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The Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory frameworks set standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old.  

All schools and Ofsted-registered early years providers must follow the EYFS, including childminders, preschools, nurseries and school reception classes. 

The EYFS for Childminders and the EYFS for Group and School-Based Providers:

Non-statutory curriculum guidance for early years providers:

Further guidance and support:

Prime Areas of Learning

The 3 prime areas are particularly important for learning and forming relationships. They build a foundation for children to thrive and provide the basis for learning in all areas.

The prime areas are:

Communication and language

DfE Help for Early Years Providers - Communication and Language [https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/areas-of-learning/communication-and-language]

Physical development

DfE Help for Early Years Providers - Physical Development [https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/areas-of-learning/physical-development]

Personal, social and emotional development

DfE Help for Early Years Providers - PSED [https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/areas-of-learning/personal-social-and-emotional-development]

 

Specific Areas of Learning

Providers must also support children in four specific areas, which help strengthen and develop the three prime areas, and ignite children’s curiosity and enthusiasm.

The specific areas are:

Literacy

DfE Help for Early Years Providers - Literacy [https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/areas-of-learning/literacy]

Mathematics

DfE Help for Early Years Providers - Mathematics [https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/areas-of-learning/mathematics]

Understanding the world

DfE Help for Early Years Providers - Understanding the World [https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/areas-of-learning/understanding-the-world]

Expressive arts and design

DfE Help for Early Years Providers - Expressive Arts and Design [file:///C:/Users/cvkba291/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/VLYDK2VT/DfE%20Help%20fpr%20Early%20Years%20Providers%20-%20Expressive%20Arts%20and%20Design]

Coventry’s Integrated Two Year Review - 'Together at Two' Progress Check

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) progress check, usually carried out by a child’s key person, is a statutory requirement for nurseries and childminders delivering childcare to two-year-olds within the EYFS framework. The health and development review, at age two to two-and-a-half, is part of the Healthy Child Programme, and is delivered by health professionals. Whilst we recognise that children perform better in familiar surroundings such as their home or nursery, the two-year progress check often takes place in unfamiliar surroundings, which means the child may not truly show what they can achieve. The integrated review will bring these two assessments together providing a more complete picture of the child.

All children aged two years who are in childcare should receive a ‘Together at Two’ progress check before their third birthday, this may take place in the home, nursery or childminders. More often they take place in a health centre or Family Hub.

We have outlined the process to promote the sharing of this information at the child’s ‘Together at Two’ Progress Check [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7845/two-year-progress-check-template-may-2024]:

  • The check should be completed by the child's key worker at the nursery, preschool or childminder.
  • Ideally the check should be completed before the child has his/her two-year check with the Health Visitor.
  • The check is designed to identify things they are doing well and things they might need help with.
  • The completed two-year progress check must be shared with parents and any parental comments included.
  • Parents will then share the completed progress check at their appointment with the relevant health professional.
  • The Health professional can use the assessment provided by the childcare provider to support the healthy child check.

Early Years Foundation Stage Profile

The EYFS profile (EYFSP) must be completed for each child in the final term of the academic year in which they reach age 5. Therefore, it is usually undertaken by reception teachers.

On some occasions, other early years settings will need to complete the profile, if it is not being done in reception year at school.

The Profile provides parents and carers, practitioners and teachers with a well- rounded picture of a child’s knowledge, understanding and abilities, their attainment against expected levels, and their readiness for Year 1. The Profile must reflect practitioners’ own knowledge and professional judgement of a child to inform discussions with parents and carers, and any other person whom the teacher, parent or carer judges can offer a useful contribution.

Further information can be found at the links below:

The Quality, Improvement and Standards team also have materials to support the completion of the EYFSP. Please contact the team at EYqis@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:EYqis@coventry.gov.uk]

Coventry Better Start guidance

The purpose of Better Start

In order to have a clear overview of children’s progress in your setting, you need to bring together the wealth of information you will have gathered for the individual child into a manageable summary of progress. The purpose of Better Start is to help you record that summary.

The summary of the child’s learning and development should be based on a holistic view of the child. It will be a best-fit judgement that you make based on all the information you have gathered and know about the child.

Better Start is used to summarise the development of the child in relation to their chronological age band. This will be defined within the 17 aspects in each of the 7 areas of Learning and Development. The 7 areas of learning should be used for guidance. Practitioners need to be very familiar with the Early Learning Goals and child development milestones in order to support the process of continuous assessment.

Better Start gives you the opportunity to enter summative assessment data 4 times throughout the year: Baseline, Autumn term, Spring term and Summer term.

As indicated in the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework 2024, 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.

When are the tasks open?

