When we talk about pedagogy in the early years, we mean how we teach, or all the things that adults do to foster children’s learning and development.  It covers a broad range of actions and activities, as the following quote illustrates:

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"Teaching in the early years should not be taken to imply a “top down” or formal way of working. It is a broad term that covers the many different ways in which adults help young children learn. It includes their interactions with children during planned and child-initiated play and activities, communicating and modelling language, showing, explaining, demonstrating, exploring ideas, encouraging, questioning, recalling, providing a narrative for what they are doing, facilitating and setting challenges. It takes account of the equipment that adults provide and the attention given to the physical environment, as well as the structure and routines of the day that establish expectations. Integral to teaching is how educators assess what children know, understand and can do, as well as taking account of their interests and dispositions to learn (characteristics of effective learning), and how educators use this information to plan children’s next steps in learning and to monitor their progress."         Ofsted Early Years Inspection Handbook, 2021

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The role of the adult is crucial, and their ability to establish positive relationships with children:

Warm, trusting relationships with knowledgeable adults support children’s learning more effectively than any amount of resources. Follow the child’s lead to the meeting of minds. Tuning in, observing and wondering come first. A knowledgeable educator can decide when to stand back, when to interact, and what to offer the child. Learning together with adults and with other children is important across all contexts. Birth to 5 Matters non-statutory guidance

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Observation, assessment and planning are at the core of effective early years pedagogy.