Constructing an Ambitious and Effective EYFS Curriculum alongside Effective and Purposeful Assessment�“Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better.”�Dylan Wiliam

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DATE: 13^th November, 2025

FACILITATOR: Susan Gregg, Associate Leader RoSIS

Welcome and introductions

Why are we here?

Our Vision

Our Vision is to work in partnership to inspire, raise aspirations and improve the quality of education for all.

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Our CPD Curriculum Intent

The future prosperity of our communities is inextricably linked to the quality of education and the raising of aspirations.  RoSIS are proud to work in partnership with schools and our educational partners to provide a service that is responsive to need and rooted in collaborative practice to improve outcomes for all. Our workforce of serving school leaders and consultants understand the local and national picture to provide expert support, challenge and evidence informed training and development opportunities.

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Together, we make a difference.

Making the most of today

Take a

risk and contribute

Take

care and show respect

Take

time and be present

Aims of today

• Time for reflection/ idea sharing on current position
• Explore research, Ofsted key messages and current thinking to review and evaluate your EYFS curriculum and assessment development.
• Explore statutory requirements that sit alongside.
• Explore examples of curriculum planning.
• Explore formative and summative assessment.
• Explore curriculum and assessment rationale rationale.
• Words of caution around good practice!

Initial reflection:

• Why are you here?
• Where are you currently with your curriculum?

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Ofsted’s view of curriculum:

‘Our working definition of curriculum is that it is a framework for setting out the aims of a programme of education, including the knowledge and skills to be gained at each stage (intent); for translating that framework over time into a structure and narrative, within an institutional context (implementation); and for evaluating what knowledge and understanding children have gained against expectations (impact). The curriculum lies at the heart of education. It determines what learners will know and be able to go on to do by the time they have finished that stage of their education.’

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 1)

Ofsted’s view of curriculum:

• ‘The areas of learning and development in the EYFS must shape the curriculum.
• It is crucial that all providers carefully consider what children need to learn over time so they are able to reach ambitious end points by the end of their time in the early years.
• Although the EYFS Framework allows practitioners to decide on the detail of the curriculum, it is important to plan and sequence what all children learn, rather than it happening by chance.
• We consider a curriculum (or programme of learning) to be a progression model. A coherently planned and well-sequenced curriculum enables children to make progress by knowing more, understanding more and being able to do more. In the early years, the curriculum enables all children to make progress in the areas of learning. In this way, early education provides the building blocks of knowledge for subjects that children will study in later years. The early years curriculum does not include formal subjects. However, it does prepare children for later learning in those formal subjects.’

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(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 1)

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(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 1)

Ofsted’s view of curriculum:

‘Once practitioners have decided what they want all children in their setting to learn, they need to consider the most effective ways to teach it. Sometimes it will be appropriate to show or tell children what to do through explicit teaching. For example, when they are learning something for the first time. This may be followed by opportunities for children to use and apply this new knowledge through play. At other times, it may be appropriate for children to explore something through play first and for the practitioner to intervene with guidance at appropriate points. Judging what to teach and when to teach it is a key part of a practitioner’s role, and the curriculum acts as the framework on which to base those decisions.’

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(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 1)

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Ofsted’s view of curriculum:

‘It is important to ensure that all children have the opportunity to really develop and talk about a full range of interests. This is because some may have been encouraged to develop an interest in books but not sport; others may have been taken to art galleries and given support to draw and paint but have not experienced much music. In their setting, this might mean that these children are keen to take part in book-related activities or seek out the painting table, but do not choose active play or explore music-making. The consequence of planning based purely on a child’s interests is that the curriculum begins to narrow for them at a very young age.

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 1)

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(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 1)

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• Quick reflection…do you leave things to chance?
• Do your children explore all of your provision?
• Is your provision carefully and deliberately planned?
• We will explore this further…

Communication & Language

• Every early education setting should prioritise communication and language.
• Communication and language are vital for young children to develop. Early interactions are crucial to children’s language development. The quality and quantity of interactions matter. An environment that promotes and supports young children’s language and communication skills will influence their language development.
• Early years settings have a pivotal role to play, therefore, in ensuring that all children develop their communication and language skills, regardless of their knowledge on entry.

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 1)

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• Communication and language underpin all other areas of learning in the EYFS framework. Children typically learn and share what they know through oral communication and language before they can read and write. Communication and language are also vital for social and emotional development. They enable children to build relationships with their peers and the adults around them, to talk about what matters to them and to express their needs.
• There is also evidence that language is linked to children developing the ‘theory of mind’. This is the ability to attribute mental states, such as desires, beliefs and intentions, to oneself and to others. Research further indicates that early language acquisition contributes to young children’s ability to regulate their emotions.

