Sharing teaching practices and even assets such as minibuses with private nurseries helps children smoothly transition to reception, says Marc Doyle
Collaboration. Partnerships. Sharing best practice. These are phraschoolses we champion across education.
Yet in one vital phase – the one that sets everything else in motion – they are too often sidelined by competition.
Early years education, particularly between nurseries and primary schools, is where collaboration matters most, and where competition too often takes its place.
As CEO of a trust comprising four primaries, I see every day how school readiness is shaped by what happens before children reach reception.
The recently-published Kindred Squared school readiness survey highlights trends most primary schools encounter each September.
Children arrive with gaps in communication, challenges around physical skills and struggles with independence. These are challenges schools cannot address alone, and they underscore why collaboration with early years providers is essential.
In our own nurseries and schools, we see this first-hand.
Some children start reception without the routines, skills or independence needed to settle quickly. Some require support with basic self-care well into the first term.
Colleagues point to factors such as prolonged dummy use, increased screen time and reduced opportunities for independent learning before school starts.
But the key point is simple. School readiness depends on what happens before the school gates and on how well early years providers and schools work together.
Focus on phonics
One example of effective collaboration to overcome this is our partnership with Play Pals, a private voluntary independent nursery operating under our trust’s umbrella.
While the two organisations remain legally and financially separate, they work closely in educational terms, with a shared focus on preparing children for school and supporting smooth transitions into reception.
Rather than competing for children, Play Pals acts as a feeder into our schools. This creates a clearer pathway for families and allows staff to align expectations early.
The aim is not only to improve occupancy, but to reduce the disconnect that often exists between nursery provision and the start of formal schooling.
Curriculum alignment is a central part of this model. Play Pals has adopted the same frameworks used across Quest schools, including the CUSP curriculum and Little Wandle phonics.
Children are exposed to consistent language, books and learning approaches from an early age. Unusually for a PVI setting, phase one phonics is introduced before reception, so children arrive familiar with sounds and early language structures.
I have seen first-hand that this alignment makes a tangible difference.
Our good level of development outcomes, previously below national averages, are now in line with – and in some cases above – national figures.
During a recent inspection, an Ofsted inspector even noted that without prior knowledge she might have assumed the provision was a school nursery rather than a PVI setting.
Pooled resources
The collaboration extends beyond the classroom. Shared resources allow nursery children to take part in swimming lessons for three and four-year-olds using school minibuses, as well as local community trips.
These experiences build confidence, independence and cultural awareness alongside early learning. Children in pre-school also wear school uniform, helping them get used to routines and easing the transition into reception.
Leadership and professional development underpin the model. We have a director of early years who works across nurseries and schools, providing training, oversight and quality assurance.
This role ensures practice is consistent while respecting the expertise of early years practitioners. Schools gain insight into younger children’s development, while nursery staff better understand what is expected in reception classrooms.
At a time when policy changes have created tension between school nurseries and private providers, this partnership demonstrates an alternative approach.
By focusing on collaboration rather than competition, we can support children to arrive in reception with confidence and independence.
This partnership has shown us that when schools and nurseries work together, children start school ready to learn – the starting block from which all success in education follows.