The first task will be the Baseline assessment. This task will open at the beginning of September, at the start of each academic year and close in October. This will provide a baseline to identify where each child is within their learning and development in each of the seventeen aspects of learning. This can then be used to measure progress throughout each term and across the academic year.

If a child joins the provision after this task has closed, then the first task completed for that child will become their Baseline. Key workers should continue to closely observe any children joining the provision throughout the year, to ensure a baseline is established and recorded in order to accurately indicate progress.

The second task will be at the end of the Autumn term and will be open between November and December.

The third and fourth tasks are the Spring and Summer assessments and will open at the start of each term, closing towards the end of term.

Guidance for specific dates will be given in advance of the task opening.

What information should be used to form a best-fit judgement?

A best-fit judgement should be made using a wide range of information about a child’s learning and development. This information may include:

  • observations of the child across different areas of learning and in a range of situations, both indoors and outdoors
  • day to day interactions between the adult and child and the child with their peers
  • photographs / videos / children’s work
  • discussions with and information shared by parents and carers
  • discussions with other professionals involved with the child or family
  • the format in which this information is kept will vary from provider to provider

Making a best-fit judgement

From this wealth of information, you will use your professional judgement to decide if the child is on track or not on track for each aspect of learning. As early learning is not linear, some children may be on track in some aspects of learning and not on track in others.

When forming a judgement about whether an individual child is at the expected level of development (on track), practitioners should use the information outlined above and draw on their knowledge of the child and their own expert professional judgement to come to a holistic best-fit judgement.

How to record and submit data

Better Start is located on the Coventry Early Years Provider Portal.

Over the academic year, there will be 4 summative data tasks to complete on the Better Start portal.

The following guidance demonstrates how to complete a task and download reports based on the summative data inputted.

  1. Task One - Start of the Autumn term. This information will form a baseline for new children.
  2. Task Two - End of the Autumn term.
  3. Task Three - End of the Spring term.
  4. Task Four - End of the Summer term.
    • 4.1. Please note - for Reception classes, the data submitted for Task Four will be used for the EYFSP.

Information gathered on the Better Start portal will allow you to track children’s progress over time.

Ensure that this type of data is covered within your privacy notice. If it is not currently, review and update your privacy notice as appropriate. Further, ensure that parents and carers provide their written consent for their child’s assessment data, this could, for example, be included within your induction information.

Once the Coventry Data Team open a task, the provider will receive an email notification.

This is when practitioners will be required to start entering children’s summative data.

Therefore, it is advised to continually gather formative data on children’s learning and development during the term, in preparation for each task opening.

The ‘How To’ videos are available at Early Years Providers - Early Education Funding [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/early-years-childcare/early-years-pvi-providers-2-3-4-year-old-early-education-funding/14] – please scroll down to the end to watch the 3 Better Start videos.

For full Better Start guidance please read our booklet - Coventry Better Start Guidance  [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7514/coventry-early-years-better-start-guidance-2024]

Coventry Early Years Transition Toolkit

Stability is vital during children’s early years; however, change is unavoidable for many young children, and they will inevitably deal with emotional and environmental transitions before they reach school age. By managing and preparing for transition carefully, we can ease the process of adjustment, and reassure both children and their families.

In order to support this across the early years sector in Coventry, the Early Years’ Service has developed the ‘Coventry Early Years Transition Overview’. This will help strengthen relationships between providers and lead to a more focused and child-centred approach to all transitions.

Please see the Coventry Early Years Transition Toolkit [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7846/coventry-supporting-early-years-transitions-guidance-%E2%80%93-may-2024] of documents that are available for all providers. 

Transitions for children may occur in many different forms such as:

  • Early Years provider to a school
  • Reception class to Year One class
  • Childminder to an Early Years provider or school
  • Between rooms with the same provider

Key considerations

  • The Coventry Early Years Transition Overview should be comprehensively completed by the child’s allocated key person, overseen by a senior practitioner or manager, and signed to signify that all the information shared is accurate.
  • In the case of a planned transition, all information should be transferred to the new provider, school or room, at least 5 working days prior to the child’s transfer. Where transition is unplanned, and this is not possible, information should be shared at the earliest point following admission.
  • Information that is received should be used to plan the support for a child on arrival to the Early Years Provider or School.
  • Information should not be used to refuse or delay the admissions of any child.
  • It is important that providers work in partnership with parents, to obtain informed consent for children’s transition documents to be shared with the new provider. Informed consent means checking that the parent understands what information is being shared, why it is being shared, who it is being shared with, and what will happen to the information. Parents should also be encouraged and supported to contribute.
  • The Coventry Early Years Transition Overview is designed to share all key information without breaching UK GDPR or confidentiality, and all practitioners must have due regard for UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.
  • Working in partnership with parents should already be well established and parents will be familiar with settings seeking consent for a range of aspects.

