For many parents, a new stage of education feels like a natural moment to reconsider what comes next. Should your child stay where they are, move to a different school, or start afresh somewhere with a particular longer-term destination in mind? When families are thinking several years ahead, it is understandable that future schools, assessments and academic opportunities can feel like the most important considerations.
But there is another question worth asking: what does a young child gain from continuity?
Research into early childhood education and transitions suggests that continuity can give children something valuable: the chance to build on what they already know, with adults who understand them and their development, rather than repeatedly having to establish new relationships, routines and ways of learning.
For children who are thriving in a high-quality early years environment, this matters because the period from around two to seven is not a series of disconnected stages. It is a period of exceptionally rapid development, in which relationships, experiences and learning build progressively over time.
The importance of a continuous journey
A useful way to think about continuity is not simply as staying in the same place, but as building on what has come before.
The National Academies’ research on children from birth through age eight describes continuity as consistency in children’s experiences within or across different care and education settings as they grow. It highlights the importance of coherence between learning expectations, curricula, teaching approaches and learning environments, so that early achievements can prepare for and be built upon by later ones.
That is particularly relevant in the early years, when children are developing across many different areas at once. Language, social and emotional development, physical development, independence and knowledge of the world are all developing alongside one another.
The science of early brain development helps explain why these years matter so much. During the first few years of life, the brain forms an extraordinary number of connections between neurons. By around age three, children have reached a peak of roughly 1,000 trillion synaptic connections, after which the brain begins a process of selectively strengthening frequently used connections and pruning others. This rapid period of development means that children’s experiences and relationships are helping to shape the foundations on which later learning is built.
Learning is therefore not a series of isolated steps. What children know and experience at one stage provides foundations for what comes next.
Research from Our Place in Australia similarly describes continuity of learning as a smooth and cohesive progression as children move through early learning and into formal schooling. The emphasis is on experiences connecting with one another, so that children can extend what they already know rather than repeatedly starting again.
This is an approach that sits at the heart of the early years provision at Herne Hill School in south east London, which specialises in expert Early Childhood Education for boys and girls aged two to seven. The school views children’s early education as part of a longer journey, rather than a collection of separate stages, building on established relationships, experiences and learning as children grow and take on new challenges.
“At Herne Hill School, we are fortunate that our provision has historically coincided precisely with the worldwide recognised Early Childhood Education pedagogical phase”, says the school’s director, Dominik Magyar. “Being able to work with our children uninterruptedly throughout this period, which we know is so crucially formative for all that is to come later, contributes substantially to optimising their development.”
Continuity means more than familiar faces
It is easy to think of continuity as simply knowing the same teachers or being in the same building. In reality, it is much broader.
It can mean that educators understand where a child has come from and use that knowledge to inform what happens next. It can mean that the curriculum develops progressively, rather than children feeling that they have suddenly reached a new stage and need to start again.
It can also mean that knowledge about a child’s interests, strengths, needs and development is shared between the adults supporting them.
The Australian Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 highlights this principle. Its practice of “continuity of learning and transitions” recognises that children bring their existing knowledge, experiences and ways of learning with them as they move between different stages. It also emphasises the importance of educators sharing knowledge and working with families to support transitions.
Relationships are an important part of that continuity, as illustrated by the Ounce research into continuity of care. When adults know a child over time, they can understand not only what the child can do, but how they approach learning, what helps them to feel secure and how they respond to challenge. That accumulated knowledge can inform the next step rather than having to be rebuilt from scratch.
At Herne Hill, this means considering not only what children need to learn at each stage, but how their previous experiences can inform what happens next, creating a sense of progression while children gradually become more independent.
Why friendships matter too
Continuity is not only about relationships with adults. For young children, established friendships are an important part of their developing social world.
In the early years, children’s play becomes progressively more social. Alongside parallel play, children increasingly learn to cooperate, negotiate, share ideas and take account of another child’s perspective. Friendships provide an important context in which these skills can be developed, with children who become familiar with one another’s personalities, preferences and ways of playing.
