We’ve quite rightly been worried about young children during the Covid-19 pandemic. And there is still a lot to worry about in the early years phase.

In particular, the toll of the coronavirus pandemic on the private and voluntary nursery sector will be appalling unless there is more government support. If we are not careful, the near-universal uptake of early education and care for three- and four-year-olds will decline sharply.

But despite all of this, I have some reasons to be optimistic about how early years education might bounce back.

1. Children have proved very adaptable 

My first reason for hope draws on what I’ve noticed about how positively children have been coming back into nursery around the country.

At Sheringham Nursery School in Newham, where I am the headteacher, we started off with lots of worries. How would the children cope with socially distanced queuing, hand sanitising,  temperature checking, parents not coming into the nursery rooms any more to settle their children and more?

Yet the children have largely taken these changes in their stride. What we are offering is not ideal, but it seems to be good enough.

We were most nervous about children with autism spectrum disorders. How would they cope, if they were already struggling to self-regulate in ordinary times? 

But again, with careful parental partnership and planning, the children have managed. We have communicated changes as clearly as we can, using video and WhatsApp messages. That way, no-one faced anything they didn’t expect. 

2. Catch up is easier in EYFS

My second reason for optimism is that the EYFS is well-suited to a “recovery curriculum” model. 

Early years practitioners already understand that children’s development is not steady. It looks more like the multiple strands of a spider’s web than the straight lines of Roman roads. 

We’ve always known that motivation is key to young children’s learning. So, we’ve always had to engage children quickly, building on their interests to introduce new ideas and new skills. 

Perhaps most importantly, the early years has always prioritised social and emotional learning. This is exactly what’s needed now. 

We are helping children to manage their anxieties. We are re-establishing positive routines for play, friendly co-operation and learning. Sound EYFS practice is exactly what the large majority of children need now. We already have the expertise and experience to deliver that.

3. Coronavirus tends to not cause young children harm

Although there is still much we don’t know about Covid-19, the evidence to date leaves me cautiously hopeful about the autumn. 

Sir David Spiegelhalter, professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at Cambridge University, has concluded that “healthy children…have been exposed to an extremely small risk during the peak of the epidemic, which would normally be deemed an acceptable part of life.”

4. Relationships with home are stronger than ever 

Finally, I’m optimistic because we’ve learned new ways of communicating with parents and supporting home learning. By offering better support for home learning in the future, we will be doing more to improve every child’s early education and overall life chances. 

Dr Julian Grenier is the headteacher of Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre. He co-leads the East London Research School