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 1)

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• Developing children’s communication and language benefits from careful and deliberate curriculum planning, taking account of all areas of learning. Staff will need to decide what they want all children to know and think about and identify the vocabulary and concepts that are associated with this.
• Practitioners will need to think about the most effective ways to introduce and embed vocabulary and language structures. These include:

*frequent and high-quality interactions between adults and children

*oral storytelling

*shared reading

*repeated reading (children love repeated readings of high-quality picture books. They also learn new words much faster when the book is read several times over a short period, for example 3 or 4 times in a week. Repeatedly reading the same story is more effective in promoting word learning than reading different stories).

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 1)

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• Children are born to communicate and will seek out interaction.
• Good interactions and conversations depend on social relationships and tuned-in adults.
• A well-planned language rich environment is important to facilitate good interactions.
• Planning and reflecting on the quality and time available for conversations will increase opportunities for learning language and communication skills.
• Listening, asking open questions, commenting, repeating, extending, adapting, and valuing non-verbal communication will support children’s communication.
• (Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 1)

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• Consider if you make enough time and space for conversations and explicit vocabulary and language teaching in your curriculum.
• Make sure your interactions support the children’s communication and language.
• Make sure that your interactions reflect the individual communication needs of each child.
• Consider if the learning environments are set up in a way that enables communication and talk.
• Review your curriculum to ensure you cover the requirements in the EYFS for this area of learning.
• (Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 1)

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Physical Development

Fundamental movement skills are a set of basic motor patterns that benefit from good teaching and practice to aid development. They can also facilitate (or impede) physical activity in childhood and beyond. They can be subdivided into 3 sets of skills that have common aspects for the range of movement:

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• locomotor skills, for example running and jumping
• stability skills, for example twisting and balancing
• manipulation skills, such as throwing and catching

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 2)

Practitioners may want to consider the extent to which their curriculum for physical development:

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• identifies small steps that, when taught and practised purposefully, lead to proficiency in a physical skill
• enables practitioners to understand what children need to learn and practise so they can help children to build on what they already know
• includes explicit modelling and teaching of fundamental movement skills
• provides activities that deepen and extend a child’s capabilities
• gives children the space and time they need to practise and refine their emerging skills through play

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 2)

Personal, Social & Emotional Development

For effective PSED, practitioners need to be dependable and show genuine concern, care and respect for every child. They need to respect and understand children’s perspectives and feelings.

Practitioners need to think about the most effective ways to help children learn how to look after themselves and how to get on with others. These might include:

• knowing how to support children to develop warm, positive relationships and interactions
• being proactive in supporting children to develop a positive sense of self
• planning sessions that help children to develop an understanding of emotions
• modelling routines, rules, and expectations that help children learn how to get along with each other
• providing opportunities for children to explore, prepare and eat healthy food in supportive and meaningful contexts.

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 2)

Literacy

The EYFS framework’s educational programme for literacy includes the following:

• It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading.
• Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together.
• Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words.
• Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing)

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life 3)

The importance of reception�Keeping things simple and doing it well!

• Regular explicit handwriting instruction as well as phonics instruction.
• Some children, may need to be taught how to use and manoeuvre, thumb, wrist and shoulder muscles.
• Children should be taught the correct way to hold a pencil and the correct position for writing – writing routines!
• Progress to specific handwriting lessons and practice.
• This might initially include practice in moving the pencil to master the horizontal, diagonal, vertical and circular strokes needed for writing.
• This should progress to teaching letter formation, focusing on where to start each letter, the direction of formation, its shape, position and, later on, its spacing relative to other letters.

Reception Year – skills and knowledge for writing

• Complex, extended writing tasks should not be introduced too early, and children should master each stage before moving on.
• Simple dictation helps pupils to practise transcription.
• There should be opportunities for pupils to write as part of play, but it is important to recognise that not all children will take up these opportunities.
• Children need opportunities to develop their body strength and co-ordinations as well as their fine motor skills. This may be particularly important for some children, such as summer-born boys, who may need more intentional, intensive support alongside teaching writing to develop the fine motor skills that underpin writing.

Reception Year – developing composition

• Children need plenty of opportunities to share and elaborate on their ideas.
• They should be encouraged and supported by adults who are effective at modelling high-quality language and questioning sensitively.
• This will support them to develop and use a wide range of vocabulary and language structures.
• This, in turn, will help children to become adept at using these structures in their own writing.
• High quality interactions should be combined with shared reading, storytelling, and learning rhymes, poems and songs are crucial to foster a love of language.
• The non-statutory early years curriculum guidance Development Matters provides further assistance on supporting children’s developing understanding of language, and on developing handwriting.

Making judgements against the Early Learning Goals �for Writing

Children at the expected level of development will be able to:

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

NB Teachers must ensure letter formation is secure BEFORE texts get longer.

Reception – detail about what is needed to meet the ELG

• New guidance

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• Children do not need to be able to compose these sentences themselves. Dictated sentences can be assessed.
• Extended writing is not necessary, for a child to be judged as achieving the Early Learning Goal for Writing.
• In making a judgement teachers will consider multiple phrases and sentences that the child has written.
• What is important is that children can use their knowledge of the GPCs to write simple phrases and sentences that others can read.

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In summary

• Sentences and phrases can be transcribed (from dictation) rather than independently composed.
• Sentences and phrases can be simple rather than extended.
• Sentences and phrases must be readable but may contain some mistakes in letter formation.
• Sentences and phrases do not need to contain punctuation (including capital letters).
• Not all words need to be correctly spelt.
• It is important to note that this is NOT a writing curriculum. Just because something is not a requirement of the ELG does not mean that it should not be taught.

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Points to consider:

• Are clear milestones in place? What happens if they are not met?
• Is assessment of the ELG accurate? Transition?
• How confident are you?
• Does explicit handwriting instruction take place?
• Is dictation a core part of the transcription curriculum? Accuracy? Adaptation? Do the books show this?
• Quality over quantity!
• Oral composition – is it taught? Do they use it when writing an independent sentence?
• Correct pencil grip and knowledge of right and left handers.
• Activities to support the development of fine and gross motor skills – carefully sequenced.

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Maths

The EYFS framework’s educational programme for mathematics includes the following:

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• Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically.
• Children should be able to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers.
• In addition, it is important that the curriculum includes rich opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures.
• It is important that children develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics, look for patterns and relationships, spot connections, ‘have a go’, talk to adults and peers about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes.
• (Ofsted, Best Start in Life 3)

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The EYFS requirements can be summed up under 3 headings. They require that children:

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• gain a strong grounding in number and counting
• develop their spatial reasoning
• learn to enjoy mathematics

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life 3)

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Early learning about number includes:

• knowing how to count: being able to say numbers up to 10 in the correct order and being able to match each number word to a single object
• recognising numerals
• understanding the cardinal counting principle: that the last number you counted tells you the number of objects in the set
• understanding ordinality: being able to place numbers in sequence; knowing that 3 comes before 4 and after 2
• understanding cardinality: linking number words and symbols to quantity values
• comparing magnitudes: when you see a set of 5 counters, and a set of 3, knowing which set is bigger; knowing that 4 is a bigger number than 2
• solving calculations by creating a mental model in your head: for example, a child is shown 3 counters, which are then covered; the adult adds one more counter under the cover and asks the child how many counters are under the cover now

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life 3)

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Spatial reasoning is a new term in the EYFS, introduced in the 2021 reforms. It may be unfamiliar to many practitioners. It covers:

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• spatial assembly (which enables playing with blocks and other construction materials)
• size/measures (big, wide, narrow)
• the properties of shapes (bent, pointy, curved)
• the names of shapes (circle, rectangle)
• spatial relationships (next to, above, below, between, near, far)

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 3)

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Important elements of spatial reasoning are:

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• knowing how to climb (up, down, over, under, through) and to squeeze yourself into different-sized spaces
• knowing how to fit different types of blocks and construction equipment together
• completing inset puzzles and jigsaws
• noticing and making patterns
• talking about the properties of shapes, using terms like sides, corners, straight, flat and round
• recognising and naming simple 2D and 3D shapes (circles, triangles, rectangles, cuboids)
• understanding position through words alone, without pointing (on, under, next to)
• combining shapes to make new ones, for example building an arch during block play, or moving and combining 2D shapes to make pictures

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 3)

To develop children’s mathematical understanding, practitioners need to consider curriculum planning that includes:

• number
• operations with number
• spatial reasoning

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(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 3)

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Understanding the World

Ofsted’s view of curriculum:

Based on the research, practitioners may consider the extent to which their curriculum for understanding the world:

• emphasises the importance of children’s personal experiences and the books, songs and poems they will encounter
• enables practitioners to identify the language and knowledge children need to learn to develop their concept of time, knowledge of living things and the natural world
• includes experiences that help children make sense of and learn about the diverse world in which they live
• enables children to learn how to use technology safely and purposefully

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 3)

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Expressive Arts & Design

The EYFS and Ofsted

Ofsted’s definition of teaching in the EYFS-Ofsted Toolkit, Nov 2025

Teaching is a broad term that covers the many different ways in which adults help young children to learn.

In the early years, it includes their interactions with children during planned and child-initiated

play and activities, communicating and modelling language, showing, explaining, demonstrating,

exploring ideas, encouraging, questioning, recalling, providing a narrative for what they are doing,

facilitating and setting challenges. It takes account of the equipment that adults provide, and the

attention given to the physical environment, as well as the structure and routines of the day that

establish expectations. Integral to teaching is how practitioners assess what children know,

understand and can do, as well as how they take account of their interests and dispositions to learn

(characteristics of effective learning), and how they use this information to plan children’s next steps

in learning and monitor their progress.

