This article has been brought to you by Slough Borough Council's Interim Senior EYFS Advisory Teacher, Karen Loft for the attention of all education settings.
Exemplification Materials for Schools
The DfE has published exemplification materials to provide support for schools when completing the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) assessment for children at the end of reception year. These are a collection of case study videos that demonstrate teachers and leaders having professional discussions about individual children’s development and their EYFSP judgements. There is also a vodcast for schools, multi-academy trusts and local authorities that has been published alongside the videos to explain the changes and what is different this year.
The videos are designed to help schools understand and use the new early learning goals (ELGs) and profile assessment under the 2021 EYFS framework. The videos include a combination of children who have met and not met the expected levels of development across the ELGs, with teachers discussing how they came to those judgements.
The DfE have deliberately taken a different approach to these exemplification materials to be clear that teachers, schools and settings should move away from excessive tracking and evidence collection and to avoid giving schools additional criteria to consider when completing the EYFSP, beyond what is set out in the new goals themselves. What matters most is providing information to parents/carers and Key Stage 1 teachers in order to support each child’s development and next steps.
The DfE previously published a small suite of videos with direct messages from DfE, Ofsted and early adopter schools talking about their experiences in delivering the reforms and how they have changed their approach to the EYFS and assessment. These earlier videos are also part of our efforts to ensure a shift in culture away from unnecessary assessment paperwork for teachers.
If you have specific queries about the EYFSP or the ELGs after exploring the new materials and the vodcast please send them to us at foundationyears@ncb.org.uk and we will share them with the DfE.
New Vodcast on Ofsted Inspections and the New EYFS
Foundation Years is pleased to share with you a new vodcast on Ofsted inspections under the new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
Gill Holden, Principal Officer of the Early Childhood Unit at the National Children's Bureau (NCB), speaks to Phil Minns HMI and Wendy Ratcliff HMI about Ofsted's approach to inspection and what settings can expect.
Resources Mentioned in the Vodcast
Ofsted made reference to a number of resources and materials during the vodcast, which you can find below: