Exclusions in the early years: our collective challenge and the path forward

The challenges brought about by the pandemic have left a significant mark on the lives of children in their early years. Among the distressing repercussions, one particularly troubling trend has emerged - the increasing number of exclusions of children in their early years.

The alarming rise in early years exclusions

Recent government data reveals a stark reality: in the 2021-22 academic year, 11,695 children aged five and under in England faced fixed-term exclusions, marking an 11% increase from 2018-19. Often, these exclusions result from behavioural issues, communication challenges, or a lack of readiness for school.

The impact of early exclusions

While exclusions of young pupils in the early years are relatively rare when considering the over 4.3 million children aged 0 to 5 in the country, this should not diminish the significance of the issue. Early exclusions bear far-reaching implications for a child's academic and social development, setting them on a path of disengagement from education. The need for increased resources and investment to provide proper intensive support for these children in the early years is evident, as is the compelling case for cost-effective and high-return investments in this area.

However, if early years exclusions are the coal face of how we are failing our young children, it’s through better addressing the bedrock below that we can realise a holistic strategy to address this heartbreaking situation.

The underlying issues

The reality is that very significant numbers of our children are behind in their development when they enter the classroom. In some schools in deprived areas, up to 40% of reception children arrive at school not yet potty-trained.

Experts assert that many more children start school with undiagnosed language and learning difficulties, which can lead to behavioural problems. Cuts in public services have resulted in many children not receiving a health visitor's assessment at the recommended age of two and a half, and the closure of children's centres has allowed struggling families to slip through the cracks.

The crucial role of the home learning environment

‍The significance of the home learning environment cannot be overstated. It plays a pivotal role in shaping a child's early development and school readiness. This is not just about books on shelves and toys to play with, but crucially the quality of interactions between parents and their children.

We know that positive, stimulating interactions at home are rocket fuel for early child development, laying down the foundations for communication, social and emotional skills, and practical abilities from going to the toilet independently, to holding a pencil. But we also know that the more pressures parents face - time pressure, lack of confidence and knowledge, stress - the more difficult it is to create and sustain these types of interaction-rich environments.

Two fundamental questions arise...

1. How can we inspire positive, stimulating home learning environments to help children get ahead in their development?
2. What distribution strategy will allow us to effectively reach marginalised and low-income families?

EasyPeasy's collaborative solution

At EasyPeasy, we believe a collaborative approach is required. Through our partnerships, local authorities provide the EasyPeasy app-based parenting programme for free to their local families. The programme recommends personalised, real-world activity ideas and guidance to parents and carers, inspiring stimulating interactions and supporting positive behaviour change at home. Through these interactions, children develop problem-solving, communication, and emotional regulation skills, getting them ready for school. The app also fosters a sense of community among parents, providing a platform for sharing experiences and seeking advice, which can be especially valuable for marginalised families. 

We offer implementation support and training for early years practitioners to embed EasyPeasy referrals into health and education pathways including with health visitors, midwives, and early years teachers, working together to reach target audiences. We also run targeted digital campaigns to support reach to marginalised and low-income families. A real-time data system allows us to work together to monitor reach and impact across the population, making adjustments to the implementation approach during delivery and ensuring responsiveness to the evolution of a local authority's strategy.

A holistic approach to preventing early exclusion

A comprehensive strategy to reduce early exclusions requires responsive and intensive support for children who are displaying complex or severe behavioural problems through a well-funded and expert workforce. A well-designed and implemented approach to prevention is equally important. Through harnessing the collaborative power of our early years workforce and our families and communities, and through making the best use of scalable technologies and systems, we can ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive in school and in life.

Partner with EasyPeasy for your Local Authority area

In our mission to support babies, children, families, and early years practitioners and carers nationwide to lay the foundations for a happy and healthy life, EasyPeasy is proud to partner with councils to enhance the development and delivery of integrated, local early years delivery plans and strategies. Find out more, download an EasyPeasy commissioning guide, and get in touch with us today!