Nursery World - Foundation Profile analysis dismissed

The results of the first-ever Foundation Stage Profile assessments in England have been dismissed as being 'fairly meaningless data' by a leading voluntary organisation for early years practitioners. The data, based on reception class teachers' assessments of four-and five-year-olds in 2003, was published last week by the Department for Education and Skills. It showed that girls were ahead of boys overall, in that girls were either meeting or working beyond the Early Learning Goals, while more boys were working towards the goals.

The data, based on reception class teachers' assessments of four-and five-year-olds in 2003, was published last week by the Department for Education and Skills. It showed that girls were ahead of boys overall, in that girls were either meeting or working beyond the Early Learning Goals, while more boys were working towards the goals.

The six areas of learning covering children's physical, intellectual, emotional and social development were grouped into 13 categories. They showed gaps of 12 or 13 percentage points between girls and boys in the personal, social and emotional development categories, and a 12-point difference in their writing ability.

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