EYFS: Assessment

Module One – EYFS Assessment Requirements

Introduction
Welcome to your Professional Studies course on EYFS: Assessment. The course comprises of three modules and
accompanying questionnaires.

Learning objectives
On completion of this course, you will be able to:
• relate the statutory requirements for assessment as set out in the EYFS Framework regarding practice and
provision
• apply a bank of strategies to support effective formative assessment across the areas of learning and
development
• understand the role of dialogue in assessment strategies
• demonstrate an understanding of the practice of observational assessment.

In this first module, you will learn the statutory requirements for assessment in the early years. It will explore how
assessment practices build on research in the field and how assessment is used to inform the practitioner’s planning
to facilitate children’s learning and development progress.

The principles of assessment

Assessment plays an important part in helping parents, carers and practitioners to recognise children’s learning and
development, understand their needs, and plan appropriate activities and support.

Ongoing assessment, or formative assessment, is an integral part of the learning and development process. It
involves practitioners knowing children’s level of achievement and interests, and then shaping teaching and learning
experiences for each child by using that knowledge. In their interactions with children, practitioners should respond
to their own day-to-day observations about children’s progress, as well as using observations that parents and carers
share.

Assessment should not entail prolonged breaks from interaction with children, nor require excessive paperwork.
When assessing whether a child is at the expected level of development, practitioners should draw on their
knowledge of the child and their own expert professional judgement, and should not be required to prove this
through the collection of physical evidence 1.

The principles that should underpin the assessment of young children’s learning and development are as follows:
• accurate assessments
• embedded learning
• observation and interaction
• good planning
• effective assessment.

1 Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, © Crown copyright, 2021.
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representation as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for purpose of any statements or other content in the course. No part of this material may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
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Accurate assessments
Accurate assessments need to include contributions from a range of perspectives, including the child’s perspective,
that of their parent(s), and other relevant adults.

Embedded learning
Practitioners should be looking for evidence of ‘embedded learning’, which is identified by assessing what a child can
do consistently and independently across a range of everyday situations.

Observation and interaction

Observations and interactions in planned and child-initiated activities inform ongoing assessment and are
underpinned by the practitioner’s knowledge of the child as an active learner.

Good planning
Considered provision that enables each child to demonstrate their learning development fully and reflects children’s
interests and emerging needs.

Effective assessment
An effective assessment should present a holistic view of a child’s learning and development.

Age-related expectations
Children are assessed against age-related expectations. Settings use the non-statutory ‘Development Matters’ or
‘Birth to 5 Matters’ documents to support their understanding of age-related expectations within the EYFS. The
statutory framework contains the Early Learning Goals (ELGs), which are used to support practitioners in deciding if
children are at the ‘expected’ or ‘emerging’ level at the end of their reception year.
The ELGs should not be used as a curriculum, as stated in the statutory framework, but as an end point assessment.

To gain a well-rounded picture of a child’s development a practitioner will engage in interactions, plan for an
enabling environment indoors and outdoors, encourage child-initiated activities, prepare teacher-led activities, and
plan group activities. They will also observe interactions, and engage in productive conversations about progress
and areas for development with colleagues in the setting, school and from home.

Assessment stages in the early years

Whilst children are continually assessed to monitor their progress and development, there are three significant
stages of assessment in the early years.

Progress check at age two

When a child is aged between two and three, practitioners must review their progress, and provide parents and/or
carers with a written summary of their child’s development in the prime areas. The purpose of the two-year check is
parent partnership, action for every child and early identification.

Reception baseline assessment (RBA)

An initial assessment of children upon entry into their reception year. The assessment gives a snapshot of where
children are as they start school and is then used to measure the progress that they make by the end of Year 6.

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aspects, Tes Global Ltd exclude their liability of the consequences of any errors, omission or incorrect statements to the fullest extent permitted by law and Tes Global Ltd make no warranty or
representation as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for purpose of any statements or other content in the course. No part of this material may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
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Assessment at the end of the EYFS (The EYFS profile)
The profile provides parents, carers, practitioners, and teachers with a well-rounded picture of a child’s knowledge,
understanding, abilities, progress against expected levels at the end of Reception, and their readiness for year 1. In
England, the results of the EYFS profile must be provided to the local authority. This may not be true for other
countries.

Progress check at age two

When a child is aged between two and three, practitioners must review their progress, and provide parents or carers
with a written summary of their child’s development in the prime areas. This progress check must identify the child’s
strengths and any areas where the child’s progress is less than expected.

If there are significant emerging concerns, or an identified special educational need or disability, practitioners should
develop a targeted plan to support the child’s future learning and development involving parents or carers and other
professionals as appropriate; for example, the provider’s special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) or health
professionals.

Beyond the prime areas, it is for practitioners to decide what the written summary should include, reflecting the
development level and needs of the individual child. The summary must highlight:
• areas in which a child is progressing well
• areas in which some additional support might be needed
• any areas where there is a concern that a child may have a developmental delay (which may indicate a
special educational need or disability).