Ofsted’s view:

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(Ofsted Toolkit, Nov 25 )

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Ofsted’s view of curriculum:

The curriculum in EAD should give children opportunities to learn and practise skills, to appreciate their own and others’ art and to use what they know in creative ways.

Practitioners may want to consider whether their curriculum for EAD:

• ensures that young children have the early sensory experiences they need
• is clear about how and when new tools, materials, skills, songs, rhymes and stories will be introduced
• identifies the vocabulary that children will need to express their views and ideas about different art forms and talk about what they think and what they have done
• includes opportunities for children to practise their skills and knowledge in creative ways.

(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 3)

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Ofsted’s view of curriculum:

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(Ofsted, Best Start in Life Part 3)

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DfE’s view of curriculum:

• ‘An effective curriculum is a holistic and ambitious plan that sets out what you want the children to learn and experience across all 7 areas.
• Research indicates that a child’s language and communication experiences have the greatest impact on development. A child’s former experiences are important to consider as part of effective curriculum planning.
• It’s often very easy to choose the activities you want to deliver before thinking about what you want the children to learn!!

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DfE’s view of curriculum:

‘Questions to ask:

• What do I want the children to learn?
• Why do I want them to learn these things?
• Why do I want them to learn these things now?
• Does my curriculum ensure that all children have opportunity to achieve the desired outcome?
• Is my curriculum holistic, inclusive and accessible, ambitious, engaging and enjoyable?

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DfE’s view of curriculum:

If you want to know more:

https://child-development-training.education.gov.uk

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Module 7 – Effective Curriculum and Assessment

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Development Matters:

Pedagogy and environment:

• Once you have decided what you want and need your children to learn, you can then move on to deciding the activities that you will use to deliver the intended learning.
• This will lead you on to developing your enabling environment, both indoors and outdoors, to support your curriculum.

Reflection:

• What is the vision for your children?
• Do you feel that your curriculum is holistic, inclusive and accessible, ambitious, engaging and enjoyable? How do you know?
• Is your current curriculum built around knowledge of starting points?

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Reflection:

• Is your curriculum thorough in its opportunities for communication and language development? How do you know?
• How does your curriculum prepare children for life in modern Britain?

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Reflection:

• Is your curriculum based on your ‘local context?
• How does your curriculum prepare children for the next stage in their learning?
• Why have you made the curriculum choices that you have made? Can you put that into words?

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Our thoughts:

• Here at Meadow View, we believe that the early years set the foundations for all future learning. We understand the impact that quality Early Years education has on pupil’s successes later in life. Our Foundation Stage offers children a balance of child initiated and adult led learning. We have created a language rich, engaging and purposeful environment both indoors and out that enables children to thrive and explore through discovery and reflection. We want our children to be confident in expressing themselves and feel happy, be inspired by the enriching experiences we offer, to know there is no limit to who they can be, and feel valued and celebrated as individuals. Our curriculum has our school values threaded throughout. Aspire, Wellness, Include, Achieve. 

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• We are proud of our Progress Skills Curriculum in EYFS. Through carefully planned direct teaching, group work and child-initiated play in the learning environment, children are able to access an ambitious, enquiry based curriculum that supports and challenges them. Our curriculum has our children at its heart. We understand how important it is to develop children’s communication and language at Meadow View and this is at the centre of our practice. The children thrive with quality interactions and highly trained staff that can quickly identify and support speech and language needs.  

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Our thoughts:

• Our curriculum broadens our children’s horizons, revealing a world beyond their immediate surroundings and Kimberworth. The experiences we offer are carefully planned and children can expect to meet a Fire Fighter, a Nurse, visit a farm, watch caterpillars change into butterflies and ducklings hatch during their time with us. We also have weekly sessions at our Forest School led by our Forest School Practitioner. Here, the children take part in lots of wonderful experiences like bug hunts, climbing trees, jumping in muddy puddles, watching the seasons change and toasting marshmallows over the fire pit. 
• Our curriculum prepares our children for Key Stage 1 by providing a grounding for future topics that will be covered and ensuring the children are confident learners and can communicate effectively. We value each child’s individuality and diversity and foster an understanding that each person is distinct and valuable in their own right. Throughout our curriculum, we embrace various celebrations, faiths and traditions that reflect our community such as Eid, Diwali, and Christmas.

Meadow View Primary 

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A progression model:

• What do I want them to learn now?
• Why do I want them to learn these things now?
• What do I want them to learn next?
• Is it progressive and sequential?

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Communication & language:

• ‘Every early education setting should prioritise communication and language.’ (Ofsted Best Start in Life Part 2).

