More Than Ready: Why Early Skills Don’t Equal School Readiness

Just Because a Child Can Read Doesn't Mean They're Ready for School

I remember standing in a Reception classroom years ago, listening to adults talk about a child who was already reading.

"He'll be absolutely fine."

"He's definitely school ready."

"He's so far ahead."

And on paper, they were right.

He could read.

He could count.

He knew his letters and sounds.

But what nobody was talking about was the fact that he found it incredibly difficult to separate from his parents.

He struggled when routines changed.

He became overwhelmed in busy environments.

He found friendships challenging.

And it taught me something I've never forgotten:

School readiness is about so much more than academics.

Yet increasingly, we seem to be reducing childhood to a checklist.

Can they read?

Can they count?

Can they write their name?

Can they recognise sounds?

But children are whole human beings.

And true readiness can never be measured by a phonics score alone.

The School Readiness Myth

One of the biggest misconceptions in early childhood is that if a child is academically advanced, they'll naturally thrive at school.

But after more than 20 years working in Early Years, leading a school, supporting hundreds of settings and studying Scandinavian approaches to childhood, I've seen a very different reality.

Some of the children who arrive reading fluently struggle emotionally.

Some children who can count to 100 find friendships incredibly difficult.

Some children who know all their sounds become overwhelmed by the social and emotional demands of a classroom.

Because readiness isn't just about what a child knows.

It's about how a child feels.

What School Readiness Really Looks Like

When I think about children who flourish in school, I don't immediately think about phonics.

I think about children who:

💛 Feel secure enough to separate from their caregivers

💛 Can recover from disappointment

💛 Have confidence in their bodies

💛 Can communicate their needs

💛 Are curious about the world

💛 Can build relationships

💛 Feel safe enough to take risks and try again

These are the foundations that support everything else.

And yet they're often the things we talk about the least.

Childhood Needs Depth, Not Acceleration

One of the things I admire most about Scandinavian approaches to childhood is their trust in children's development.

There is far less pressure to rush.

Far less urgency to push formal learning earlier and earlier.

Instead, children are given time.

Time to play.

Time to explore.

Time to develop socially and emotionally.

Time to become confident, capable and secure.

And perhaps that's what many children need most.

Not more content.

Not more interventions.

Not more pressure.

Just more time to be children.

What If We've Been Asking the Wrong Question?

Perhaps the question isn't:

"Can this child read?"

Perhaps the better question is:

"Does this child feel secure, connected and confident enough to thrive?"

Because literacy will come.

Numeracy will come.

Academic learning will come.

But childhood only comes once.

And when we become too focused on getting children ready for school, we risk forgetting that school should also be ready for children.

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Every Child Deserves a Childhood

One of the reasons I created Hygge in the Early Years was because I could see the pressure building.

Pressure on children.

Pressure on parents.

Pressure on educators.

Pressure to achieve more, earlier.

Yet everything I have learned tells me the same thing:

Children thrive when they feel connected.

When they feel safe.

When they have time to play.

When their whole development is valued—not just the parts we can measure.

That's why I believe childhood isn't a race.

It's a season.

A precious one.

And perhaps our role isn't to rush children through it.

Perhaps our role is to protect it.

Want to Learn How to Support the Whole Child?

My free training will show you exactly how Scandinavian-inspired approaches can help children become calmer, more engaged, more resilient and better prepared for learning—without rushing childhood.

Thousands of educators and parents have already joined me and discovered that school readiness is about far more than what appears on paper.

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Because every child deserves more than a checklist.

They deserve a childhood. 🤍