“I feel all the feels in my body”: the daily separation experience of reception-aged children

Daily separation during school entry is a highly emotional experience for young children as they take their first steps into formal education. Existing research has largely focused on the perspectives of parents and staff, leaving a gap in understanding how children themselves experience separation. This study explored the lived experience of separation for young children during their first month in Reception. A qualitative, multi-method case study design was employed with two children newly starting separate Reception classes in a mainstream primary school. The study was situated within a relativist ontological and subjectivist epistemological framework, adopting a psychosocial approach that values individual meaning making within the participant–researcher relationship. Projective methods, including observation, play, and drawing, were used to explore children’s experiences of separation and to foreground the child’s voice through developmentally appropriate means. The findings highlighted the emotional complexity of the separation experience for both children. Each child employed a range of coping and defensive strategies to manage the experience of separation and loss while gradually negotiating the transition to school without their primary caregivers. This study offers insight into young children’s subjective experiences of school separation, emphasising the significance of this transition for all children, regardless of outward presentation. It demonstrates the value of providing children with relational and playful spaces to express emotional experiences through multimodal and creative projective methods. Implications for educational professionals are discussed, alongside directions for future research.