The three characteristics of effective learning, explained

The characteristics of effective learning (CoEL) are the behaviours young children use to learn, rather than what they learn. There are three: playing and exploring (finding out and having a go), active learning (motivation, persistence and concentration), and creating and thinking critically (having ideas, making connections, developing strategies). The EYFS statutory framework names all three as underpinning effective teaching and learning across every area of the curriculum, which is why they matter to daily practice rather than sitting as an abstract policy footnote.

• Playing and exploring: engagement
• Active learning: motivation
• Creating and thinking critically: thinking

In practice: these three characteristics are observed as behaviours across contexts, not measured as one-off milestones, according to Birth to 5 Matters.

Key Takeaways

Effective learning in the early years depends on children playing and exploring, learning actively, and thinking critically, all supported by skilled adult interaction rather than fixed activities.

Point	Details
Three characteristics, not milestones	CoEL are behaviours to observe across contexts, not developmental stages to tick off.
Environment drives engagement	Open-ended resources and real access to materials sustain exploration better than fixed-purpose toys.
Scaffold, then withdraw	Chunk tasks and model strategies once, then let children attempt them independently.
Sustained shared thinking works	Join a child’s line of enquiry with open questions instead of redirecting their play.
Record narratively, not by checklist	Brief notes with the child’s words capture intent and strategy far better than grids.

Table of Contents

• Playing and exploring: spotting and growing genuine engagement
• Active learning: motivation, persistence and concentration in practice
• Creating and thinking critically: encouraging problem solving and reflection
• Building an environment and adult practice that support CoEL
• How CoEL shape observation, assessment and EYFS reporting
• The Sunflower Nursery perspective: embedding CoEL in East London practice
• Editorial take: what the evidence actually supports
• Sources

Playing and exploring: spotting and growing genuine engagement

A child who is playing and exploring is finding out, having a go, and using what they already know to test something new. You will see it in the toddler who pours water between three different containers just to watch what happens, or the four-year-old who insists on building the tower “one more time” after it falls.

Watch for these observable markers:

• Initiating activity without being prompted
• Showing curiosity about objects, events or people
• Engaging in open-ended, sensory or physical play
• Representing experiences through role play or small-world scenarios

Loose parts (crates, guttering, fabric, tyres) tend to generate longer stretches of exploration than fixed-purpose toys, because a child decides what the object becomes rather than following instructions printed on the box. Outdoor provocations work well here too, and practical setups are covered in The Sunflower Nursery’s outdoor learning guide. Pretend play deserves particular attention: as this piece on pretend play in toddlers sets out, imaginative scenarios build the flexible thinking that later underpins problem solving.

Pro Tip: Resist the urge to narrate every discovery for the child. A well-timed “I wonder what would happen if…” extends thinking further than a running commentary on what you can already see them doing.

Active learning: motivation, persistence and concentration in practice

Active learning shows up as goal-directed effort: a child returning to a task after a setback, concentrating despite distractions, or showing satisfaction at completing something they set out to do. It is the difference between a child who abandons a puzzle at the first difficult piece and one who tries it upside down, sideways, and finally right.

Three scaffolds help sustain that effort:

1. Chunk the task. Break a challenge into smaller decision points so a child can succeed early and build momentum.
2. Model, then step back. Demonstrate a strategy once, then let the child attempt it independently before offering more help.
3. Protect routine. Consistent transitions and predictable session structures reduce the mental load spent on “what happens next,” leaving more capacity for the task itself.

This mirrors evidence from the Australian Education Research Organisation, which links scaffolding, sequencing and cognitive-load management to sustained engagement and reduced frustration. For assessment, note not just whether a child finished a task, but whether they returned to it after a difficulty and what they tried differently the second time.

Creating and thinking critically: encouraging problem solving and reflection

This characteristic covers having ideas, making links between experiences, and developing strategies for doing things. A child thinking critically might notice that the ramp needs a steeper angle to roll the ball further, then test that idea and adjust it, rather than simply repeating the same failed attempt.

Signs to look for include:

• Making predictions before trying something
• Explaining their own thinking, even in fragments
• Adapting an approach after it fails once
• Connecting a new problem to something learned previously

Deconstructed role play (a home corner with no fixed script, just props) and simple STEM challenges, such as building a bridge for a toy car, are reliable provocations. Birth to 5 Matters also highlights loose parts play as a strong route into critical thinking, since open materials force children to generate their own solutions rather than follow a single correct method.

