How children learn

Understanding how children learn helps us create the right environments at home, in nursery and at school. This section talks about the basic principles of how children learn during the early years, primary and secondary stages.

Some children need extra support and there are lots of ways in which parents and teachers can work together to make sure they reach their potential. To begin with we look at how learning might be different for disabled children.

The section also includes the building blocks of effective learning that are relevant across all ages and school stages. The key elements here are engagement, motivation and creativity and critical thinking. A child with complex needs may spend many years working on engagement, learning to interact with people and objects in different ways. Another child may need support to access a range of activities, with the focus on motivation. Others may need support to demonstrate and express their creativity and critical thinking.

As examples of practical ways to stimulate learning in the early years we have included a collection of play activities, all focused around a box of props, that contribute to early learning goals.