Communication & language:

Communication & language:

Inclusive and accessible:

Cultural capital:

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• Foundational knowledge -  how to communicate, read, write and calculate.
• General knowledge - that will help them to understand the world around them.
• Their physical, emotional and social development are also important. Finally, developing executive function is crucial for both learning and well-being.

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• Schools introduce complex reading and writing tasks too early. They do not give children enough teaching and practice for them to become fluent in foundational knowledge and skills, such as in handwriting and composing simple sentences.
• Schools’ curriculums for English – and literacy in the early years – beyond the teaching of phonics, are often weak.

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• Building fluency in foundational knowledge allows children to succeed and therefore grow in confidence. However, English and literacy curriculums, more than mathematics, tend to introduce complex tasks too early. Therefore, children do not learn foundational knowledge properly, such as:
• how to compose simple sentences orally
• how to hold a pencil correctly and form letters and numbers 
• how to spell
• how to become a fluent reader
• Language is the bedrock of thinking and learning. It should be a priority in the curriculum. In order to write, children need to be able to compose orally (that is, to say out loud what they want to write). They also need to know how to spell, form letters and punctuate correctly. Some curriculums, however, do not sequence this knowledge coherently and sequentially. They expect children to work on tasks that are well beyond their competence. For example, children in the Reception Year are often asked to write stories or about recent events before they have learned the necessary knowledge and skills. This is particularly difficult for children with lower starting points. For example, all the children in a Year 1 class might be expected to write a character description, even though some of them still cannot form all their letters or write recognisable words.

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Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• Teaching handwriting only in phonics sessions, as some schools do, is part of the problem. It means that children do not learn the basics of letter formation that establish the foundations for speedy and fluent handwriting later on.
• Beyond teaching spelling in phonics lessons, schools rarely use dictation as a way for children to practise spelling without having to compose sentences themselves. The schools visited did not always realise that this is part of the national curriculum for Years 1 and 2.

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• Similarly, some whole-school approaches to writing are not realistic for children in the early stages of learning to write. For example, in some schools, the writing curriculum is based on producing different text types, such as instructions, recounts and stories. When schools focus on text types in Reception and key stage 1, they often pay less attention to foundational knowledge, such as spelling, handwriting and orally composing sentences, which would allow children to successfully compose such pieces of extended writing.

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• Schools intend that every child will learn important knowledge in the early years. Most schools are clear that certain learning, such as learning to read and write, and understand and use numbers, cannot be left to chance through a child’s own choices.
• However, if the Reception curriculum is not clear enough about what all children need to learn, it can become merely a list of activities. Simply providing experiences that children can choose from is not enough. A typical child might pass much of the day engaged and busy, but may not spend enough time learning new concepts and encountering new ideas. Sharing books and having discussions with adults help the child to build conceptual knowledge that, later, will feed into their writing and their understanding of texts and extend their knowledge of the world.
• Additionally, not all children take full part in what is offered. Those with more limited knowledge are the least likely to participate, which exacerbates their disadvantage.

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

Summary of the main concerns

• lack of clarity in the curriculum, so that teachers do not know what to prioritise in their teaching and assessment
• introducing complex tasks too early and therefore not building children’s fluency in foundational knowledge
• focusing on planning activities rather than on what all children should learn
• not taking sufficient account of children’s starting points

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Deliberate Intentions

• ‘However, if the Reception curriculum is not clear enough about what all children need to learn, it can become merely a list of activities.’ Ofsted
• What do we want our children to know and learn?
• What are our ‘Deliberate Intentions?’ Nothing left to chance!
• Provision, both indoor and outdoor, directly supports what I want my children to know and learn from my curriculum.

What do we want our children to learn? Skills Progression and Deliberate Intentions.

What do we want our children to learn? Skills Progression and Deliberate Intentions.

Deliberate Intentions in provision.

Book Corner – �Deliberate Intention

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QfL: Can I listen to an adult tell me a story or rhyme?

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Children to listen to stories and rhymes led by an adult.

F1: story

listen

look

book

turn

pages

rhyme

song

singing

Home Corner – �Deliberate Intention

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QfL: Can I talk in full sentences?

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Children to talk about families and home life. F1 to be supported to speak in full sentences. F2 to be extended using connectives in speech.

F1: family

brother

mum

dad

sister

baby

grandma

grandad

pet

F2: cousin

neighbour

aunt

uncle

parent

toddler

teenager

Preparation for the next phase:

• Do I know what happens next?
• Is my curriculum preparing my children for the next phase and equipping them with the skills that they need?
• How am I helping any children who are NOT ready?
• Am I missing anything?
• Do I need to take anything away?

Final thoughts:

• What has resonated with you?
• What is your first action going to be?
• Who do you need to speak to?
• What do you think is working really well?
• What do you think you need to change?
• Are you clear on next steps? Does your curriculum prepare the children for this?

