Gaining a picture of what the ‘Early Learning Goals’ look like

The revision of the EYFS Statutory Framework became statutory in September 2021. 

During the previous year many had the opportunity to try out the review in the ‘Early Adopter’ version. This meant that issues and concerns could be discussed and shared, points were noted. 

Apart from the obvious changes to the Educational Programmes and the Early Learning Goals, there were also changes to how we think about assessment. Most obviously there is the addition of the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA), but less obvious were the changes to the assessment and reporting arrangements for the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. 

It was noticed that Local Authorities would no longer have a duty to hold moderation events for schools, but the full implications of this were not really felt until the Spring Term of 2022 when the revisions of the Framework were bedding in and teachers were beginning to reflect on whether they were interpreting them in the same way as their colleagues in other areas. 

This was compounded by so many varied, sometimes poorly informed, opinions abounding on social media, that it became obvious that Local Authority Moderation Events were being missed. These termly events had been a lifeline to work with local colleagues, to use exemplification materials from the Department for Education, and take part in agreement trialling.

The changes to the Early Learning Goals mean that the exemplification materials that had been so useful have become obsolete. Speaking from my point of view as an Accredited Moderator, the pictures and examples in each document are actually still really valuable, as they demonstrate informed practice and provision, but the accompanying information is not up to date. 

As time went on I began to become very concerned about the discussions I was reading on social media. There were far too many misunderstandings of the revised Educational Programmes, and several ill informed opinions about the requirements of the revised Early Learning Goals. 

Words and phrases were being taken out of context and people were becoming further confused by the fact that there are no longer three judgements for the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, as ‘Exceeding’ has been dropped. Whether or not this was a good decision I’m not so sure, and I remain to be convinced. The effect the removal has had this year is to compound the issue around what an Early Learning Goal ‘looks like’.  Understanding the breadth and depth of each ELG is very important as it is possible for one child to be ‘just in’ achieving one, while his friend is securely within it.  Thus both children have the ELG.

With all this in mind I approached my friends at Siren Films with an idea for a project to fill the gap with real examples of practice and provision that would demonstrate children working within each ELG. 

During this time, the DfE produced a set of short videos that they called ‘Exemplification materials’ . However these were limited in their usefulness as they tended to be more about adults talking about their decisions, rather than the films and photographs of children that we had been used to discussing. They were also limited by the time of year they were filmed because of covid. This meant that, where there was footage of children, it was not really useful as it was taken between the two lockdowns.

The project I’ve embarked on with Siren Films is a package of clips and materials to support early assessment. Eventually this will support work with children from birth to five, but we started with the ELGs that form the ‘good level of development (GLD)’. 

We spent a long time really getting to know the Educational Programmes and the Early Learning Goals. Then we went through the existing Clip Library to see what we could use. Finally we made arrangements to film new clips showing informed practice and provision demonstrating children working within the ELGs and adults supporting this through their teaching and interactions.

Each video has accompanying notes and questions for reflection so it can be used individually, across a school, or by a Local Authority for training. It is well worth taking out an annual subscription to Siren Films as this package will continue to build.

Find out more about Siren Films here