A National Target With a Practical Challenge

England has set a target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development (GLD) by the end of Reception, the first year of primary school for most children aged four to five. The government has identified early language, social and emotional development, independence and foundational learning as important parts of school readiness.

The target is ambitious. Government figures cited in its early-years strategy put the starting point at around 68%, meaning that a substantially larger proportion of children must reach the expected developmental standard by 2028.

One initiative receiving attention is a toilet-training support programme developed in York. According to BBC reporting, the approach is being adopted by additional local authorities after encouraging local results. The model involves giving parents practical guidance before children begin Reception, using channels such as family hubs, schools, nurseries, GP surgeries, pharmacies and libraries.

The initiative illustrates a broader principle: school readiness can be supported before a child enters the classroom. But it also raises an important question for policymakers—how can a targeted intervention improve children's independence without allowing a single milestone to overshadow the wider needs of young learners?

Primary policy source: Department for Education, Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life .

What Does the 75% Target Actually Measure?

The Good Level of Development measure is broader than a child's ability to manage everyday personal care. Teachers assess children at the end of Reception against the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile.

To achieve a GLD, a child must reach the expected level in 12 early learning goals across five areas of learning:

• Communication and language: listening, understanding, speaking and participating in conversations.
• Personal, social and emotional development: building relationships, managing feelings and developing independence.
• Physical development: movement, coordination and the development of physical skills.
• Literacy: early reading and writing.
• Mathematics: early number knowledge, counting and numerical patterns.

Personal independence, including managing hygiene and dressing, forms part of the broader picture of development. However, toilet training alone does not determine whether a child achieves a Good Level of Development.

This distinction matters when evaluating government programmes. A local initiative may improve one aspect of school readiness without necessarily producing a measurable change in the overall national GLD rate.

Official explanation: UK Parliament — Government explanation of the Good Level of Development measure .

What York's Toilet-Training Programme Appears to Have Achieved

BBC News reported that York's initiative was associated with a 43% year-on-year reduction in the number of Reception pupils recorded as not being fully toilet-trained when they started school. Across the city's 55 mainstream primary schools, 148 of 1,364 Reception pupils—around 11%—were reported as not fully toilet-trained at the start of the previous school year.

The local programme provided information and practical guidance to families ahead of the September school transition. The model was subsequently set to be adopted by 20 local authorities, according to the report.

These results are encouraging because they suggest that timely communication with parents and coordinated local services may help address a practical barrier to starting school.

Nevertheless, a year-on-year reduction is not, by itself, proof that the intervention caused the entire improvement. Changes in how children were assessed, family circumstances, wider awareness, cohort differences or other local activities may also have contributed. A stronger evaluation would compare implementation details, baseline conditions and outcomes over several years.

The results should therefore be treated as a promising local signal, not definitive evidence that the same percentage improvement will occur in every area adopting the model.

News source: BBC News — Potty-training scheme to expand to more parts of England after city's success .

Why Toilet Training Should Be Supportive, Not Punitive

Toilet training can be an important step towards independence, but children do not all develop at the same pace. Readiness can vary with age, development, disability, sensory needs, health conditions and individual circumstances.

For this reason, public programmes should offer parents practical information and access to appropriate professional advice rather than treating delayed toilet training as evidence of poor parenting or a child's failure.

A well-designed approach should:

• Explain age-appropriate approaches in clear, accessible language.
• Encourage consistent, patient routines without shame or punishment.
• Help parents identify when they may need advice from a health visitor, GP or another qualified professional.
• Make reasonable adjustments for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Ensure that schools have plans for children who still need toileting assistance when they start Reception.

The purpose of school readiness is to help children participate safely and confidently in learning. It should not become a rigid checklist that excludes children whose development follows a different path.

The Bigger Barrier: Unequal Access to Early Support

A child's readiness for school is shaped by more than one skill. Opportunities to talk, read, play, build relationships and receive consistent care all contribute to development. Access to high-quality early education and timely support can vary considerably between families and communities.

Research commissioned by the Local Government Association and published in February 2026 identified several barriers to progress towards the national target. These included poverty, unequal access to high-quality early education, shortages in health-visiting and childcare workforces, gaps in service coordination and difficulties sharing information between relevant services.

These findings suggest that distributing advice leaflets, while useful, cannot substitute for a functioning network of local support. Families may understand what their child needs but still face barriers such as limited childcare places, transport costs, language difficulties or a lack of access to professional advice.

The government's Best Start in Life strategy seeks to bring together family support, health services, early education, childcare providers and schools. The practical test will be whether these services are available when families need them, particularly in communities with the greatest developmental gaps.

Research reference: Local Government Association — Integrated services key to meeting the 2028 early-years target .

What Schools and Local Authorities Should Measure

The success of an early-years programme should not be judged only by the number of leaflets distributed, training sessions delivered or councils that sign up. These are measures of activity, not necessarily evidence of improved outcomes for children.

A more useful evaluation would follow a small set of clearly defined indicators:

• Reach: How many families received support, and which groups were not reached?
• Practical outcomes: Did the targeted developmental difficulty become less common among children entering Reception?
• Equity: Did outcomes improve for disadvantaged children and children with additional needs, or did gaps remain unchanged?
• School experience: Did teachers report improvements in children's independence, participation and transition into the classroom?
• Wider development: Did improvements in a specific skill coincide with progress in language, social development and other relevant measures?
• Sustainability: Were improvements maintained in later cohorts, and could local services continue the programme with available staff and funding?

Results should be published with clear definitions, dates and comparisons. Where a programme is evaluated against previous years, reports should explain the limitations of that comparison and avoid attributing every change to the intervention.

Four Priorities for a More Effective School-Readiness Strategy

1. Start with families, not just school deadlines

Information should reach parents early enough to be useful. Family hubs, health visitors, nurseries and community organisations can help make advice accessible before a child begins Reception.

2. Combine targeted help with universal support

Specific initiatives can address practical problems such as toilet training or speech and language development. They should sit within a wider system of support rather than replace it.

3. Design inclusion into the programme

Children with disabilities, developmental differences or health-related needs should receive appropriate support without being stigmatised. Schools need practical transition plans and access to specialist advice when necessary.

4. Publish outcomes, not just announcements

Local authorities should report who benefited, which outcomes changed, whether gaps narrowed and what resources were required. Independent evaluation can help distinguish interventions that work from those that merely attract attention.

Editorial Conclusion: School Readiness Is a Shared Responsibility

York's toilet-training initiative provides a useful example of how focused, practical support can help families prepare children for school. The reported reduction in children starting Reception without full toilet-training is encouraging and offers a reason to study the model more closely.

But the national ambition for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 cannot be delivered through a single intervention. Language, emotional development, physical skills, early literacy, mathematics, access to childcare and family circumstances all influence the wider picture.

The central policy challenge is to combine practical guidance with accessible services, inclusive school transitions and credible evaluation. Children should be supported to develop independence and confidence, not judged against an inflexible standard that ignores differences in need.

Ultimately, a successful school-readiness strategy will be measured not only by whether more children arrive at school prepared, but by whether the children who face the greatest barriers receive the support they need to participate and thrive.