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DfE’s View of Assessment in EYFS

• Summative assessment is a summary of what a child knows and understands at a certain, given point of time. This should be based on practitioner knowledge and professional judgement. Practitioners should not be required to prove this through collections of physical evidence.
• Formative assessment is ongoing assessment integral to learning and development. Practitioners need to understand childrens’ interests and understand what children know and can do, shaping teaching and learning to reflect that knowledge.
• Observation is the ongoing process of noticing what our children know, understand and can do to build knowledge of each child. Observation allows you to see where you may need to adapt your pedagogy in order to meet needs of children.
• Development Matters provides ‘observation checkpoints’ to allow to show typical development and milestones at certain developmental stages. These can help to identify if additional support is required. They can also support conversations with parents/ carers and other professionals. Observation is an integral part of our practice in EYFS.

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DfE’s view of curriculum and assessment:

If you want to know more:

https://child-development-training.education.gov.uk

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Module 7 – Effective Curriculum and Assessment

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Statutory Framework’s View of Assessment in EYFS

Statutory Framework (2025):

Assessment should not involve long breaks from interaction with children or require excessive paperwork. When assessing whether an individual child is at the expected level of development, practitioners should draw on their knowledge of the child and their own expert professional judgement. Practitioners are not required to prove this through collection of any physical evidence.

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Assessment should inform an ongoing dialogue between practitioners and year 1 teachers about each child’s learning and development, to support a successful transition to Key Stage 1.

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Ongoing assessment (also known as formative assessment) is an integral part of the learning and development process. It involves practitioners understanding children’s interests and what they know and can do, and then shaping teaching and learning experiences for each child reflecting that knowledge. In their interactions with children, practitioners should make and act on their own day-to-day observations about children’s progress and observations that parents and carers share. However, there is no requirement to keep written records in relation to this.

Ofsted’s View of Assessment in EYFS

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• The Early Learning Goals are a top-level, summative assessment that should only be used as an assessment for the end of F2. They are not to be used to track children in-year, or to plan a curriculum.
• The removal of external moderation and the ‘exceeding ‘ judgement is aimed at reducing the need for excessive evidence gathering and streamlining the assessment process.

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Statutory Assessment Points in EYFS

There are still 3 statutory assessment points:

• The 2 year progress check
• The Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)
• The EYFS Profile at the end of F2

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Initial Reflection:

• Why are you here?
• Where are you currently with your assessment?
• Do you feel that your assessments are purposeful and help move a child’s learning and development?
• What assessments do you currently use? Why?
• What have you found that you can let go of?

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Purposeful Assessment

• Being aware of your intentions when observing/ assessing a child will go a long way to ensuring that they are meaningful, purposeful and will move learning on for the child.
• The decisions we make based on our observations/ assessments are crucial for a child’s learning and development as they underpin our curriculum that we offer.

Our Thoughts:

What to keep? What is purposeful, relevant and makes a difference for the children?

• Phonic assessments
• Reading assessments
• Maths assessments
• WOW moments to share
• Floor Books
• SALT assessments
• Specific, focussed observations/ assessments
• Early Support Developmental Journals, especially for SEND
• Internal ‘Baseline’ assessments
• Day-to-day observations of children – can they hold a pencil, can they use scissors, can they throw and catch a ball, can they remember a 2 part instruction…
• Foundational skills assessments

What to let go?

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Supporting Assessment:

• Assessment in EYFS is supported by an understanding of typical child development, alongside a child keeping pace with your broad and ambitious curriculum throughout EYFS.
• There are several different resources that are available to support our understanding of typical child development in order to support assessment.

Skills Progression:

Supporting Typical Child Development:

• What to expect in the EYFS: a guide for parents

https://foundationyears.org.uk/files/2021/09/What-to-expect-in-the-EYFS-complete-FINAL-16.09-compressed.pdf

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Supporting Typical Child Development:

• DfE Early years child development training

https://child-development-training.education.gov.uk

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Supporting Typical Child Development:

• Help for early years providers

https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk

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Supporting Typical Child Development:

• EYFS exemplification materials

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/early-years-foundation-stage-exemplification-materials

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These exemplification videos support teachers in assessing childrens’ development at the end of EYFS against the EYFSP.

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They show teachers using their professional judgement and knowledge of the child’s overall development to make EYFSP judgements.

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Supporting Typical Child Development:

• Universally Speaking 0-5 – Communication Trust

https://sendcorotherham.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Development-checklist-0-5.pdf

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Typical speech and language development from birth to 5.

