Amanda Hubball, Deputy Head and More Able Lead, Alfreton Nursery School
If you’ve ever watched a young child finally complete a jigsaw puzzle, zip up their coat, or climb a tree for the first time, you’ll recognise the unmistakable glow that spreads across their face. That spark of joy is intrinsic motivation in its purest form. And in early childhood education, nurturing that spark is everything. ‘Look, I did it!’, is the response that early years educators celebrate when a child accomplishes a new challenge.
Recent research reinforces what many of us observe daily: children learn most deeply when driven not by external rewards, but by curiosity, autonomy, and the satisfaction of mastering something new. Studies exploring intrinsic motivation in early learning emphasise that children’s natural desire to explore, think critically and solve problems is foundational to their development, and that this motivation can diminish when extrinsic rewards become the focus.
Letting intrinsic motivation lead
At Alfreton Nursery School one of the most significant shifts we’ve made in our early years practice is removing tangible rewards, one example being stickers. We observed that whilst well intentioned, these systems often created unhelpful comparisons between children’s successes and at worst caused children to experience shame if they didn’t receive the reward. Additionally, research indicates that a reliance on extrinsic motivators risks replacing genuine interest with superficial engagement, as children begin learning for the reward rather than for the joy of learning itself.
Instead, at Alfreton we cultivate environments where children recognise the internal delight of achievement — the satisfaction that comes from solving a challenge, completing a task or persevering through difficulty. Praise from a trusted adult, and celebration from a peer, ignites next-steps thinking.
Joy and autonomy
We have found that autonomy can be a powerful driver of intrinsic motivation. When children have opportunities to select challenges that genuinely interest them, their learning becomes deeper and more self directed. At Alfreton Nursery School curriculum areas have challenge stations. The focus is on self-chosen challenge, ensuring that children are propelled towards achieving mastery over their learning. Through developing mindsets based on a personal desire to succeed and by providing access to appropriate levels of scaffolding from creative adults, intrinsic motivation is fostered from the age of two. We observe that a sense of joy within oneself, when perseverance has led to success, leads children to develop a mindset of growth and high aspirations.
Research on play and motivation highlights that unstructured, child led play builds essential cognitive processes including problem solving, creativity and executive function — and it is driven, fundamentally, by intrinsic motivation rather than reward-seeking behaviour.
Play-based learning is described as a natural vehicle for engagement because it “enlists the natural energies that sustain spontaneous learning”, creating a sense of control and ownership that fuels motivation from within.
The adult role
Child autonomy does not mean adult absence. Adults play a critical role through modelling, emotional support, scaffolding and coaching, offering well-balanced support to help children stretch their learning without overwhelming them. This balance aligns with findings showing that meeting children’s needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness significantly enhances intrinsic motivation and leads to deeper academic engagement in early learning settings.
At Alfreton Nursery School a metacognitive approach also enables children to take ownership of their thinking and learning. This conscious choice to scaffold metacognition at every stage of a child’s emotional and cognitive journey ensures that intrinsic motivation is fuelled by conscious awareness and the power to succeed. Many of the children at Alfreton Nursery School can identify their learning strategies and choose how to be more effective, serving to reward metacognitive thinking and drive the motivation to know more.
Play-rich learning
Research on play consistently shows that unstructured, child led play fosters curiosity, experimentation and personal goal setting, strengthening both cognitive flexibility and self-regulation. Yet scholars also acknowledge the tension between child centred play and adult structured activities: adult led play can unintentionally limit autonomy if not thoughtfully designed from the child’s perspective.
At Alfreton Nursery School, within adult-directed play, the learning provocations are selected and presented from the child’s viewpoint, ensuring that ownership over learning remains with the child. Learning is process-driven which ensures both the adult and the child remain focused on motivation and movement, rather than monotony and immobility.
By trusting children to take charge of their learning, and by standing beside them as co adventurers rather than instructors, we build their confidence, resilience and willingness to persist. The teaching culture at Alfreton is based on reflection of role and impact. ‘Sage on the Stage’ or ‘Guide on the Side’ are questions staff are encouraged to ask during their teaching. Through this reflective process, educators are given permission to stand back as well as take on a more didactic role.
Mastery
A key aspect of intrinsic motivation is the pursuit of mastery. Research shows that children are more persistent and process information more deeply when driven by a desire to master learning rather than achieve performance goals, interpreting mistakes as opportunities rather than failures.
This is exactly what we aim to build at Alfreton: mindsets rooted in curiosity, resilience and a desire to understand the world. With creative adults offering the right level of support, our two-year-olds demonstrate perseverance, and they experience that wonderful inner joy that comes when effort turns into success.
Can every child see their own potential?
We are deeply aware that expectations shape motivation. Both conscious and unconscious bias can limit opportunities, subtly influencing children’s beliefs about what they can achieve. Research on early years inequality highlights that systemic barriers disproportionately affect disadvantaged families, reinforcing the importance of high-quality education that actively challenges low expectations and nurtures aspiration from the earliest stages.
At Alfreton Nursery School we use open planned teaching structures and robust curriculum monitoring to quickly identify and address limiting expectations. Every child is supported through a culture of belief, challenge and autonomy, ensuring they never lower their aspirations because of external perceptions.
Building futures
The Sutton Trust emphasises that early years experiences strongly shape long-term educational and career outcomes, and that inequalities in access to high-quality early education can widen the attainment gap early in life. Their work highlights the importance of motivation, aspiration and opportunity — and by embedding intrinsic motivation from the start, we are equipping children with the psychological tools that support ambition later in life.
Children who feel capable, curious and self driven at the age of two are already developing the foundations for lifelong learning and future pathways. If we want young people who feel capable of shaping their own futures, we can’t wait until secondary school to start shaping that mindset.
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