12 September 2026 · 6 minute read
Developing teaching is about how adults help children learn during real moments—not how many adult-led activities appear on a timetable.
What does developing teaching mean?
In early years, teaching happens through warm interactions, carefully chosen experiences, routines and play. The adult knows what a child is ready to learn, makes a deliberate contribution and watches closely for the child’s response.
Inspectors will want to understand whether adults teach with purpose, whether they check that children have understood, and whether leaders help practice improve over time. A beautiful activity alone is not the evidence; the difference it makes to children is what matters.
Activities that show teaching in action
Purposeful play interactions
Join a child’s play with a clear reason: introduce a useful word, demonstrate a technique, deepen an idea or help the child solve a problem—then step back so they can use it independently.
Stories, songs and conversations
Model rich language, explain unfamiliar words, retell events and give children enough thinking time. Notice whether they begin to understand and use the new language themselves.
Maths in everyday life
Compare quantities at snack time, spot patterns outdoors, measure during cooking and talk about shape while building. Make the mathematical idea explicit without turning play into a formal lesson.
Physical skills and self-care
Show children how to pour, fasten, balance, cut or use tools safely. Break the action into achievable steps and reduce support as confidence grows.
Small-group and one-to-one teaching
Use a focused moment when it suits the child or learning intention. Revisit prior learning, check understanding and adapt the next step rather than simply completing an activity.
Responsive support for SEND and EAL
Use visuals, gestures, repetition, home-language knowledge, sensory adjustments or smaller steps so each child can participate and make progress from their own starting point.
What useful evidence looks like
Keep evidence proportionate. A few meaningful examples that show a teaching decision and its impact are stronger than a large folder of disconnected photographs.
- Brief observation notes showing what the adult noticed, did and changed
- Examples of children later using a modelled word, strategy or skill independently
- Planning or room notes showing how teaching responds to assessment
- Coaching and practice drop-ins with a clear action and follow-up
- Before-and-after examples showing improvement in adult interaction or child learning
- Team meeting reflections on what worked, what did not and what will change
- Relevant professional development followed by changes in practice
Help practitioners explain the impact
Teams do not need rehearsed speeches. They need shared language for describing why they intervened and what changed. Use these questions during supervision, room meetings or a short practice walk:
What did you want the child to learn?
What did you notice before you stepped in?
How did you model or explain it?
How did you check the child understood?
What did the child do independently afterwards?
What will you repeat, adapt or introduce next?
The key question
Do adults teach with clear purpose, and can the setting show that practice is improving over time?
If your team can answer this with a few specific examples, describe what children learned and explain the next step, you have the foundations of a confident inspection conversation.