It must describe the activities and strategies the provider intends to adopt to address any issues or concerns. If a
child moves settings between the ages of two and three, it is expected that the progress check would usually be
undertaken by the setting where the child has spent the most time.

Practitioners must discuss with parents and/or carers how the summary of development can be used to support
learning at home 2.

Additional non-statutory guidance for the progress check, including an example format and letter to parents, has
been produced by the DfE for practitioners to refer to during the process.

Reception baseline assessment (RBA)

Summative assessment usually begins for each child and practitioner with a ‘baseline’ assessment at the beginning
of the academic year. This is usually conducted during the child’s first weeks at school and captures their attainment
against age-related expectations through observation and specific activities.

Baseline assessment is used as the benchmark to gauge progress for each child across the academic year. The
reception baseline assessment is a short assessment, taken in the first six weeks in which a child starts reception.
Children’s progress is monitored, and the data reviewed regularly and at agreed intervals, such as twice a term, to
track each child’s progress and plan accordingly. Summative data is also used to identify areas where children may
need specific support to reach age-related expectations, and this may include engaging with outside agencies.
The baseline assessment (Reception Baseline Assessment Framework© Crown copyright, 2020) focuses on
mathematics, literacy, communication, and language and has been statutory since September 2021. The RBA takes
about 20 minutes during a one-to-one with a child, using physical resources and completing tasks as the adult

2
[Link]
_-_March_2021.pdf
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aspects, Tes Global Ltd exclude their liability of the consequences of any errors, omission or incorrect statements to the fullest extent permitted by law and Tes Global Ltd make no warranty or
representation as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for purpose of any statements or other content in the course. No part of this material may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
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records the scores. Schools will also want to continue to collect baseline information about all areas of learning to
build up a holistic picture of a child’s learning at the beginning of their school career.

Assessment at the end of EYFS

The EYFS profile is a statutory assessment of children’s development at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
It measures children’s progress and attainment in relation to the early learning goals and the characteristics of
effective learning.

Daily and ongoing formative assessment of what the children have learned will inform practitioners’ teaching and
allow them to identify areas where children may be at risk of falling behind so that additional support can be put into
place. Teacher observations and knowledge of each child will build a picture of their development through
observing, listening to, and interacting with children.

In the next section, we will go into more detail about the requirements, processes, and principles of the EYFS profile.

The EYFS Profile

The EYFS Profile is statutory in England, however this is a useful tool to assess children in the early years wherever
you are based, as it summarises and describes children’s attainment at the end of the EYFS, when they are around
five years old. It gives:
• The child’s attainment in relation to the 17 early learning goal (ELG) descriptors (pg10-14 of the EYFS Profile
Handbook).
• A short narrative describing the child’s three characteristics of effective learning.
• Practitioners’ assessments primarily based on observing a child’s daily activities and events. In particular,
practitioners should note the learning that a child demonstrates spontaneously, independently, and
consistently in a range of contexts.
• Accurate assessment considering a range of perspectives. This should include those of the child, parents and
other adults who have significant interactions with the child.

Read the different areas below to review the EYFS profile which outlines the accomplishments for children and
practitioners.

Purpose
The statutory EYFS framework requires the EYFS profile assessment to be carried out in the final term of the year
when a child reaches age 5, and no later than 30 June in that term.

The main purpose of the EYFS profile is to provide a reliable, valid, and accurate assessment of individual children at
the end of the EYFS. Each child’s level of development must be assessed against the Early Learning Goals (ELGs).
Practitioners must indicate whether children are meeting expected levels of development, or if they are not yet
reaching expected levels (‘emerging’).

The EYFS profile data is used to:

inform parents about their child’s development against the ELGs and the characteristics of their learning support a
smooth transition to Key Stage 1 by informing the professional dialogue between EYFS and KS1 teachers
help year 1 teachers plan an effective, responsive and appropriate curriculum that will meet the needs of all
children.

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aspects, Tes Global Ltd exclude their liability of the consequences of any errors, omission or incorrect statements to the fullest extent permitted by law and Tes Global Ltd make no warranty or
representation as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for purpose of any statements or other content in the course. No part of this material may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing by Tes Global Ltd.
SEND
Depending on their Special Educational Need or Disability, children will demonstrate learning and development in
different ways and should be assessed on what they ‘can do’ using adaptations they usually use in daily activities.
Practitioners observing a child, particularly a non-verbal child, involved in day-to-day activities must be alert to them
demonstrating attainment in a variety of ways, including eye pointing, the use of symbols, or signs.

Apart from ELG speaking, where the EYFS profile contains the words ‘talks’ or ‘speaks’, children can use their
established or preferred mode of communication when being assessed for the EYFS profile.

EAL
Learning English as an additional language (EAL) is not a special educational need. The three aspects specific to the
assessment of children for whom English is not their home language are:
• development in their home language
• development across areas of learning, assessed through their home language
• development of English.

Within the EYFS profile, the ELGs for communication and language, and for literacy, must be assessed in relation to
the child’s competency in English. The remaining ELGs may be assessed in the context of any language – including
their home language and English.

