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14 April 2026

Tag: reception

Schools don’t have to complete early years foundation stage profile in 2021

The early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP) will not be mandatory this year, the government has announced. Schools will instead be asked to use their “best endeavours” to carry out the assessment, which is how pupils’ development and learning is assessed in reception. The Department for Education had previously said the process would go ahead, […]

Revealed: The DfE’s reformed early learning goals for reception pupils from 2021

The government has confirmed changes to the early learning goals, which are used to assess pupils at the end of reception. Here are the final ELGs, as set out in the Department for Education’s response to its consultation on the changes. The reforms become statutory from September 2021.   Communication and Language 1. Listening, Attention […]

Reception baseline assessment introduction delayed to 2021

Schools will not have to set the new reception baseline assessment this autumn, after the government delayed its statutory introduction as a result of the coronavirus. The Department for Education said today that “due to the challenging circumstances faced by schools in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, statutory introduction of the RBA has been […]

Reception baseline assessment: 8 key findings from the DfE’s pilot report

The Department for Education has published a report on its pilot of the new reception baseline assessment, which will be rolled out to all schools this September. The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) was tasked with carrying out the process, which consisted of a trial with members of the September 2018 intake, and then […]

Ofsted reception curriculum report: The 15 recommendations

Ofsted has today published ‘Bold beginnings’, its report into how reading, writing and maths are taught to pupils in the reception year. The research is based on visits to 41 “successful” primary schools during the summer term, and forms part of the watchdog’s wider review of the curriculum across all school phases. In 2016, just 72 […]

Early Excellence not in running for new baseline tests

Early Excellence, the early-years company that developed a popular baseline assessment used by 12,500 schools, will not compete to deliver the government’s new baseline tests, after it branded the plans as ideological and inept. Last week the government launched a tender for a £10 million contract to develop and deliver a new baseline assessment for […]