Research into peer play and friendship in the early years links these experiences with important aspects of social development, including cooperation, communication, perspective-taking and negotiation.
Where children have established friendships, these relationships can provide an important source of confidence and continuity as they take on new challenges. Young children are constantly and rapidly developing socially, emotionally as well as academically, and familiar peers can be part of that progression.
Why transitions can be challenging
A transition involves more than simply walking through a different door. A child may need to become familiar with new routines, form new relationships and understand different expectations. They may also encounter a different approach to learning or a different balance between play, exploration and more structured activities.
A 2026 literature review in the Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education highlights how transitions between early childhood education and school involve changes in relationships, routines and pedagogical expectations. Its review of international research describes continuity as a relational and ecological process, supported by collaboration, play and children’s own participation.
For that reason, the timing of a transition matters too. From a purely child developmental perspective, the best time is at the natural end of the Early Childhood Education period, when by the end of Key Stage 1 the balance of child-initiated, play-based learning has largely shifted to a more formal, adult-led teaching approach.
By contrast, a move at around three can interrupt relationships and routines just as children are becoming increasingly familiar with their environment and beginning to establish themselves within a peer group. A move at four can coincide with a particularly significant period of early learning, when developmental and learning trajectories are gathering momentum. At five, children are negotiating the important transition from the Early Years Foundation Stage into Key Stage 1. At six, a child may be joining an already established Year 2 community part-way through Key Stage 1, rather than making the more natural transition with their existing peers.
None of this means that a child cannot cope with a move at these ages. Rather, it highlights that a change of setting requires relationships, routines, friendships and knowledge about the child having to be re-established, thereby decelerating the pace of learning and development
The notoriously challenging transition from the EYFS into Key Stage 1 offers a useful example. A Chartered College of Teaching case study explored the move from Reception into Year 1 and highlighted changes in pedagogy, expectations and learning environments. Teachers in the study placed particular importance on continuity of pedagogy, while some children expressed anxiety or apprehension about the move into Year 1.
This is the philosophy behind the way Herne Hill approaches transitions throughout the school.
“In constantly reviewing and reimagining our provision for each generation of children, we place great emphasis on making the many transitions they experience during their time at Herne Hill as seamless as possible. Development can be accelerated when transitions are handled well, while unnecessary stops and changes can result in lost momentum. Every transition is different, depending on a child’s age and developmental stage, which is why we see this as a whole-school philosophy and approach.”
— Charlotte Hacking, Year 2 Teacher and Curriculum Development Lead at Herne Hill School, and Teacher Engagement Lead at UCL’s Institute of Education’s Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy
Looking beyond the next destination
For families considering whether to stay with an existing school or nursery, the decision is understandably complex. Future destinations, assessments and academic opportunities all have a place in that conversation. But the benefits of continuity deserve a place there too.
For a child who is thriving in a high-quality setting, the question is not simply what they might gain by moving. It is also what they would be missing: adults who know them well, friendships that have developed over time, established routines, a familiar approach to learning and an educational trajectory that has been built progressively around their development.
There will, of course, be circumstances in which a change of setting is necessary or even beneficial. Families move home. Circumstances change. And where a child is not receiving the quality of education or care they need, moving to a better, higher quality environment can be the right decision. Continuity is not a reason to remain somewhere that is not serving a child well.
But where a child is happy, secure and thriving, continuity itself has developmental value. The absence of a compelling reason to move is therefore worth considering alongside the attractions of a new destination.
Ultimately, continuity is not about keeping everything the same. It is about carrying forward what matters. A child who is known well can be supported from where they are, rather than starting again. Learning can build on learning. Relationships can deepen. Friendships can develop. Confidence can grow. And each new stage can feel like the next chapter of a story, rather than the beginning of an entirely new one.
For parents, that may be worth considering alongside all the other questions that come with choosing the right educational path for their child.
This is a sponsored post created in collaboration with Herne Hill School, a co-ed Pre-Prep and Nursery in South-East London.
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