The proposed changes to the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) will also go ahead, largely as planned, with the following changes made:

• Communication and Language will include focus on adult-child interactions, and the word ‘accurate’ has been removed from the Speaking ELG when referring to tenses.
• Mathematics will include greater clarity to counting and comparing quantities in the Numerical Patterns ELG. Government will proceed with its focus on number and numerical patterns within the mathematics ELGs as the strongest predictor for later maths outcomes. This also reflects government’s continued commitment to strengthen the teaching of early numeracy so that all children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are able to start year 1 with a strong and confident foundation in number. Practitioners and teachers will still be required to teach children about shape, space and measures, as part of a well-rounded curriculum, as set out in the revised mathematics educational programme.
• Understanding the World will include a change in relation to the Past and Present ELG to further clarify the expectation of children understanding the concept of ‘past’.
• Expressive Arts and Design will include reference to a greater variety of use of tools, materials and techniques that children will need to demonstrate for the Creating with Materials ELG.
• The ELGs for Personal, Social and Emotional Development; Physical Development; and Literacy will remain as proposed.

EYFSP moderation

The proposal to remove the statutory duty for local authorities to moderate the EYFSP in 25% of schools each year will go ahead.

Schools will still be required to submit EYFSP data to their local authority and this will still be collected nationally.

Exceeding judgement

The government will proceed with plans to remove the “exceeding” judgement criteria from the EYFSP and says that this will “free up teachers’ time”.

Teachers will be expected to continue to identify and stretch more able children.

Oral health

A need to include oral health alongside the requirement to “promote the good health of children” will be added to the EYFS framework.

Individual settings and schools will need to determine how to meet this requirement and practitioners will not be required to assess this.

Protected characteristics

The DfE says that it will work with sector experts to review the EYFSP Handbook and ensure that it is clear on how practitioners should complete the Profile for children with SEND, EAL and who are summer-born, including signposting to additional advice and support where appropriate.

Development Matters

On 20 July 2021, the DfE published a revised version of Development Matters, government’s non-statutory curriculum guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), to reflect feedback received from Early Adopter schools that have adopted the reforms to the EYFS over the 2020/21 academic year.

The changes to content are minor and providers will not need to alter any planning based on the September 2020 version that they may have already made.

These minor changes include:

• updated links, making minor tweaks to wording for clarification purposes,
• updates to the Introduction and Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning sections to ensure the wording is aligned with the aims of the reforms and reflects the most recent research and evidence and,
• ensuring the document is accessible, inclusive, and easier to navigate which includes a new design, layout and colour coding.

No major changes have been made to the curriculum guidance under the seven areas of learning and therefore this update should not impact planning based on the early adopter version of Development Matters.

 From September 2021 onwards, early years providers and schools will need to use the new version of the EYFS Framework when the reforms will be implemented nationally.