Anyone understand how the Early Years Foundation Stage is assessed?!

[User24689]

Hi, I posted in education but no responses so thought I'd try here!

Just got my DDs preschool report and struggling to make sense of it. Wouldn't mind but we've got a few concerns about her at the moment so want to get a grip on what it all means before she starts school in September but we are on holiday this week and I haven't been able to get hold of anyone at the preschool to ask!

So it has placed her in an 'age range' for each area e.g. listening and attention. Presumably that is just where her actual age falls and not an assessment of the skill level? That age range is then colour coded as emerging, developing or secure. She has been assessed as emerging for everything except technology which she is secure for. (This doesn't really make sense as there is no mention of her using technology anywhere in the report?!) My question is, what is the expectation at this age. Is the expectation that they are secure, therefore she is behind where she should be, or is the expectation that they are secure by the end of the EYFS (end of reception?) so she's where she should be?

If there are any teachers here that could explain it id be so grateful!

So it has placed her in an 'age range' for each area e.g. listening and attention. Presumably that is just where her actual age falls and not an assessment of the skill level?

No. I would expect they would have highlighted the age range her skills are at, not the age range she is, through when she was born (although obviously they could be the same). Some children will be secure in that band, some will be developing and some will be emerging. There is no 'expectation' beyond that. It is designed to be that way as they know there isn't some sort of "pass / fail mark" at a certain age. It is an acknowledgement that all children develop at different rates.

The 'expectation' is that she would be her chronolgical age.

We would ‘expect’ children leaving nursery and entering reception to be 30-50 secure.

Thank you both so much for your replies (although they seem to contradict each other). She's 47 months so chronologically could go in either 30-50 or 40-60. She's in 40-60 for everything except the one area she's secure in. So is 40-60 emerging a step on from 30-50 secure?!

I really think if this stuff is reported to parents it should be presented with some kind of explanation about wtf it means!!

Each age band has statements in that we assess against
To be emerging in 40-60 they must be secure in 30-50
I would expect a 47 month old to be in 30-50 secure

Thanks insancerre I think I get it now. I feel better. I was concerned she was only emerging in skills that she should be secure in.

She's very young for the year and having very intense tantrums at home lately and we've been really worried about her starting school so we were worried if she was starting out behind where she should be developmentally it might make things even harder for her.

Also, if it's a private day nursery I would be ready for a drop in age bands once she hits school. The expectations at PVI and school are very different (and there is only real guidance for the end of reception and everything else is left to interpretation).

In each area of learning there are statements that are examples of what the child ideally should be doing when they are reaching that age range ie 40-60. If your child is emerging in 40-60 they are starting to achieve some of the expected things that they can do by that age.

As long as your child is reaching somewhere within their age band in all areas then they are achieving whats expected of them.

My personal opinion is the personal statement part of a report is the most important bit.

Don’t worry
The teachers will know she is a summer born and will be ready to support her if she needs it

Thanks grumpypug for that heads up. It's a preschool attached to a school rather than a day nursery, but I'll still be prepared for that. I was mainly just concerned she was already behind at this point, going into reception.

Thank you all!

This is the document the government have produced for parents it isn't exactly the same as what the settings use but it is clearer in its expectations so might help you.

Here is the full EYFS
www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2012/03/Development-Matters-FINAL-PRINT-AMENDED.pdf

Hi, EYFS teacher here...the early years profile will continue for your DD until the end of her Reception year, and she will be assessed on all of the things you see currently in her report. The 'age-band' that you see her put in (40-60) is where they've assessed her as being now...regardless of her actual chronological age. Eg we might assess a child who is already 60 months+ as still working in the 22-36 month age band, if they have significant needs (or simply haven't yet met those milestones). Your DD will be assessed again within the first few weeks of Reception ready for the Baseline check. She might be moved down into the 30-50 band, or stay the same, depending on what the Reception teacher observes. Without wanting to sound unprofessional, we have had to do this a lot when children have come to us from private nursery settings, where there isn't an actual qualified teacher doing the assessments. Often the key workers are very young, with no real training on assessment and 'over-egg' the capabilities of the children. It's very unusual for a 'just turned 4-year old' to be fully meeting the 40-60 milestones to be honest. Of course, some might be, but on the whole we expect children to be working within the 30-50 band at this age, with a few below and the odd one or two above. It's not a race to the top, and it's not helpful to tick off goals as being fully met, when the child isn't independently secure...they have to be doing these things successfully, and totally independently, before this is classed as secure.

