With digital media becoming increasingly woven into the early years, understanding good tech use is more vital than ever.
This blog explores what good tech use looks like in EYFS settings, drawing from the conversation with Alex Dave from our recent Blossom Podcast episode: Digital Media Use, Parental Partnership and Online Safety in the Early Years.
According to Ofcom’s 2025 research:
- 85% of three- to five-year-olds are online
- 17% own their own smartphone, and
- 56% use social media to send messages or make calls
Ensuring children are safe online can’t wait until they start school, when it is covered by the national curriculum.
Young children are accessing digital media from birth, meaning the responsibility for setting the foundations of good tech use lies in the hands of nursery managers and their practitioners.
In this article:
Digital media use in nurseries
From communication tools and interactive learning to extending children’s horizons beyond the nursery walls, technology is ever-present in early years settings.
But what changed when online safety was removed from the EYFS statutory framework in 2021?
Many nursery managers and practitioners have found themselves asking: Is digital media encouraged, or is it frowned upon?
Alex Dave’s message is clear: digital media can do a lot of good, if you’re mindful of how and why you use it, and clear on the adult’s involvement.
Without online safety being explicit in the EYFS Framework, early years practitioners may feel uncertain.
However, the guidance from London Grid for Learning (LGfL) and conversations like those on the digital media podcast episode remind us that when used intentionally, media can be a powerful ally.
But, nursery managers must show attention to the purpose of use, a clear choice of pedagogy and of course, a priority of safeguarding and child wellbeing.
What are the types of digital media in EYFS?
When we talk about digital media, it’s not just about tablets or smartphones.
LGfL defines it broadly: any internet-enabled device, including smart boards, smart TVs, audio devices, wearables, even non-screen digital tools count (like washing machines!)
The notion of “screen time” can be misleading.
Here’s a little look at the ‘types of media use’, focusing on the intentionality behind the content:
- Passive consumption (like watching nursery rhymes, films or YouTube shorts)
- Transactional use (video tutorials followed by related activities, like the Blue Peter example Alex Dave gives on the podcast)
- Developmental use (supported engagement that fosters reflection and learning, often paired with adult interaction)
In practice, digital media can be leveraged to:
- Communicate: share updates with families, strengthening the nursery and home relationships, or even to connect children with family members via video call (especially those living separately)
- Extend learning: bring global experiences into the setting (including virtual visits to the places like the beach when a physical trip isn’t feasible)
- Incite curiosity: a podcast episode or video can spark rich conversation and hands-on exploration. For instance, Alex Dave describes watching a space shuttle re-entry with her son, which ignited excitement and conversation about space travel
- Support physical development: videos for yoga, dance, or guided movement offer engaging and inclusive ways to get children to move
Used intelligently, digital media becomes not a distraction but a doorway to new places, ideas, and connected learning. The common aspect of connected learning is the presence and involvement of an adult when digital media is used.
Dangers and pitfalls of digital media use to watch out for
Despite the benefits, there are real dangers that nursery leaders must guard against when striving for good tech use:
- Using media to distract or avoid: Alex Dave cites a U.S. study during the podcast conversation, where tablets were used to distract hungry children in restaurants, masking the hunger instead of teaching them to listen to their bodies
- Fast, overstimulating content: Short reels or media with rapid movement and sound may overstimulate children, potentially reducing attention spans. By contrast, slower-paced activities like reading nurture sustained focus
- Safeguarding risks: As noted in LGfL’s policy guide, harmful or inappropriate content like ads, adult content, or even self-generated child sexual imagery may appear when using sites, even on seemingly child-friendly platforms. LGfL stresses that a setting has a responsibility to prevent exposure and must have safety measures in place
- Unconstrained or passive use: Excessive passive engagement is thought to impact self-regulation capacity, attention, speech, and social development
- Technoference: Adults distracted by their own devices may inadvertently undermine interactions, making children feel ignored
These are not reasons to avoid the use of tech in nurseries, but rather to approach it mindfully and with clear boundaries, intentional choices, and adult presence. It also highlights the importance of supporting parents with tech use in the home.
Alex reminds us that an adult (in this explanation, a nursery practitioner) has a three-pronged role when it comes to digital tech use and children:
- They are gatekeepers of digital media access
- They are role models via their own use of digital media
- They are enablers of digital media consumption
How to achieve good digital media use in EYFS
To ensure digital media enriches, not hinders, early years learning, there are a few strategies and tools you’ll need to have under your belt.
Establish a clear policy
Your setting needs a digital media and online safeguarding policy. If you’re stuck with ideas on where to start, you can get inspiration from LGfL’s policy guide.
Your policy should cover rationale, safety controls, staff practices, and incident reporting. Don’t forget to share it with your practitioners and parents.
Ensure team consistency
Regardless of tech confidence, every staff member must understand the rationale and expectations around digital media. You may want to run staff meetings on safe digital media use. This can include talking to staff about their own social media profiles during a social audit and how to make them private.
Talk openly with staff and parents
Digital technology is part of children’s world from birth. Engage families in understanding how you use tech and why it adds developmental value in your setting. Parent workshops on the types of digital media use, snippets of the latest research linking to children’s development and the impact tech has on this via newsletters are a great place to start.
Model good digital media use
Let staff demonstrate to children how they are using digital media. Narrate when observations are captured on an iPad, explain how images are shared, and emphasise that digital tools complement, not replace, human interaction. If your nursery uses a voice-recognition tool like an Alexa, this is a great way to show children how tech can be used for lots of different reasons.
Support healthy tech habits at home
Use your Blossom Parent App to share trusted resources and guidance on safe, purposeful digital engagement with parents. Sharing regular tips on how to improve sleep hygiene for children, linking to digital media use, will be well-received by your nursery families.
Safeguarding in digital spaces
Ensure device and network filtering, safe search, curated playlists, supervised use, and policies around platforms like YouTube and well-understood by all practitioners. This should also include the use of a list of restricted mode websites, like YouTube Kids, when appropriate.
Ensuring children’s wellbeing is the focus when planning the use of digital media, falls into reflective questioning for nursery managers. Posing the question, how healthy is our nursery?
EYFS pedagogical clarity
Always ask why you’re using digital media. Does it support EYFS learning? Encourage reflection? Build essential skills?
Settings should aim for developmental, not passive, engagement and should be able to record this as evidence in regular child observations.
The Government's Media Literacy Inquiry
In July 2025, the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee published its 3rd report of the 2024-25 session on media literacy.
The report highlights that early years providers are calling for clearer, more detailed guidance on online safety within EYFS contexts.
This governmental response underscores the growing recognition of the challenges facing early years professionals. Including the need for frameworks that support safe, meaningful digital learning from the very start.
We update early years practitioners with summaries of important documents like government guidance, Ofsted releases and new statutory information regularly via our newsletter.
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Digital media is not inherently problematic, but if unconsidered or unchecked, it can negatively impact the developmental richness of early years learning.
When well-thought out and paired with intention, strong policies, and adult involvement, tech becomes a tool that:
- Broadens horizons
- Sparks curiosity
- Strengthens communication
- And deepens EYFS learning
Rather than shy away from digital media, nurseries and early years settings should equip their teams (and parents) to use it wisely.
