From Birth to Aged Three

Listening, Attention and Understanding

Birth to three

Turn towards familiar sounds. Startled by loud noises. Accurately locate the source of a familiar person’s voice, such as their key person or a parent

Gaze at faces, copying facial expressions and movements like sticking out their tongue. Make eye contact for longer periods.

Make eye contact for longer periods

Recognise and are calmed by a familiar and friendly voice.

Listen and respond to a simple instruction.

Understand single words in context – ‘cup’, ‘milk’, ‘daddy’.

Understand frequently used words such as ‘all gone’, ‘no’ and ‘bye bye’.

Understand simple instructions like “give to mummy” or “stop”.

Recognise and point to objects if asked about them.

Generally focus on an activity of their own choice and find it difficult to be directed by an adult.

Listen to other people’s talk with interest but can easily be distracted by other things.

Develop pretend play: ‘putting the baby to sleep’ or ‘driving the car to the shops’.

Listen to simple stories and understand what is happening, with the help of the pictures.

Identify familiar objects and properties for practitioners when they are described. For Example: ‘Katie’s coat’, ‘blue car’, ‘shiny apple’.

Understand and act on longer sentences like ‘make teddy jump’ or ‘find your coat’.

Understand simple questions about ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘where’ (but generally not ‘why’).

Speaking

Birth to three

Copy what adults do, taking ‘turns’ in conversations (through babbling) and activities. Try to

copy adult speech and lip movements.

Enjoy singing music and toys that make sounds.

Make sounds to get attention in different ways (for example, crying when hungry or

unhappy, making gurgling sounds, laughing, cooing or babbling).

Babble, using sounds like ‘ba ba’, ‘mamama’

Use gestures like waving and pointing to communicate

Reach or point to something they want while making sounds

Copy your gestures and words

Constantly babble and use single words during play

Use intonation, pitch and changing volume when ‘talking’

Can become frustrated when they can’t make themselves understood

Start to say how they are feeling, using words as well as actions

Start to develop conversation, often jumping from topic to topic

Use the speech sounds p, b, m, w.

Are usually still learning to pronounce:  l/r/w/y  f/th  s/sh/ch/dz/j  multisyllabic words such as ‘banana’ and ‘computer’

Self Regulation

Birth to three

Find ways to calm themselves, through being calmed and comforted by their key person.

Find ways of managing transitions, for example from their parent to their key person.

Feel strong enough to express a range of emotions.

Begin to show ‘effortful control’. For example, waiting for a turn and resisting the strong impulse to grab what they want or push their way to the front.

Be increasingly able to talk about and manage their emotions.

Safely explore emotions beyond their normal range through play and stories.

Learn to use the toilet with help, and then independently.

Managing Self

Birth to three

Establish their sense of self.

Express preferences and decisions. They also try new things and start establishing their autonomy.

Thrive as they develop self-assurance.

Look back as they crawl or walk away from their key person. Look for clues about how to respond to something interesting.

Play with increasing confidence on their own and with other children, because they know their key person is nearby and available.

Feel confident when taken out around the local neighbourhood, and enjoy exploring new places with their key person.

Grow in independence, rejecting help (“me do it”). Sometimes this leads to feelings of frustration and tantrums.

Are talking about their feelings in more elaborated ways: “I’m sad because…” or “I love it when …”.

Learn to use the toilet with help, and then independently.

Building Relationships

Birth to three

Engage with others through gestures, gaze and talk.

Use that engagement to achieve a goal. For example, gesture towards their cup to say they want a drink.

Notice and ask questions about differences, such as skin colour, types of hair, gender, special needs and disabilities, and so on.

Develop friendships with other children.

Gross Motor Skills

Birth to three

Lift their head while lying on their front.

Push their chest up with straight arms.

Roll over: from front to back, then back to front.

Enjoy moving when outdoors and inside.

Sit without support

Begin to crawl in different ways and directions.

