Babies and young children start learning from birth. They thrive on new experiences and learn through a variety of activities, interaction with people and by exploring the world around them.

Your child from birth to three

It's never too early to learn. Recent research has shown that babies and young children are eager and highly capable learners, and even start learning before they are born.

High quality childcare and early education can help give your child the best start to their development and learning, which stays with them as they start school and beyond.

'Birth to three matters'

If your child attends a nursery, playgroup or other early years setting, then the staff working with your child will follow the guidance contained in ‘Birth to three matters: a framework to support children in their earliest years’.

The framework is for all those who work with and care for children aged from birth to three. It identifies four areas of skill and competence in all babies and young children, and highlights the links between your child’s growth, learning, development and the environment in which they are cared for and learn.

These four aspects are:

• a strong child
• a skilful communicator
• a competent learner
• a healthy child
• A strong child

Between the ages of birth and three, your child finds out who they are, what they like and what they can do. They experiment with different ways of relating to those around them, and need to be recognised and valued.

Staff working with your child may provide play and practical activities by:

• providing a variety of mirrors in different places to help babies explore what they look like and who they are
• letting children make decisions about how and where to display their paintings or allow them to select which toys to play with
• using different voices to tell stories and get your child to join in wherever possible, using puppets or soft toys
• providing dressing up clothes and materials that help children find out what it feels like to be someone else
• providing experiences that involve using all the senses, such as relaxing music, soft lighting and pleasant smells
• A skilful communicator

As your child grows, they become increasingly sociable, learn to communicate effectively, understand others and make choices.

Staff working with your child may provide play and practical activities by:

• role playing and dressing up, visits to parks, shops, or libraries encouraging children to take on roles, meet others and express feelings and thoughts
• providing tapes of rhymes and stories, sounds and nursery rhymes, spoken words; some that require your child to respond, others that engage them to listen
• responding to what your child shows they're interested in and wants to do by providing activities, stories and games
• providing opportunities for babies to make choices; for example, which spoon to choose, which bib to wear, the size of paintbrush to use, whether to go outdoors or stay in
• A competent learner

Drawings, words and imaginative play encourages your child to explore and develop their creativity.

Staff working with your child may provide play and practical activities by:

• providing resources for babies to play with, like pots and pans, wooden blocks, soft toys
• making a diary of photographs with your child to record an important occasion such as visiting a special place
• providing opportunities to play with sand, water and play dough
• having a collection of everyday objects such as wooden pegs, spoons, pans, corks, cones and boxes that can be safely explored alone, shared with adults or other children
• A healthy child

As your child grows they learn to express feelings and cope with new situations. Your child develops physical skills and learns about their body. They also learn about boundaries, rules and asking for help.

Staff working with your child may provide play and practical activities by:

• providing stories, pictures and puppets, which allow children to experience and talk about feelings
• taking a consistent approach when responding to challenging behaviour such as scratching and biting
• providing non-specific play materials such as boxes and blankets so that play can move in different directions