This might help: https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2015/04/4ChildrenParentsGuidee2015FINALLWEBv2.pdf

Chaffy, while I agree to some extent, please also remember that practitioners have a very different relationship with the children than you will have as a teacher. This means that sometimes we see things that you don't see at school. Some of my children I have cared for since they were 6 months old. They feel completely at ease with me, and I know them inside out.
So please don't dismiss the information you receive from nurseries. How soul destroying for all that work to be ignored

chaffy that is very disrespectful. In nurseries we often have those children for 4 years so see skills you may not, plus we have to show progress and will get hundreds of observations on the children.
And we're not all young and experienced, I've been doing this job for 25 years.

Oh dear! Clearly comprehension is lacking...I said 'often' not all! I too have been teaching for nearly 30 years, and this happens every year...with 'some' assessments. Not all. If this clearly doesn't apply to you, then all is well 🤷‍♀️

As a private nursery owner I agree with Chaffy. I often have to adjust the achievements of the children after the staff have assessed them, and have to remind them that the EYFS goes up to he and of Reception year, so obviously they wont be secure in those upper bands. That's what Reception year is for! OP, dont overthink it. In a couple months you wont care. As long as they are emerging in he band in which your child's age is found, all is well. Secure in a lower band as opposed to emerging in the next band up makes no difference. Regarding technology, that also includes things like lift the flap books for the very young, or using a pencil sharpener etc. Many of my kids have no obs for technology when they're der because it starts to include internet/using simple apps etc., and as far as I'm concerned they can all do that or will do before we know it, and they dont come to Nursery to experience that kind of technology. Its everywhere these days and shouldn't be on the criteria for the eyfs IMO.

@ChaffyMcChaff is it ok to pm you a question regarding elg and meeting them.

@NigellasGuest thank you. As I said, it's not a race to the top and as a Reception teacher if many, many years, it saddens me when this happens. I'm not by ANY means negating the fantastic work that nursery settings do with the children...I've also worked in nursery settings in school and combined nursery/reception units. But it can be forgotten, along the journey, that the profile is meant to be used until the end of reception.

@Harleyisme yes of course you can.

The school will reassess but your child is not behind if the report is accurate.
It's even worse if your a childminder. Unfortunately we are pushed in early years to do this tracking and to produce transition reports that are dismissed because we are not teachers....they dont value 25 years experience, degrees or early years teacher status especially if your only a childminder most dont even know we have to follow the eyfs. I've been asked why I'm attending TAC meetings for example...because I put together the ECHP on the child your discussing and did the cahms referral maybe....ahhh

To be fair, the "seeing things differently" happens at Every stage the dc change settings.

Secondary teachers need to look at things through different eyes from the Yr6 teachers who have recently assessed 'levels'.
Where there is a separate Infant and Junior school, then there will usually be disparity between what the Infant school have written and what the r 3 teachers report.
All the same as happens between Nursery and school.
It also happens when dc move from one Nursery to another or one school to another, mid-year.
Yes, partly it might be interpretation, but often you have to remember the child will have had 6 - 8 weeks without doing any focused work on something, and may drift back a bit. They will also be being asked questions in a different way, from a member of staff they don't really know yet. They are likely (between Nursery and school) to be moving from a 1:8 ratio to a 1:15 or potentially in some school, for some of the time 1:30. There will be different expectations around timetable and curriculum. All kinds of things com into play.

OP (and any other parents anxious about their dc's 'report') remember this is to give you a rough idea that your dc is doing okay. It is not something to be recorded on some kind of graph, like a sprinter's personal best times through the season - it is much less precise than that and deliberately so. Whether your child, at 47 months can do X or Y 'securely' or if they are 'emerging' in A or B has absolutely no bearing on their achievements at 11, or 16, or 21. As long as they are broadly in the age bracket for their age. there is no need to be concerned.

Also worth bearing in mind that many children regress a little when they experience transition so they may be achieving things in nursery or year 6 that they don't do when they change schools in September. This is because change is a bit scary and it takes time for children to build up their confidence in a new environment.