Teaching to develop high ability in the early years

Why a focus on the early years? The years from birth to 5 are crucial for young children’s development. Typically, huge strides in all aspects of development are made during this period. Development, however, is not a linear process, with children developing quickly in one aspect and less quickly in another. What is to be protected is the value of each ‘stage’ on the developmental journey and to recognise and support each development phase (Langston & Doherty, 2012). Firm foundations are laid in the early years that can have a profound effect on future choices, achievement, wellbeing, happiness and resilience. This is a time when the brain’s neural pathways are built on a daily basis and new connections are formed from new lived experiences. Practitioners working with young children have a responsibility to create environments in which young children’s learning and development flourishes and their gifts and talents can be recognised, nurtured and extended (Doherty, 2022). All children, including the more able, have a right to high-quality education that meets their needs, helps them achieve their best possible outcomes and fulfils their potential. They have an entitlement to inclusive high-quality experiences in early years settings and schools that allows them to develop their unique strengths and gifts with high expectations for each child and to work on individual goals while participating in the life of the classroom with pupils of the same age. It is about practice which ensures children and parents, staff and anyone connected with a setting or school feels a part of. Under the umbrella of inclusion, this is no less the case for more able children than it is for any other group.  

Identifying high ability in young children

All children are entitled to provision that reflects their unique characteristics, fascinations and enthusiasms. It is important for teachers and practitioners to identify children’s strengths and interests at every stage in their development to ensure that this entitlement is met. In the early years, skills and talents are more likely to be revealed when educators and parents work in close partnership, sharing observations and information about the children at home and at their setting or school. Observing and listening carefully to the voices of children will reveal insights into their learning and development that could never be captured through more formal assessment or tests (National Strategies, 2010). 

Young children display particular personal traits, such as curiosity, agile thinking and motivation. They have an ability to learn well and enjoy learning new ideas and concepts easily and quickly. They may display atypical learning styles, such as dislike of repetition, showing interest beyond their years, and are inclined to choose unusual ways of working. They display specific academic abilities, for example understanding and using advanced vocabulary, have advanced mathematical reasoning, or well-developed motor skills. Development is individualistic. Account must be taken as to how and when individuals reach these developmental milestones as well as where gaps are.  One of the main tools in coming to a view about the rate and quality of children’s learning is observation. This will give great insights into a child’s individual development and progress. Teachers and practitioners know the children in their class and use this knowledge and their professional judgement to support and identify those who may be more able.  Signs of high ability in the early years include:

• Great curiosity about the world, desire to explore and discover its meaning
• Marked interest in the whys and wheres, as well as the hows and whys, and constant questioning
• Working well above age level in ability, possibly even self-taught
• Extensive vocabulary and early reading ability
• Walking and talking earlier than average
• Showing special abilities in areas such as problem-solving, art, music or mathematics
• Unusually attentive and able to concentrate
• Advanced motor and coordination skills

(Source: Renwood, Firth & Lowe, 2018)

When identifying more able learners, practitioners should have knowledge of the ways in which young children learn. This means considering each child’s strengths and interests at each stage of their development will be enhanced by working closely with parents.  It is about implementing a pedagogy of listening and observing, rather than formal assessment, so that adults who support learning can tune into these unique strengths and talents.  

The Early Years Foundation Stage in England 

The statutory framework for early years in England from 2021 is the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS). This applies to all early years providers in England; maintained schools; non-maintained schools; independent schools (including free schools and academies); all providers on the Early Years Register; and all providers registered with an early years childminder agency. In this, there are seven areas of learning and development that shape educational programmes in early years settings. It acknowledges that all areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected.

The Prime areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving. 

• Communication and language -the development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development. Children’s interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development

• Physical development- gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, co-ordination and positional awareness.

 •Personal, social and emotional development - is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Strong, warm and supportive relationships with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others.

Schools and early years settings must also support children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:

 • Literacy - Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. Writing involves transcription (e.g. spelling and handwriting) and composition (e.g. articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing).

• Mathematics- developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Through opportunities to build and apply this understanding, children will develop a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary from which mastery of mathematics is built. In addition, it is important that the curriculum includes rich opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures.

 • Understanding the world - understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. Listening to stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems fosters understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across domains.

• Expressive arts and design- the development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports imagination and creativity. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/974907/EYFS_framework_-_March_2021.pdf

In the context of developing knowledge, skills and understanding across the EYFS areas of learning, the tables below provide guidance.

