Children at four

Children’s development at the age of four takes centre stage in this chapter. Reception teachers need to understand the fundamental issues about ‘ready’ on the continuum of development without thinking about ‘readiness’ – often used as an institutional label for some standards or goals being met. Evidence from research and theory discussed in this chapter aims to support teachers to be able to justify their practice in an educational environment where top down pressures could impose expectations of young children that are unrealistic, inappropriate and sometimes detrimental to children’s future progress. Crucial aspects of each five developmental areas (physical, cognitive, language, social and emotional) are discussed and their implications for practice.