Nursery World - Friends indeed

For young children, friendships help them to blossom in nursery and can encourage them in their later transition to school

I have spent the last couple of weeks reading the reports of the children heading off to primary school in September. It is always one of my favourite jobs, albeit tinged with sadness that we can’t keep them in nursery for another year. The change from when children start to when they leave is huge, and my heart leaps when thinking of how those who struggled to separate from their parents are now so independent and active. I see opportunities stretched out in front of them like an unrestricted landscape, open and full of promise.

What is it that makes the difference? Is it simply developmental maturity, or perhaps the ethos of the nursery? What I do know is that most children come alive in the context of their relationships. The slow burn of friendship allows secure independence, and those who were originally anxious and nervous begin to blossom. So is friendship the fertiliser of learning?

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