I was pleased to end last year confirming our reforms to the EYFS. We listened to all the feedback we received from the consultation following our response to Dame Clare Tickell's review. As a result, we are refining our proposals and the framework. I hope the new EYFS that comes into effect this September will be one that gets your full support and really helps early years practitioners in the vital jobs they do.
HOW CHECKS WILL WORK
I know there is support for our proposals to reduce paperwork and bureaucracy. We want to free up practitioners' time to focus on the areas that are most essential for children's healthy development and to strengthen their relationship with parents.
We also want practitioners to intervene earlier with children who face difficulties, which is why we are introducing a new progress check for two-year-olds. The new EYFS and the progress check are key to making sure that all children have a good foundation for future progress through school and life. We want to remove any obstacles preventing children reaching their full potential.
A recent survey from the Pre-School Learning Alliance showed that the majority of parents are in favour of the checks, but they are concerned their children might be misdiagnosed because of the different rates of development in young children. It's vital that practitioners and parents understand how this check will work, and that practitioners work in partnership with parents to address their concerns.
We can also help by being clear about what we are asking and why. The aim of the check is to identify areas where children might need some additional help or where they have development needs. We want these needs to be identified early in their lives so that they get the right support. And we also want to highlight where children are progressing well. Parents will own the information in the progress check.
We have asked the National Children's Bureau to develop support materials to help practitioners implement the check properly. This will include case studies and examples of good practice, and advice on how to give feedback to parents.
We have also asked Early Education to produce a development chart covering birth to age five - updating Development Matters - to help people working in the early years to deliver the new EYFS framework. This is in response to requests from practitioners for more information. And a summary of the EYFS will be available for parents so they know what their child will be learning and what they should expect from their child's setting.
REFINING OUR GOALS
People are supportive of our approach to simplify assessment at age five and align it better to the national curriculum. Following our consultation on the reformed EYFS, we refined some of the early learning goals, broadening the scope of the mathematics goals and clarifying some of the literacy goals.
For example, in literacy we have replaced writing simple stories and captions with being able to write simple sentences. And in maths we have included more on problem solving and application of numbers. Children will be expected to count up to 20 instead of ten, and to use objects and quantities to show their understanding of addition and subtraction. You can find all the further changes we are making to the early learning goals on our website at: www.education.gov/consultations/eyfs.
SCHOOL READINESS
Finally, I'd like to ease some anxieties over our emphasis on getting children ready for school. We want children to have a broad range of essential knowledge and skills. This does not mean formal education at two years old. It means building on children's natural curiosity and desire to explore and play. All the stages of a child's development - walking, talking, understanding and learning to relate to others - are important elements of 'school readiness' and reflected in the early learning goals.
People working in the early years can make a real difference for children, preparing them for future success and understanding their different levels of development. We are giving practitioners the flexibility and support they need to use their professional judgement and skills to do this well.
We will publish the revised EYFS statutory framework in the spring to give you time to get ready to implement it from September 2012.