Table 2. Supporting high ability in the Prime Areas of the EYFS

Table 3. Supporting high ability in the Specific Areas of the EYFS

            (Source: Renwood, Firth & Lowe, 2018)

Effective and supportive learning environments

Learning environments are an essential element of provision to ensure that all young children learn effectively, be challenged and develop appropriate independence. Well-planned, high-quality learning environments indoors and out, together with secure emotional environments are key for the development of the dispositions that enable children to make progress and achieve (Tibbetts, 2021).

The physical learning environment should promote active independent learning. This should be set up in such a way that children can access resources independently and take a lead in their own learning enquires. Resources should be added to encourage children to deepen their learning and conditions for rich play provided. Having a safe and secure learning environment with clear boundaries, where everyone is valued and respected, will scaffold learning in the right direction. A strong emotional learning environment is crucial for all children, including more able children, helping them to build resilience and self-esteem, become confident and independent learners, make decisions, engage in new and unfamiliar experiences, and feel safe enough to take risks in their learning (Renwood, Firth, & Lowe, 2018).

An EYFS Learning Environment Audit to support leaders and practitioners review and develop their learning environments plus practical tips and examples to enhance provision through additional opportunities for challenge for more able young children can be accessed here.

Partnerships with parents and carers

Parents want the best for their children. Parents and carers play a crucial role in the early identification of high ability. They are a young child’s first educator and an integral part of his/her initial development and learning experiences. The case for engaging parents in their children’s learning is widely reported. Research by Goodall et al. (2011) found that the more engaged parents are in their child’s learning, the more likely they are to succeed. Fostering strong relationships with parents and carers helps to create a broader understanding of each child’s individual learning. Effective partnerships with parents must be focused on the learning of the child and not on the interaction between the parent and the school (Harris & Goodall, 2008). Effective partnerships should be based on trust, defined expectations and a two- way dialogue. Parents’ belief in their own ability to be of support to their children’s learning is crucial since parents need to feel that they can affect change.

Through strong home-school partnerships, parents and carers will be able to add to a child’s learning and provide further evidence of a child’s advanced skills through their insights.  This view was supported more recently by Lowe (2017) who reported that parental support is one of the most important factors in a child’s success in school. The author writes that being the parent or carer of a more able child can be both a delight and a challenge. Living with a more able child can raise many questions for parents and family. A parent’s responses to a child’s exceptional needs will, to a large extent, depend on the parent’s values, their own experiences of education, and what they believe about their own abilities. She advocates how important it is that parents and carers think through their responses, in order to support their child to develop and express their ability, to find balance, emotional harmony and personal fulfilment and to live life fully as a child. 

Conclusion

Children are developing more rapidly during the earliest years than at any other time in their lives, and gifts and talents may be transient at this stage. However, by tuning in early to the range of strengths, interests and passions of children as they begin to emerge, practitioners can gain an insight into their potential and plan opportunities that enable this to be celebrated and nurtured. Young children with particular gifts and talents deserve to have their needs met.  The years from birth -5 are pivotal for learning and development. The characteristics of the more able are identifiable and observable and recognising these can form the basis of discussions between supporting adults as to exactly how to meet these individual needs. In the EYFS this does not require alternative arrangements to be made or specialist input, but pedagogy that begins by observing and listening to this group of learners. Adding the ingredient of cognitive challenge will extend learning and thinking and inform “next steps” in the classroom and outdoor contexts too where learning takes place so that their unique skills and talents can flourish.

For further reading see the report Highly Able Children in the Early Years from the Scottish Network for Able Pupils (SNAP).

References

Doherty, J. (2022) Meeting the needs of high-ability learners in the Early Years. Early Childhood Hub, Chartered College of Teaching.

Goodall, J. et al. (2011) Review of Best Practice in Parental Engagement: Research Report DFE-RR156. London: DfE

Harris, A. & J. Goodall, J. (2008) Do parents know they matter? Engaging all parents in learning. Educational Research 50, No. 3: pp.277-89.

Langston, A. & Doherty, J. (2012) The Revised EYFS in Practice. London: Bloomsbury

Lowe, H. (2017) Guidance for Parents and Carers. Supporting your child with high ability. National Association for Able Children in Education. Abingdon, Oxon: NACE

National Strategies Early Years (2010) Finding and exploring young children’s fascinations. Strengthening the quality of gifted and talented provision in the early years. Nottingham: DCSF Publications

Renwood, C., Firth, B. & Lowe, H. (2018) High Ability in the Early Years. National Association for Able Children in Education. Abingdon, Oxon: NACE

Tibbetts, E. (2021) EYFS Toolkit. A visual guide to creating a challenging learning environment. National Association for Able Children in Education. Abingdon, Oxon: NACE