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Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• The best forms of assessment pick up children’s misunderstandings quickly and provide early opportunities to help children who need extra teaching and practice. Training can also help staff to be alert to children’s misconceptions during teaching and practice.
• Staff who had received subject-specific training were quick to spot when children had misunderstood something during a lesson. They could then explain the concepts more clearly to the children who did not understand. This meant that misconceptions and gaps in the children’s knowledge were less likely to become permanent. Effective day-to-day assessment kept these teachers well informed.
• Weak assessment, on the other hand, gets in the way of understanding what children really know and can do.

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Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• Our report, ‘Bold beginnings’, recommended that teachers’ workload in relation to assessment should be reduced. The 2021 EYFS reforms intended that assessment should draw more substantially on professional judgement. A 2023 independent evaluation of the reforms recognises a reduction in the time spent on assessment. Despite this, some assessment still takes up too much time and does not provide a reliable picture of what children know and can do.

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• Staff in some Reception classes relied on photographs of the children participating in activities to support their assessments. Many of them, however, realised that the photographs showed only the curriculum coverage and which children had participated in activities. They did not give information about what the children had learned. However, when shown to children, the photographs played a positive role in helping them to reflect on and talk about their experiences.
• Staff had collected much more evidence in relation to some children than others because those children were more talkative and more likely to participate in activities. This indicates a lack of interaction between adults and the more vulnerable children, and a false assumption that assessment should be only of child-initiated activities.

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• Some staff said that making multiple observations and collating them into children’s books created unnecessary work. More importantly, however, it was clear that such assessments were taking adults away from the children who most needed their support. These assessments were also unlikely to provide important information about what children knew, such as their knowledge of the world.
• Our inspection handbook explains that we do not require photographic evidence or a particular frequency or quantity of work in children’s books.

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• Assessment information can be particularly useful when it is shared at points of transition. Most schools share summative assessment information at the end of each academic year, such as whether a child has met the early learning goals at the end of Reception. However, data alone is of little use in informing a teacher of the next steps for a child. In ‘Bold beginnings’, we identified that teachers typically want more specific information about a child’s reading, writing and mathematical knowledge. For example, they want to know the specific GPCs the child has learned, their knowledge of numbers and, especially, where there are gaps.
• Existing assessment practices, such as those discussed here, result in few schools sharing this sort of detail about gaps in children’s knowledge and their barriers to learning. As a result, a child’s next teacher is less well placed to help them with fundamental knowledge and skills: communication and language, letter formation, pencil grip and more. This makes it more likely that problems will persist.

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

• It would be helpful to check that children have learned foundational knowledge, in the way that the phonics screening check identifies children’s knowledge of GPCs at the end of Year 1. Important indicators might include:
• pencil grip
• reading fluency
• letter and number formation
• understanding of the numbers to 10
• number bond knowledge
• the spelling of common exception words

Strong Foundations – Ofsted Oct 24

Assessment considerations for leaders

• Does training make sure that staff can anticipate and deal with misconceptions during instruction and practice?
• Do gaps in knowledge for the lowest-attaining children persist? If so, why?
• Can tasks be introduced that provide practice (and opportunities for assessment) in foundational knowledge?
• How do you assess foundational knowledge and skills such as handwriting and number facts?
• How might information about any gaps in children’s knowledge be shared most effectively with the children’s next teacher?

Finally, let’s unpick this further…

• Are some children not as far along or significantly ahead in their development and learning compared to most children? How are we further supporting these children?

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• What smaller step progress measures/ assessments are working for us currently to show progress for children not as far along?

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Supporting SEND Assessment

• A Celebratory Approach to SEND Assessment in the EYFS – Penn Green
• https://www.pengreen.org/a-celebratory-approach-to-send-assessment-in-the-early-years

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Supporting SEND Assessment

• A Celebratory Approach to SEND Assessment in the EYFS – Penn Green

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The Early Years Working Party acknowledged the progress of children with SEND cannot easily be demonstrated or celebrated using existing Early Years frameworks and identified key challenges in relating to this notion. Through discussion the Working Party identified a set of principles informing their recommendations and suggestions and considered several assessment pathways with associated assessment tools. The aim being to place the child at the centre and to celebrate their learning and development. The outcome has been the publication of a booklet A Celebratory Approach to SEND Assessment in the Early Years. The booklet provides templates, interactive links and video vignettes and is available to be accessed nationally by practitioners.

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Supporting SEND Assessment

• The Early Support Developmental Journal

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The Early Support Developmental Journal helps to practitioners to record, support and celebrate children’s early development and to identify areas where extra help may be needed. It is for anyone wishing to better understand, follow and support a child’s development, as well as the specific use for disabled children and those with additional needs. It is designed to support a key working approach and foster communication among all those involved in a child’s development.

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Age Chart

In the Developmental Journal each ‘Developmental Step’ is identified against a typical developmental age range. Assessing a child’s developmental level is necessary for report-writing, applying for financial support and selecting appropriate support packages or intervention.