Safeguarding

  • In the event of any safeguarding and child protection concerns, please arrange a meeting with the receiving provider’s Designated Safeguarding Lead.
  • The GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 do not prevent, or limit, the sharing of information for the purposes of keeping children and young people safe.

To effectively share information:

  • Information can be shared legally without consent, if a practitioner is unable to, cannot be reasonably expected to gain consent from the individual, or if gaining consent could place a child at risk.
  • Relevant personal information can be shared lawfully if it is to keep a child or individual at risk safe from neglect or physical, emotional or mental harm, or if it is protecting their physical, mental, or emotional well-being.
  • The most important consideration is whether sharing information is likely to support the safeguarding and protection of a child.

Information sharing Advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services to children, young people, parents and carers [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1062969/Information_sharing_advice_practitioners_safeguarding_services.pdf]

Additional documents and information to support transition should be included where applicable:

  • Wider assessment records, e.g. Summative Assessment tracker
  • Two-year check
  • SEN Individual Education Plan (IEP)
  • SEND information, e.g. My Support Plan
  • Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
  • Early Help Assessment (EHA)
  • Health Visitor information
  • Speech and Language Therapists, Sensory support
  • Child Protection files, including information on Child Protection Online Management System (CPOMs)

Transferring information securely

Please ensure that all information shared is securely transferred. It is recommended that the Coventry Early Years Transition Overview is password protected prior to transfer. The password should be sent in a separate email or shared via the telephone.

For further information regarding the retention and destruction of records please refer to the following documents:

Quality Improvement Audits

Audits are a useful tool to support quality improvement in your setting. They can be used for many reasons including:

  • to improve the overall quality of your provision
  • to ensure compliance with statutory guidance
  • to ensure safety and wellbeing of children
  • to encourage reflective practice
  • to enhance staff development
  • to build confidence
  • as an evaluative tool

There are a range of audits available across the sector. Please contact the team for any support or guidance on which audits to use: EYqis@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:EYqis@coventry.gov.uk]

Inclusive Practice in the Early Years

Inclusive practice is at the heart of high-quality early years provision. As providers, we have a shared responsibility to ensure that every child—regardless of ability, background, culture, or circumstance—can access meaningful learning opportunities and feel a sense of belonging. This means creating environments that celebrate diversity, remove barriers to participation, and respond to individual needs through flexible, child-centred approaches.

Working in partnership with families, local authorities, and other professionals, we strive to uphold equality and inclusion as core principles. By embedding these values into everyday practice, we not only meet statutory requirements but also promote positive outcomes for all children, laying the foundations for lifelong learning and wellbeing.

Further support and guidance can be found at:

Working in partnership with parents and carers

Strong partnerships with parents and carers are fundamental to high-quality early years provision. Parents are a child’s first and most important educators, and by working together we can create a consistent, supportive approach that nurtures every child’s learning and development. Effective collaboration builds trust, strengthens communication, and ensures that individual needs are understood and met.

Through shared goals and open dialogue, we empower families to play an active role in their child’s early education, laying the foundation for positive outcomes and lifelong learning.

All about me

This ‘All About Me’ document enables early years practitioners (ideally a child’s key person) to gather essential details of the child’s individuality, helping them to understand and meet the child’s specific needs.

When a key person has knowledge about a child’s likes, dislikes, family background, and other personal details, they can build secure, reliable and trusting relationships, with the child and their family.

Knowing details about a child’s routines, comfort objects, or calming techniques can help practitioners to provide emotional support during challenging times.

‘All About Me’ information provides a basis for communication between practitioners and parents. It can help guide discussions about the child’s progress, challenges, and experiences in the new setting, ensuring continuity of care, support, and understanding making a child’s transition smoother and more successful for all involved.

‘All About Me [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/8009/all-about-me]’ has been devised by Coventry Early Years Service. Please feel free to download and use as required.

All about me

This ‘All About Me’ document enables early years practitioners (ideally a child’s key person) to gather essential details of the child’s individuality, helping them to understand and meet the child’s specific needs.

When a key person has knowledge about a child’s likes, dislikes, family background, and other personal details, they can build secure, reliable and trusting relationships, with the child and their family.

Knowing details about a child’s routines, comfort objects, or calming techniques can help practitioners to provide emotional support during challenging times.

‘All About Me’ information provides a basis for communication between practitioners and parents. It can help guide discussions about the child’s progress, challenges, and experiences in the new setting, ensuring continuity of care, support, and understanding making a child’s transition smoother and more successful for all involved.

This ‘All About Me [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/8009/all-about-me]’ has been devised by Coventry Early Years Service. Please feel free to download and use as required. 

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