Assessment of early learning goals doesn't provide an 'honest picture', says physical development expert

Following on from plans announced by the Department for Education (DfE) last September to revise the Early Learning Goals and reduce the number that are assessed in the EYFS Profile, Dr Manners, director of Active Matters, said that the assessment criteria should be made more rigorous to gain a more ‘honest picture’ of where children are in terms of their physical development.

Children are assessed against the EYFS Profile in the final term of the year in which they reach the age of five.

The two early learning goals for physical development are 'moving and handling', and 'health and self-care'.

Dr Manners, who spoke about the issue at the Action for Children Munch 'n' Move event this week, explained, ‘The assessment criteria for physical development generally is woefully inadequate. In practice, it depends on very subjective interpretation. In a recent workshop, when I asked practitioners what they thought "good control", "moving with confidence", "safely negotiating space" actually looked like the range of answers was astonishing. It is hardly surprising with this amount of wriggle room that practitioners say most children are at an "expected level" of development.’