to settings around transitions, with a package that will consist of:

• a 'Getting to know the toolkit' briefing session
• digital access to the Transitions toolkit.