Sharing teaching practices and even assets such as minibuses with private nurseries helps children smoothly transition to reception, says Marc Doyle Collaboration. Partnerships. Sharing best practice. These are phraschoolses we champion across education. Yet in one vital phase – the one that sets everything else in motion – they are too often sidelined by competition. Early years education, particularly between nurseries and primary schools, is where collaboration matters most, and where competition too often takes its place. As CEO of a trust comprising four primaries, I see every day how school readiness is shaped by what happens before children reach reception. The recently-published Kindred Squared school readiness survey highlights trends most primary schools encounter each September. Children arrive with gaps in communication, challenges around physical skills and struggles with independence. These are challenges schools cannot address alone, and they underscore why collaboration with early years providers is essential. In our own nurseries and schools, we see this first-hand. Some children start reception without the routines, skills or independence needed to settle quickly. Some require support …