Exemptions
The EYFS profile handbook (2021) states that:

’The EYFS profile must be completed unless:

• The Secretary of State for Education has granted an exemption from the profile for the setting or an
individual child.
• The child is continuing in EYFS provision beyond the year in which they turn 5.
• The child has attended the provision for an insufficient amount of time for the teacher to make an adequate
assessment before the profile submission deadline.
• The child has spent a lengthy period of time away from the setting; for example, due to illness or medical
treatment.’

Assessment at the end of EYFS

At the end of the reception year, the practitioner uses the EYFS profile to make a judgement on each child’s progress
to determine whether they are:
• meeting the level of development expected at the end of the EYFS (expected)
• not yet reaching this level (emerging).

This judgement will be built over the assessment period by practitioners through several methods of assessment to
ensure that the outcome is fair, appropriate and informed. These methods include:
• day-to-day formative assessment – to inform teaching on an ongoing basis
• in-setting summative assessment – to understand a child’s performance at the end of a period of teaching
• engaging with other adults – teachers should seek the observations and knowledge of other adults in the
EYFS setting, as well as parents, to help them form their judgement
• national statutory summative assessment – to understand a child’s performance in relation to national
expectations and comparisons.

Whilst Tes Global Ltd have made every effort to ensure that the courses and their content have been devised and written by leading experts who have ensured that they reflect best practice in all
aspects, Tes Global Ltd exclude their liability of the consequences of any errors, omission or incorrect statements to the fullest extent permitted by law and Tes Global Ltd make no warranty or
representation as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for purpose of any statements or other content in the course. No part of this material may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing by Tes Global Ltd.
Note: There is no expectation for teachers to provide proof or explanation as to how they have made their
judgement. Although teachers may find it useful to record evidence for themselves, this should not be done
unnecessarily and will not be expected.

’Each child’s level of development must be assessed against the Early Learning Goals. Practitioners must indicate
whether children are meeting expected levels of development, or if they are not yet reaching expected levels
(‘emerging’). This is the EYFS Profile’ 3.

Task:
Reflect on how you would support a child emerging in writing to reach the expected level. In your answer include
suggested activities you would plan to ensure progression. Refer to the early learning goal for writing to guide your
answer.

ELG: Writing - Children at the expected level of development will:

• write recognisable letters, most of which are correctly formed
• spell words by identifying sounds in them and representing the sounds with a letter or letters
• write simple phrases and sentences that can be read by others.

For guidance and examples on assessing children’s development with the early learning goals, specifically for the
EYFS profile, watch the exemplification material videos produced by the Department for Education that cover
different areas of development and children with varying needs and backgrounds. There is a link to the videos in the
resources section of the course.

Sharing the results

Schools and other providers required to complete the EYFS profile must share the results with parents and offer
them the opportunity to discuss the report with the teacher or practitioner who completed it. Parents should be
involved in the assessment process on a regular, ongoing basis. They should be encouraged to engage with their
child’s learning and development.

Practitioners may use the information provided by EYFS profile assessment as a basis for their reports to parents.
Providers must offer parents a reasonable opportunity to discuss the outcomes of the profile with their child’s
practitioner. This meeting should be within the term in which the profile has been completed.

In England, early years providers must report EYFS profile results to local authorities, upon request. Local authorities
are under a duty to provide this requested data to the DfE.

To ensure the accuracy and consistency of assessments, it is a requirement that the settings engage in internal
moderation of EYFS profile judgements:
• Moderation of the EYFS profile assessment begins within each individual provider.
• In their own provision, practitioners can agree assessment judgements with others informally.
• This might involve two practitioners (for example, a teacher and teaching assistant, or a reception class
teacher and year 1 teacher, or a teacher and headteacher) discussing evidence about a child’s development.
• The moderation of the EYFS profile is supported by LAs, or LA-approved agencies, through a programme of
visits and meetings.

3
© Crown copyright, 2021.
Whilst Tes Global Ltd have made every effort to ensure that the courses and their content have been devised and written by leading experts who have ensured that they reflect best practice in all
aspects, Tes Global Ltd exclude their liability of the consequences of any errors, omission or incorrect statements to the fullest extent permitted by law and Tes Global Ltd make no warranty or
representation as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for purpose of any statements or other content in the course. No part of this material may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing by Tes Global Ltd.
Summary
In this module you have learned about assessment in the early years and EYFS assessment practices. Module two will
explore how to use formative assessment within the setting and the benefits of linking activities to prior learning.
Close this window to save your progress and click ‘Questionnaire 1’ to complete the accompanying questionnaire.

Whilst Tes Global Ltd have made every effort to ensure that the courses and their content have been devised and written by leading experts who have ensured that they reflect best practice in all
aspects, Tes Global Ltd exclude their liability of the consequences of any errors, omission or incorrect statements to the fullest extent permitted by law and Tes Global Ltd make no warranty or
representation as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for purpose of any statements or other content in the course. No part of this material may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing by Tes Global Ltd.