Written by Becky Haynes, Head of Nurseries, Our Community Nurseries, & Early Years Specialist, The Early Years Company.
The start of a new academic year is always filled with anticipation, excitement, and a hint of nervousness, both for children, their families and Early Years Educators (EYEs). For those in the early years and especially those who will be getting ready to transition into reception the following year —this period is particularly significant. It’s a time of discovery, growth, and laying the foundation for a lifelong love of learning.
The Magic of New Beginnings
In the early years, every academic year is a new adventure. Young children approach the start of the school year with a unique blend of curiosity and wonder. They are eager to meet new friends, explore different activities, and learn about the world around them. For those term-time children returning after the long summer break, it's going to be a time to meet back with friends and familiar adults to talk about their adventures of the summer break. This excitement is infectious and sets the tone for a year filled with opportunities.
Creating a Welcoming Environment
One of the most important aspects of starting a new academic year in the early years is creating a welcoming and safe environment. For many children, this might be their first experience away from home for extended periods. Early Years Educators then play a crucial role in easing this transition by fostering a warm, inclusive, and nurturing learning atmosphere. This is where the Key Person role plays a big part; ensuring the Key Person Policy is embedded into practice will allow for smooth transitions and will also contribute to children feeling safe and secure within their new environment
Setting up the environment with natural colours, engaging materials, and interactive play areas helps children feel at ease and eager to explore. Personalising the space with children’s names, pictures, and work from previous years can also create a sense of belonging and ownership. This can also create communication opportunities for the children to recall and remember experiences from the previous year.
Establishing Routines and Expectations
Young children thrive on routines. The beginning of the school year is the perfect time to establish these routines, which provide a sense of security and predictability. Simple activities like morning greetings, circle time, and story sessions become the anchor points of a child’s day, helping them to feel safe and supported. These are also opportunities for us as Early Years Educators to lay the foundations for the boundaries including high expectations of learning and the children's behavior.
It’s important to set clear expectations of what you want from the children. However, these should be communicated positively and encouragingly, they should also be age-appropriate expectations for the children, allowing them to thrive and flourish. This approach not only sets boundaries, but also reinforces positive behavior.
Fostering a Love for Learning
The early years are crucial for instilling a love for learning. The new academic year is a fresh opportunity to spark curiosity and inspire creativity in young minds. Through play-based learning, hands-on activities, and exploration, EYEs can create a dynamic environment where children are excited to learn. Giving that WOW factor to the environment, to make children think ‘wow, what we are doing today’. One thing to remember is that once you have set up an activity and if you don’t look at it and think ‘wow, I want to play in this’, then it’s more than likely that the children too aren’t going to think like this.
Incorporating a variety of teaching methods—storytelling, art, music, and outdoor play—ensures that every child finds something that sits alongside their interests and learning style. This diversity in learning experiences helps children develop critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and social-emotional intelligence.
Building Strong Relationships
The foundation of a successful academic year in the early years lies in building strong relationships—between EYEs and children, the children and their friends, and nursery and parents. Open communication, trust, and collaboration are key to creating a supportive learning community.
At Our Community Nurseries, we ensure that all parents know we have an open-door policy so that if they need to talk about anything, they know where to come. We also ensure that all staff are also aware of the open-door policy as that is also in place for them. Ensuring that different ways of communicating with parents are also in place, as one parent will notice another might not. For example, some parents will keep up to date via the app, but other parents prefer social media channels, so it's important that it is provided in a variety of ways.
For our EYEs, getting to know each child’s personality, strengths, and challenges early in the year helps tailor their approach to meet individual needs. Encouraging peer interactions through group activities and cooperative play fosters friendships and social skills, which are vital for a child’s development. These approaches will be done in a variety of ways that will also be done alongside the interests of the child as if they are doing something they are enjoying then they are more likely to be more involved, more chatty and more sociable.
Engaging Parents as Partners
Parents are a huge part of the early years’ educational journey. As the new academic year begins, it’s essential to involve them as active partners in their child’s learning process. Regular communication, whether through meetings, newsletters, or digital platforms, keeps parents informed and engaged.
Inviting parents to participate in setting activities, events, or even simple tasks like reading a story or sharing a cultural tradition can strengthen the connection between home and nursery. This partnership not only supports the child’s learning but also builds a sense of community within the setting.
As part of Our Community Nurseries, we provide monthly activities to the parents, for them to take home and enjoy with the children. As part of these activities, we provide links to the learning areas it is covering. This will allow the parents to see what areas the activity will impact; we then encourage the parents to share feedback so that it can then be threaded into the children's learning. This also allows parents to have their say in putting in children's learning even though they are at work. We need to remember that parents are the children's primary educators, and we are there to scaffold what they are already doing.
A Year of Endless Possibilities
As the new academic year unfolds in the early years, it brings with it endless possibilities for growth, learning, and joy. For young children, it’s a time to explore, ask questions, and discover the world in their unique way. For EYEs, it’s a chance to nurture young minds, guide their development, and inspire a lifelong passion for learning.
Together, as we embark on this new journey, let’s embrace the excitement of new beginnings, cherish the small moments of wonder, and work towards creating a learning environment where every child feels valued, supported, and ready to soar.
Here at Our Community Nurseries and The Early Years Company, we wish you all the best for the upcoming year. Please feel welcome to contact us via our website www.TheEarlyYearsCompany.co.uk.