Sustained shared thinking is the key adult technique here. Rather than redirecting a child’s enquiry, you join it: “What do you think will happen if we try the other ramp?” or “You said it wobbled. Why do you think that happened?” Over time, watch for the shift from trial-and-error repetition towards a child stating a plan before they act on it. That shift from guessing to intending is the clearest sign of progression.

Building an environment and adult practice that support CoEL

Supporting all three characteristics well is less about individual activities and more about how a setting is designed and run day to day. Birth to 5 Matters describes this as an ethos, built on autonomy, time and space for children to follow their own intentions, rather than a scripted set of exercises.

A few things make the biggest practical difference:

1. Give children real access. Resources stored at child height, and blocks of uninterrupted time, let children choose and sustain their own lines of enquiry.
2. Read the moment before you intervene. Skilled adults know when an open question extends learning and when stepping back entirely does more good than any prompt.
3. Frame risk as a learning tool, not a hazard to eliminate. Climbing slightly higher, carrying a full jug, or using real tools under supervision builds the persistence and judgement that sit at the heart of active learning. West Sussex County Council’s guidance is explicit that managed risk is important for learning, not something to be designed out of provision.

For staff wanting a reflective anchor, The Sunflower Nursery’s guide to the nursery teacher’s role sets out how practitioners create the conditions for play and involvement in daily routines.

Pro Tip: At your next team meeting, pick one child and ask three questions: where did they show curiosity today, where did they persist, and where did they show a new strategy? If you can’t answer all three, that tells you something about your provision, not the child.

How CoEL shape observation, assessment and EYFS reporting

Recording CoEL well means capturing behaviour, not ticking a grid. Brief narrative notes, including the child’s own words and the adult prompt that came before them, tend to give a far clearer picture of intent and strategy than a checklist ever does, according to West Sussex guidance.

Use observations formatively:

• Note what a child chose, tried, and adjusted, across free play, group routines and adult-led activities
• Look for the same behaviour appearing with different adults and in different settings before treating it as established
• Feed patterns into planning: if concentration is fragile, look at task length and environment before assuming ability
• Draw on this evidence when writing EYFS Profile commentary or discussing transition with Year 1 teachers, since CoEL commentary supports that conversation without being a compulsory measure

The gov.uk EYFS framework sets out the statutory basis for this reporting, while day-to-day recording is where the real insight sits.

The Sunflower Nursery perspective: embedding CoEL in East London practice

Across Thesunflowernursery’s Ilford and South Woodford settings, embedding CoEL starts with staff development rather than paperwork. Regular reflective sessions ask practitioners to bring one observation of a child’s persistence or curiosity, which keeps the three characteristics visible in everyday conversation rather than confined to a policy document.

Practical examples that translate well to other UK settings include:

• Rotating outdoor provocations weekly so exploration stays genuinely novel
• Sharing simple parent guidance on extending play at home, building on ideas in The Sunflower Nursery’s guide to preschool learning at home
• Using online learning journals to capture the child’s own words alongside photos, not just a photo caption

Sector commentary is clear that CoEL risk being overshadowed by discrete areas of learning unless practitioners are given the professional development to notice and value them consistently, a point Nursery World has raised directly with the sector.

Any setting can adapt these habits while staying fully aligned with EYFS expectations.

Ready to see this in practice? Book a settling-in session at one of Thesunflowernursery’s Ilford or South Woodford nurseries and watch how CoEL shape a typical day.

Editorial take: what the evidence actually supports

The strongest case in the research here is not that CoEL are important. Everyone in early years agrees with that already. It is that CoEL are consistently under-observed compared with the seven areas of learning, because areas of learning produce tidier evidence: a child either can count to ten or they cannot. Persistence and strategy use are messier to document, so busy practitioners default to what is easiest to write down.

That is the real gap. Not a lack of belief in CoEL, but a lack of confidence in recording something that does not fit neatly into a checkbox. Nursery World’s point about CPD being necessary to sustain CoEL in daily pedagogy is understated advice, not throwaway.

If you take one thing from this briefing, prioritise the narrative note over the tick-box grid. A single sentence capturing what a child tried, said, and changed will tell you more about their learning than a completed checklist ever will, and it costs no more time to write.

— tariq

Sources

• Characteristics of Effective Learning – The Golden Thread in the EYFS – Birth To 5 Matters
• Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework
• Characteristics of effective learning – West Sussex County Council
• Learning behaviours: how should we view the CoEL? – Nursery World
• How students learn best – Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO)

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