The Importance of Play and Peer Relationships at the Transition to Reception
Presented by Dr Elian Fink at the PEDAL Conference 2026 as part of the workshop session titled: ‘A Playful Start to School’.
This session explored how children’s play and friendships evolve as they move through the different stages of early years provision into more formal schooling and identified what matters most to children and how best to support them at key transitions in their school journey.
Elian Fink is Associate Professor at the School of Psychology, University of Sussex.
