FOR NURSERIES AND EARLY YEARS SETTINGS
Support for early years practitioners
Consistent messages help parents and carers feel confident about what to do at home.
Share trusted, practical guidance through everyday conversations in nurseries, early years settings and childminding. When families hear the same advice from the people supporting their child, it is easier to understand and put into practice.
Our Guides
Practical advice and guidance for parents and families of young children 0-5 years old.
Посібник із чищення зубів дітям
A practical guide for families on how to care for young children’s teeth, build good toothbrushing habits and prevent tooth decay from the very first tooth.
Посібник з привчання до горщика
A practical guide for families on when and how to potty train, with step-by-step advice to help children stop using nappies confidently and successfully.
Початок підготовчого класу
A practical guide for families on the key skills children can practise at home to help them feel confident, independent and ready to start Reception.
“The Starting Reception definition has been helpful in creating a clearer and more realistic understanding of what ‘school readiness’ means. It has supported us in reassuring families that children do not need to be reading, writing or completing formal tasks before starting Reception.
Instead, it helps highlight the importance of confidence, independence, communication, emotional wellbeing, social skills and being able to manage everyday routines.”
Early Years Toolkits
In this section, you’ll find free, ready-to-use promotional materials and messaging for professionals working in early years settings, schools and local authorities, designed to help you share and promote each of the guides.
Webinar Library
Explore our library of recorded webinars featuring practical, real-world approaches on how to support parents and carers of children aged 0-5 with topics from potty training to starting Reception.
50 mins • 30th April, 2026
Starting Reception - Setting Expectations with Parents
This webinar explores how schools, early years settings and childminders can use Starting Reception to help families understand what starting school really looks like and why children need school readiness skills to thrive from day one.
You'll hear examples of practice from a school and a nursery, and come away with top tips and quick, easy wins.
48 mins • 8th June, 2026
Supporting Parents with Potty Training
This practical and supportive webinar for schools and early years settings explores how to work positively with families around potty training before children start Reception.
We discuss how practitioners can approach sensitive conversations, while balancing the realities and expectations within early years and school settings. Hear from experts in this area, who will share their experience, advice and top tips.
42 mins • 23rd April, 2026
How Early Years Settings and Childminders Can Help Families get School-Ready
In this webinar, Felicity Gillespie (Kindred Squared) breaks down why school readiness is critical, what children really need before starting Reception, and how parents and educators can work together to close the gap.
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