Collaborative group work has the potential for providing rich opportunities for children to learn through talk with peers; however, in practice, little effective engagement in learning is observed within authentic learning contexts. Exploratory talk is associated with high levels of cognitive challenge within collaborative group work. Detailed observations of collaborative interactions which took place during activities in authentic learning contexts in Reception and Year 3 classes were analysed to identify exploratory talk episodes and to gain insights into the factors contributing to their development. This study makes a theoretical contribution to understanding the nature of exploratory talk in the early years and provides insights into the form that scaffolding of exploratory talk can take in authentic learning contexts.