Mixed-Age Planning Guide — How Knowledge and Skills Build Across Mixed-Age Pairings | EYFS and KS1
A practical planning tool designed specifically for teachers working with mixed-age classes across the early years and Key Stage 1. This guide shows, for two of the most common mixed-age pairings — Nursery/Reception and Reception/Year 1 — how the same high-quality provision can serve both year groups at the same time, with different depth, focus and adult interaction.
Because children in a mixed-age class do not need different activities. They need the same provision with different adult questions and different expected outcomes. The adult is the variable.
What’s Included?
Full curriculum mapping for two mixed-age pairings across all areas of learning:
- Nursery and Reception — covering Communication and Language, PSED, Physical Development, Literacy, Maths, Understanding the World, and Expressive Arts and Design
- Reception and Year 1 — covering English, PSHE, PE, Literacy, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, and Art, DT and Music
For each area, the guide shows:
- What both groups experience in the provision
- The depth, focus and expected outcomes for each year group
- Targeted adult interaction questions and prompts for each pairing
Why Teachers Love It
- Solves one of the biggest challenges of mixed-age teaching — how to plan one provision that genuinely serves two year groups
- Makes the adult interaction column the most important tool in the room, not the resources
- Removes the pressure to create separate activities for each year group
- Supports confident curriculum planning across two phases in a single, clear document
- Designed to sit alongside the individual phase Knowledge and Skills Curriculum documents, not replace them
How Can I Use This Resource?
- Use as your primary planning reference when teaching a Nursery/Reception or Reception/Year 1 mixed-age class
- Use the adult interaction questions to differentiate within shared provision without changing the activity
- Share with your team to build a consistent understanding of expectations across both year groups
- Use alongside the individual phase Knowledge and Skills Curriculum documents for a fully joined-up approach
- Reference during planning, observations and professional development conversations about mixed-age teaching
💡 This resource is also available inside the Is it Time to Play? Membership, giving members access to hundreds of planning tools, resources and professional development materials for no additional cost.
Progression of Play Skills 
Building Nursery: The First Few Weeks | Nursery (3-4 Years) 
Building Year 1: The First Few Weeks | Year 1 
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