Early Years Leadership: How to Improve Outcomes for Every Child

A child’s early years are a period of extraordinary growth: the brain reaches around 90% of its adult size by age five, creating foundations for increasingly complex thinking and learning. 

For school leaders, Reception and early-years provision should therefore be a strategic priority, and not simply one phase among many.

The evidence reinforces this. High-quality early education and care is particularly beneficial for disadvantaged children, pupils with special educational needs and boys across many social and behavioural outcomes. Higher-quality education and care between ages two and four is also associated with better academic results at the end of Key Stage 1.

As we focus on tackling persistent disadvantage gaps, this really matters. Acting early - before gaps grow - is essential to giving every child a fair start.

What high-quality practice looks like

Quality in the early years is shaped by everyday interactions. Back-and-forth conversations help develop children’s communication while extending their thinking and learning. Scaffolding enables children to succeed at tasks that are currently too difficult to complete independently.

Effective scaffolding depends on shared attention, a strong understanding of the individual child and clarity about the intended outcome. It also requires warm, encouraging educators who help children develop the belief that they can succeed. The level of support and challenge must be carefully judged so that learning remains achievable without becoming too easy.

These interactions also support children's developing self-regulation. Self-regulated learners can concentrate, plan their next steps, monitor and adapt their approach, manage strong feelings, and refocus and recover when difficulties arise.

Turning evidence into lasting improvement

Leaders play a crucial role in translating evidence into consistent practice.

Improvement is usually a process of incremental change, centred on the reliable implementation of specific teaching techniques. It's not about implementing one-off initiatives.

For change to stick, educators need to understand why it matters, what it involves and which skills they are expected to develop. 

Educators should also feel involved in the process and have regular opportunities to reflect on how implementation is progressing.

People value what they feel part of.

Practical leadership actions 

These include:

• protecting professional-development time for the entire early-years team
• ensuring early-years expertise is represented at a strategic level
• helping educators stop doing things that don't have impact, so they can prioritise high-quality interactions.

Every child needs a strong start to Reception. By making early years a genuine organisational priority, school leaders can help ensure that every child benefits from purposeful, responsive interactions.

Every day.

To find out more: check out this webinar for the Department for Education, where I discuss:

• why a child’s early years are crucial for long-term success

• how school leaders can turn evidence into action
• why strategic leadership is key to driving quality and improving outcomes

You can find further reading and other resources here: Strategic leadership of the Early Years in Schools: RISE Summer 2025.