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It is important to remember that there is a great deal of variation from child to child throughout their development, especially in the early years, and it is not unusual for a typically developing child to be at a ‘Step’ that is not exactly in line with their chronological age. The Early Years Developmental Journal age-ranges are narrower at the earlier Steps and they also overlap, highlighting that the Steps are not discrete events that happen at exactly the same time for all children.

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Supporting SEND Assessment

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Supporting SEND Assessment

• Help for early years providers

https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk

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Supporting SEND Assessment

• Overview
• The four broad areas of need
• Carrying out an assessment what you need to know
• Setting targets and long term goals

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Future CPD & Events

Support in school for those buying the Core Offer or the EYFS package to RoSIS may include:

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• New to EYFS Leadership: this package of support is aimed at delegates new to EYFS Leadership.  New Leads will receive 3 visits in school, with opportunities to explore leadership and all aspects of the EYFS on an individualised, bespoke basis
• EYFS Reflection Visits: these sessions were extremely popular last academic year. They allow SLT and EYFS Leads and practitioners to reflect on what is currently happening in their EYFS provision, celebrate successes, explore key EYFS messages and highlight potential advice and ways forward.  All of this is done in a supportive way and encourages open and thoughtful discussion.  The sessions are made up of an initial, shorter visit, followed by the reflection visit itself (this usually lasts approximately 3 hours)
• Bespoke school visits to discuss any aspect of the EYFS or EYFS provision.

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Support & Training available:

In partnership with EYFS experts from a range of organisations, will continue to facilitate our EYFS Leader Network sessions.  These sessions provide an opportunity for delegates to keep up-to-speed with key EYFS sector updates and good practice messages.  A range of different speakers are invited to sessions across the year, and they provide invaluable networking opportunities for leaders.  Taking place in person, at Rockingham Professional Development Centre, the sessions are scheduled for: �

• Thursday, 6th November at Rockingham PDC 13:30 – 15:30 �
• Thursday, 11th June at Rockingham PDC from 13:30 – 15:30  

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The EYFS – An Introduction for Governors

This training will increase Governor confidence and awareness of EYFS statutory requirements, as well as key EYFS good practice and Ofsted messages.  

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The session will be held on Zoom on Monday, 24th November from 17:30 – 19:00 and you can book via The EYFS – An Introduction for Governors | Forge CPD.

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Cost: Schools and settings accessing the Core Offer to RoSIS have unlimited access, for others a delegate fee of £97 per person applies.

EYFS Central Moderation

These sessions allow F2 teachers to discuss current issues within EYFS alongside peer moderation of the ELGs.  This will support accurate and robust assessment at the end of the year.  They are for Rotherham LA maintained schools, and academies that have signed a formal/local agreement for Rotherham to act as their monitoring and moderation partner. �

Session 1�

• Tuesday, 24th February at Rockingham PDC from 13:30 – 15:00 EYFS Central Moderation | Forge CPD OR�
• Tuesday, 24th February at Rockingham PDC from 16:00 – 17:30 EYFS Central Moderation | Forge CPD.  �

Session 2�

• Monday, 15th June at Rockingham PDC from 13:30 – 15:00 EYFS Central Moderation | Forge CPD OR�
• Monday, 15th June at Rockingham PDC from 16:00 – 17:30 EYFS Central Moderation | Forge CPD.

EYFS Festival!�Monday 16^th – Saturday 21^st March

Workshops running during the week, focussing on equipping Subject Leaders to recognise the EYFS within their subject area. Confirmed so far:

• Science Leaders – Forest Schools
• Art, Music and D&T
• English, Early Reading, Oracy
• SEND
• PE
• Maths

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Conference on Friday, 20^th for EYFS Leaders; confirmed speakers are: Alistair Bryce-Clegg and Kate Cairns

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Conference on Saturday, 21^st for Child Minders & EYFS Practitioners with Shonette Bason

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Further details will be provided as soon as they are available, you can express an interest in receiving more details via EYFS Festival | Forge CPD.

Booster Group Intervention

What does the Booster Group Intervention Support?

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Speaking which involves children being able to use language effectively to express themselves.

Developing Vocabulary which supports children’s emerging literacy development.

Attention and Listening which are the foundation skills for speech, language and communication development.

Understanding which helps children to make sense of the world and of what is being said to them.

Get Involved …

• Access to the Booster Group tutorial is via the Tiny Talkers website - Training – Tiny Talkers

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• Tiny Talkers Rotherham Facebook page – information sharing and competition giveaways

https://www.facebook.com/tinytalkersrotherham

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• Tiny Talkers Professionals Facebook Group

(11) Tiny Talkers Rotherham - Early Years Professionals | Facebook

Access the RoSIS Curriculum Development area on the ForgeCPD platform to view all resources shared in this session.

Evaluation

Please complete the evaluation before you leave!

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