How we drove a huge increase in our GLD score in 3 years

In 2022-23, at Ellacombe Church of England Academy in Torbay, Devon, our good level of development (GLD) score for Reception-aged children was just 50 per cent.

It was a figure we knew needed to improve as it sat far below the national GLD average at the time of 67.2 per cent.

Fast forward to this year (2025-26) and our GLD score is 83 per cent - a huge increase and one we are incredibly proud of.

How to improve GLD outcomes

So how did we achieve this? The key has been a radical overhaul of our on-site nursery provision, Little Stars, to do more to ensure children are working towards key GLD measures.

A thorough review of the previous three years’ GLD outcomes enabled targeted areas to be identified, and this highlighted noticeable gaps in all three prime areas of: communication and language; personal, social and emotional development; and physical development.

Our response to this was to embrace a Montessori-style approach to the nursery space as a nurturing “third teacher”, where psychological safety, inclusion, belonging, curiosity, independence and meaningful opportunities occur every day.

For example, we redesigned our outside spaces to help boost gross motor development, sensory exploration and curiosity-led investigation.

In the gross motor area, children build their own obstacle courses using tyres, planks and loose parts, developing strength, coordination, collaboration, language and problem solving.

The sensory area includes mud kitchens, natural materials, water play and musical resources that support emotional regulation and exploration. This supported children once they started their Reception year through noticeable improvements in social interactions, imaginative play and effortful control.

Finger gym and fruit cutting

Thinking ahead to school, we also created a dedicated finger gym where children develop the fine motor strength needed for later writing through activities such as threading, cutting, squeezing and using pincers.

This had previously been significantly lacking when children started Reception with underdeveloped fine motor skills, creating additional challenge as children were being asked to write and mark-make.

Linked to this, we also wanted independence to become part of everyday life.

Children take on practical responsibilities such as serving one another at snack time, spreading butter, cutting fruit, washing tables and tidying away resources.

They learn everyday skills such as walking safely in a line, moving confidently around the building and caring for the environment around them.

As part of this, more consistent routines - supported by visual prompts and Makaton - help children understand expectations and navigate transitions with confidence, while encouraging them to respect resources and look after shared spaces.

When comparing the cohorts from three years ago to those just finishing Reception, the school can clearly identify benefits to the whole-school environment, with these children increasingly successful in navigating wider school experiences.

Staff training and CPD

Underpinning all this has been a greater investment in the nursery practitioners, too.

For example, training in sustained shared thinking, the Education Endowment Foundation’s ShREC approach, the PACE model, Makaton, Talk Boost and Dingley’s Promise have ensured the environment and teaching work hand in hand.

This has supported all staff within the nursery setting to be increasingly consistent and inclusive in their interactions with children, with a particular benefit for those with special educational needs or disabilities or disadvantaged gaps.

Of course, none of this means there is not also lots of play for play’s sake and time for the children to be silly, get messy and dress up - just like any other nursery.

Yet it is clear that when nursery provision is designed with more purpose, this can exist comfortably alongside work to ensure they can start school with the best chance to succeed.

The GLD scores, which rose steadily each year - 61.5 per cent in 2023-24, 69.4 per cent in 2024-25 and then 83 per cent this year - demonstrate this.

The pupils who remain short of this goal are often those who either have significant SEND needs or didn’t attend Little Stars.

Change is possible

Moving forward, the nursery is looking to be an active partner in the Department for Education’s Early Education Partnerships to work alongside other local early years settings to share impactful practice and help all children to get an excellent early years experience.

Ultimately, school readiness is about helping children develop the confidence, independence and social skills they need in the classroom.

We’re incredibly proud of our improvements over the past four years and hope it can demonstrate to other settings that change is possible - and can help drive the national GLD figure higher, too.

Alison Helm, headteacher at Ellacombe Church of England Academy, part of the Learning Academy Partnership