Pull themselves upright and bouncing in preparation for walking

Gradually gain control of their whole body through. Continual practice of large movements, such as waving, kicking, rolling, crawling and walking

Clap and stamp to music.

Fit themselves into spaces, like tunnels, dens and large boxes, and move around in them.

Enjoy starting to kick, throw and catch balls.

Begin to walk independently choosing appropriate props to support at first.

Walk, run, jump and climb – and start to use the stairs independently

Spin, roll and independently use ropes and swings (for example, tyre swings)

Sit on a push-along wheeled toy, use a scooter or ride a tricycle.

Fine Motor Skills

Birth to three

Reach out for objects as co-ordination develops.

Pass things from one hand to the other. Let go of things and hands them to another person, or drops them.

Build independently with a range of appropriate resources.

Develop manipulation and control.

Explore different materials and tools.

Use large and small motor skills to do things independently, for example manage buttons and zips, and pour drinks.

Start to eat independently and learning how to use a knife and fork.

Show an increasing desire to be independent, such as wanting to feed themselves and dress or undress.

Comprehension

Birth to three

Enjoy songs and rhymes, tuning in and paying attention.

Join in with songs and rhymes, copying sounds, rhythms, tunes and tempo.

Say some of the words in songs and rhymes.

Copy finger movements and other gestures.

Sing songs and say rhymes independently, for example, singing whilst playing.

Enjoy sharing books with an adult.

Pay attention and responds to the pictures or the words.

Have favourite books and seeks them out, to share with an adult, with another child, or to look at alone.

Repeat words and phrases from familiar stories.

Ask questions about the book. Makes comments and shares their own ideas

Develop play around favourite stories using props.

Word Reading

Birth to three

Notice some print, such as the first letter of their name, a bus or door number, or a familiar logo.

Writing

Birth to three

Enjoy drawing freely.

Add some marks to their drawings, which they give meaning to. For example: “That says mummy.”

Make marks on their picture to stand for their name.

Number

Birth to three

Take part in finger rhymes with numbers.

Counting-like behaviour, such as making sounds, pointing or saying some numbers in sequence.

Count in everyday contexts, sometimes skipping numbers - ‘1-2-3-5.’

Numerical Patterns

Birth to three

Combine objects like stacking blocks and cups. Put objects inside others and take them out again.

React to changes of amount in a group of up to three items.

Compare amounts, saying ‘lots’, ‘more’ or ‘same’.

Climb and squeezing selves into different types of spaces.

Build with a range of resources.

Complete inset puzzles.

Compare sizes, weights etc. using gesture and language - ‘bigger/ little/smaller’, ‘high/low’, ‘tall’, ‘heavy’.

Notice patterns and arrange things in patterns.

People, Culture & Communities

Birth to three

Make connections between the features of their family and other families.

Notice differences between people.

The Natural World

Birth to three

Repeat actions that have an effect.

Explore materials with different properties.

Explore natural materials, indoors and outside.

Explore and respond to different natural phenomena in their setting and on trips.

Creating with Materials

Birth to three

Notice patterns with strong contrasts and be attracted by patterns resembling the human face.

Start to make marks intentionally.

Explore paint, using fingers and other parts of their bodies as well as brushes and other tools.

Express ideas and feelings through making marks, and sometimes give a meaning to the marks they make.

Start to develop pretend play, pretending that one object represents another. For example, a child holds a wooden block to her ear and pretends it’s a phone.

Explore different materials, using all their senses to investigate them. Manipulate and play with different materials.

Use their imagination as they consider what they can do with different materials.

Make simple models which express their ideas.

Being Imaginative and Expressive

Birth to three

Show attention to sounds and music.

Respond emotionally and physically to music when it changes.

Move and dance to music.

Anticipate phrases and actions in rhymes and songs, like ‘Peepo’.

Explore their voices and enjoy making sounds.

Join in with songs and rhymes, making some sounds.

Make rhythmical and repetitive sounds.

Explore a range of sound-makers and instruments and play them in different ways.

Enjoy and take part in action songs, such as ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’.