What should 'school readiness' look like in 2025?

It is nearly the end of the school year and teachers and pre-schools across the country are preparing for transition to school. This is a time filled with excitement and trepidation for children and adults alike. At a time when school readiness seems to be a buzz word and the news reports that less children are school ready than ever before what does this really mean? A report from the Early year Alliance concluded that reception teachers in the UK found that 33% of children were not ‘school ready’ in September 2024 with 49% of teachers believing this was worse than the previous year. In comparison 90% of surveys parents believed their child was school ready. (https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/news/2025/01/kindred2-school-readiness-survey-shows-significant-numbers-children-are-behind-starting). In response to recent reports, the government have released a statement this month (July 2025) promising landmark strategies to support families and early years settings. (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/landmark-strategy-to-improve-early-years-and-family-services).

We are aware that speech and language issues are at an all-time high and it doesn’t look like this will abate this year. The charity Speech and Language UK report that children are not starting school ready to communicate. Their research indicates that “They don’t have the vocabulary to express what they are feeling. They’re about two years behind when they arrive.”

Perhaps if so many children are ‘not ready’ it's time to reconsider what ‘ready’ looks like in schools and in children's most formative years. It's not a secret that Scandinavia has arguably one of the best education systems in the world – with later school starting ages but high quality pre school education for all. With outdoor learning and nature at the heart of learning and less screen time and testing as a focus they are doing something right. We know that to maximise a child’s development they must have the opportunities for social interaction and for a range of environmental and cultural experiences. So, at Tick Hub, we see this as a starting point for modern school readiness.

“What we learn with pleasure, we never forget.” (Alfred Mercier)

There are often two differing views on school readiness – the holistic, child centred view and the academic view. Really, there can only be one view – that the whole child is at the centre of school readiness. Because, like building a wall, if some bricks are not in place at the bottom securely, eventually the wall will tumble under the weight of all it holds and at the moment, communication is that key element - the cement that needs to develop to hold the wall in place.  

For many parents toddler groups are a wonderful place where their children can explore and develop their communication skills and they can meet friends. They are also the breeding ground for the “my child can” parents. I remember taking my eldest daughter to one of these groups when she was 3 and another parent telling us all that her son could already count to 20, he knew all his letter sounds and recognised his name (at this point I just wanted my daughter to grown enough hair to look like a girl when she started school the following year). However, he did not leave her side. He did not interact with the rest of the children, he could not climb or scurry, he could not crawl or swing. When we sat for lunch, he would not join his friends, he sat on her lap and she spoon fed him. I did not say a word but watched as my daughter attempted to cut up her own food after an hour of running and climbing, engaging in conversation with the other children about the slide and the big bear while she used her cutlery to eat her lunch. In my mind, she was far more 'school ready', despite not knowing her phonics at 3!

Children are only children once – they grow a little older every day and all children are born to be able to learn. All children are unique, they are innately different and grown and develop at different speeds, they learn in different ways, and achieve different things, this is the bio-cognitive development process – the world would be boring if we were all the same.

So, as we get ready for another new academic year when children excitedly, and nervously, start school and parents hold back tears at the school gates, what does school readiness really mean in a nutshell? School readiness is about having the skills to be able to develop and learn in a school environment, which for the first year at least will continue to be play-based in most settings. The Chartered College of teachers discuss the value of play as part of transition, not just in EYFS, but in Key Stage One and beyond as a tool learning. Julie Fisher explains the importance of play and reflects that Play – those uninterrupted, spontaneous moments of joy and discovery. That is how children flourish, how they make connections with what they already know and how their self-confidence radiates to all around them. This shouldn't stop at the end of the Early years. (https://my.chartered.college/early-childhood-hub/the-value-of-play-in-a-successful-transition-from-early-years-to-year-1/)

We must also look at the research that backs up our understanding of children’s development. We know, on average, children are toilet trained 2 years later than they were 25 years ago – this undoubtably has an impact on children’s independence and we know more and more children are not fully toilet trained on entry to school.

Children must be given the opportunities to develop their building blocks of life before starting school, during school and then as adults they continue to add blocks. To do this they need opportunities to:

· Socialise – allow children to be other others, to play, to make mess and explore, to take turns and to learn to share and negotiate. Socialisation allows children to develop respect, empathy, kindness and cooperation skills.

· Build resilience – to explore and take risks, to learn from mistakes and keep trying, whether this is climbing a tree, building a model or playing a game.

· Ensure their physical and mental health – we all know that being in nature is good for our mental health and wellbeing – it’s good for children’s too – so get outside in nature, explore, walk, climb, scurry, run and roll – it’s good for you!

· Time to communicate, to speak and to listen – talk, read stories, tell stories, spent time with friends and family. Talk is key in a child’s development. Research shows that children who listen to stories every day hear up to 30 million more words that those who do not hear stories. The disadvantage gap in language at 5 is a strong predictor of how well a person will do at the age of 34. (Institute of Education).

“Reading and writing float on a sea of talk.”

· Independence and self-care – children should be able to manage their own basic self-care. Secure attachments and modelling will help children develop skills such as toileting independently, putting on shoes and socks, dress and undressing, asking for help and talking about their needs and feelings, using cutlery effectively to eat, holding a pencil to make marks.

Motor skills and strength - as children are spending more time taking part in sedentary activities in their formative years its important that we recognise the impact this has - if a child has not had the opportunities to develop their gross motor skills by rolling, running, climbing, sweeping and exploring they will not have the strength to then develop their fine motor skills to be able to paint, draw, thread, cut and eventually write. So, if the big movements aren't there, the small ones won't be ready to develop. Programmes such as dough disco and Squiggle while you wiggle help with this but a lot of this come back to play - What children are actually doing when playing is bountiful: they are problem-solvers, collaborators, detectives, investigators, artists and delegators all which developing skills without even thinking about it!

· Secure attachments – children who have a secure attachment to their care givers are more likely to thrive, to take risks and to learn. These relationships help children to develop functional relationships in later life.

School readiness is not about being ahead in phonics, writing or maths it is about being ready to learn these things in school. School readiness is about ensuring that a child has secure physical, emotional and neurological wellbeing – this is school readiness and everything else will come in time.

As we continue to travel the school readiness pathway- which is ever changing- we know that every child has had a different experience. It's time to embrace play and interaction because communication unlocks a world of opportunity, joy and learning.