Researchers have made convincing arguments for the benefits of a smooth transition to school. The passage through this significant social change may have a lasting influence on children's progress. For example, social, emotional and academic difficulties in the early years of schooling have been shown to persist through school and into…

Early years classroom practice in Northern Ireland is perceived to be dominated by a traditional teacher-directed model to the detriment of a more constructivist, play-based and child-initiated learning environment favoured in many nations' early education provision (see for example Walsh, 2000). In 2002, the Northern Ireland Council for…