Birth to 5 Matters receives prestigious international award
03 Sep 2026
We are delighted that Birth to 5 Matters, the non-statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage developed by the Early Years Coalition, has been awarded the 2026 Habermaass Prize. The award recognises not only the guidance itself, but the collaborative way in which it was developed - bringing together research, professional expertise, children’s rights and pedagogical understanding to support early years practitioners in making informed professional judgements about the children in their care.
Waldorf UK is part of the Early Years Coalition that developed Birth to 5 Matters, contributing the experience and perspective of Steiner Waldorf early childhood education alongside organisations representing different parts of the early years sector.
Developed “by the sector, for the sector”, Birth to 5 Matters was created as an alternative, professionally informed source of guidance following changes to the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage. It places child development, relationships, play and the professional judgement of practitioners at the centre of good early years practice.
The guidance has since achieved remarkable reach, with hundreds of thousands of downloads and millions of page views.
For Waldorf UK, its success also demonstrates the value of working collaboratively across educational traditions. While Steiner Waldorf early childhood education has its own distinctive approach, many of its longstanding principles - including the importance of play, relationships, developmentally appropriate practice and respect for the individual child - can make a valuable contribution to wider conversations about early childhood and education.
We warmly congratulate everyone involved in Birth to 5 Matters on this recognition of an exceptional collective achievement.
