The end of the school year for children in reception classes signals the moment when all children completing their time in the EYFS will receive a report on the outcomes of their learning. These reports describe a child’s outcomes across 17 Early Learning Goals (ELGs) and 3 Characteristics of Learning.
The 17 ELGS are graded: ‘Emerging’, ‘Expected’ or ‘Exceeding’ – but parents may be puzzled about what these descriptions mean. Put simply they mean:
Emerging – the child’s learning is developing in an area but is not yet at the expected level
Expected – the child’s learning is at the expected level
Exceeding* – the child’s learning is beyond what is expected.
*The guidance states: ‘Where a child’s development exceeds what is expected at the end of the EYFS, attainment should be recorded within the EYFS Profile as being at the ‘exceeding’ level for that ELG. To judge whether a child’s learning and development is ‘exceeding’, practitioners should use the best fit model and be confident that the child has moved beyond the ‘expected’ level.’ This judgement is made when a child shows particular abilities in an area such as Mathematics or Reading.