Children’s brains develop at a remarkable pace in the early years, and the experiences they have during this time matter.
Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child reports that in the first few years of life, more than a million new neural connections form every second. Those early connections are the foundation for later learning. The brain stays adaptable well beyond early childhood, but the years from birth to around age eight are a period of rapid development in which experience matters a great deal.
For school and trust leaders, this has a practical implication. Gaps usually become visible in later years, but the conditions that create them are often in place much earlier. The early years of primary school are a high-leverage opportunity to build secure foundations in reading and maths, before small gaps become entrenched.
How the brain develops in the early years
Researchers describe early brain development as experience-dependent: children’s experiences shape how neural pathways form and strengthen. Pathways that are used consistently become stronger and more efficient, while those that aren’t used are gradually pruned away.
During these years, the foundations of language, mathematical reasoning and executive function (skills such as holding information in mind, focusing attention and shifting between tasks) are developing. The quality and consistency of the experiences children have shape that development, and that includes how they are taught.
This is why teaching in the early years of primary school matters so much. It doesn’t only teach specific skills. It helps build the cognitive foundations that support learning for years to come.
These ideas fit well with evidence-informed approaches such as systematic synthetic phonics in early reading and explicit, well-sequenced maths teaching. Both give children clear, consistent and cumulative experiences to build on.
Core teaching: the engine of early progress
Because development is so rapid in these years, the quality of everyday classroom teaching is formative as well as foundational. The strategies teachers use in whole-class lessons shape the learning of every pupil, not only those who are later identified for extra support.
For this reason, many leaders now prioritise core teaching as the most effective and equitable place to focus. It is the universal teaching every pupil receives. When it is consistent and evidence-informed, children are better placed to build secure, efficient learning habits, and fewer need intervention later on.
In England, early reading already has a clear policy direction, with systematic synthetic phonics, the DfE’s Reading Framework and the Year 1 phonics screening check. The question for leaders is whether the same clarity and consistency apply to early maths, and to how the two subjects work together.
Literacy and numeracy develop together
A common assumption is that literacy and numeracy develop independently. Research points to extensive links between them. Early literacy skills are associated with later maths development, and early mathematical knowledge is associated with later reading comprehension.
One explanation is that both draw on shared cognitive foundations, including working memory, executive function and pattern recognition. A large US study (Duncan et al., 2007) also found that maths skills at school entry were among the strongest predictors of later achievement, including in reading.
The implication for leaders is practical. Reading and maths in the early years of primary are not separate projects. They are two parts of the same foundation, so it makes sense to plan, resource and review them together.
Why early gaps compound
Developmental researchers describe a “cumulative advantage” effect. Early capability makes later learning more efficient, while early difficulties tend to compound over time. Pupils who start with strong foundations often develop more effective learning strategies, build academic confidence and show greater motivation when tasks get harder.
Conversely, pupils whose foundations are not secure can find the gap between them and their peers widening as content becomes more demanding. The longer a gap persists, the more effort and resource it typically takes to close.
The economics of early investment
Economists also make a case for early investment. Nobel laureate James Heckman’s research on high-quality early childhood programmes in the US estimates an annual return of around 13 percent. He attributes this to “skill complementarity”: early capabilities make later skill development easier.
It is worth being clear about the context. This research concerns intensive US programmes for disadvantaged children from birth to age five, and it should not be read as a direct estimate of the return on any single decision in a UK primary school. Still, the underlying principle holds: early foundations make later learning more efficient, and it is usually more cost-effective to build them than to repair them.
For leaders, this is a case for getting the best value from existing resources, by focusing on the point at which they have the most lasting effect.
Putting this into practice
Understanding early development gives leaders a useful framework for decisions about teaching, training, assessment and resourcing.
- Curriculum and teaching. Prioritise evidence-informed approaches such as systematic synthetic phonics and explicit, well-sequenced maths teaching, rather than isolated skills activities. Look for approaches that develop working memory, executive function and pattern recognition across both reading and maths, and keep strong core teaching in place for all pupils.
- Professional development. Help staff understand how well-sequenced teaching in the early years supports later learning. Training should focus on evidence-informed approaches and on consistency across classes, and across schools in a trust.
- Assessment and early identification. Use assessment in the early years of primary, such as the Reception baseline assessment, the Year 1 phonics screening check and school-based assessments of early number, to identify pupils at risk early, while support can make the biggest difference.
- Resourcing. Consider whether your strongest teaching, expertise and materials are deployed where they have the greatest lasting effect, including the early years of primary.
This framework treats early learning not as preparation for later schooling but as the foundation of a pupil’s capacity to learn.
The strategic case for early foundations
Neuroscience, education research and economics all point in the same direction: the early years of primary school offer an exceptional opportunity to shape long-term outcomes. This is not about educational fashion or pedagogical preference. It is about how children develop and learn.
For leaders, the question isn’t whether this window exists. It’s whether your systems and resources are structured to make the most of it. Strong core teaching in reading and maths, planned together and delivered consistently, is one of the most effective ways to prevent gaps rather than remediate them.
Aligning your early learning strategy with how children develop helps ensure every pupil has strong teaching from the start.
Ready to align your strategy with the research?
Explore our free resource, ‘Building a Strong Foundation: The Interconnected Role of Literacy and Math in Early Learning Success’, for evidence-informed insights into the most important years of a child’s learning.
