What the EYFS is
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework for children from birth to the end of the Reception year in England. It sets requirements for early education and care across different kinds of provision, rather than prescribing one teaching method or a single daily routine. The EYFS framework brings together requirements for learning and development, assessment, and safeguarding and welfare. Its legal basis is the Childcare Act 2006, and it applies within England rather than across the whole United Kingdom.
Who it applies to
The EYFS is the statutory framework for children from birth until the end of the school Reception year in England. The Childcare Act 2006 provides its legal basis. The requirements apply to Ofsted-registered early years providers and to maintained schools with pupils in the early years age range.
Ofsted-registered provision includes settings such as nurseries and pre-schools, as well as registered childminders. A provider’s setting or business model does not, by itself, remove the duty to meet the applicable EYFS requirements. Maintained schools must follow the framework for their early years pupils, including children attending a nursery class before Reception and children in Reception.
The age range is defined by a child’s stage in the education system, not by a universal birthday at which every child changes provision. A child may attend a nursery, a childminder, or an early years class in a school; the applicable English framework remains the EYFS while the child is within its age range.
The EYFS is specific to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own early years policies and arrangements, so the English framework is not used as the governing statutory framework in those nations. Providers working in more than one UK nation need to follow the rules applicable to the location of each service.
The four guiding principles
Four principles shape how practitioners support young children and make decisions in an early years setting:
- Every child is a unique child: recognise each child as an individual who learns and develops at a different pace, with distinct interests, abilities and needs.
- Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships: build warm, responsive connections with children and work in partnership with their families.
- Children learn and develop well in enabling environments: provide welcoming spaces, suitable resources and experiences that reflect children’s interests and support exploration.
- Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates: respond to individual development, including the needs of children with special educational needs or disabilities.
Together, the principles matter because they guide everyday interactions and help practitioners plan support that is responsive, inclusive and appropriate for each child.
How the framework is structured
The EYFS has three connected parts: learning and development requirements, assessment, and safeguarding and welfare requirements. Each addresses a different responsibility, but practitioners use them together when organising children’s experiences and care.
The learning and development requirements set expectations for what children should have opportunities to learn and how adults should support their development. They provide the basis for planning experiences and interactions suited to children’s ages, needs and stages of development. They do not require every child to follow an identical sequence or reach each outcome on the same day.
The assessment requirements explain how practitioners build an understanding of a child’s learning and development over time. They set expectations for gathering information, considering what it shows and sharing relevant understanding with families and other professionals where appropriate. Assessment is linked to everyday practice: what practitioners notice can inform the next experience or adjustment to support.
Safeguarding and welfare requirements set the standards for protecting children’s safety, health and wellbeing while they attend provision. They address responsibilities such as suitable care, safe premises, appropriate staffing and the procedures providers must have in place. These requirements establish the conditions in which learning can take place.
In practice, the three parts work as a cycle: adults provide safe care, offer experiences that support development, and use what they observe to inform future decisions. A change in a child’s needs can therefore affect both the support planned and the practical arrangements for care.
The seven areas of learning
The EYFS framework organises learning and development into three prime areas and four specific areas. Together, they help practitioners plan a broad curriculum around what young children can do and what they are ready to explore next. The prime areas provide a foundation for progress across the specific areas, while all seven remain connected in everyday experiences. The characteristics of effective learning describe children’s approaches to learning rather than adding further areas.
Prime areas
The three prime areas are communication and language; physical development; and personal, social and emotional development. They are foundational because young children draw on these skills as they explore people, objects and ideas. For example, a child needs language to discuss a story, coordination to handle its pages and confidence to share a favourite part with a group.
- Communication and language: Children learn to listen, understand and express ideas. A small-group picture-book session can invite them to name characters, predict what happens next and explain their choices.
- Physical development: This includes moving with control and developing coordination for tasks such as handling tools. Children might follow a simple obstacle course, then use chunky crayons to make marks.
- Personal, social and emotional development: Children build self-awareness, manage feelings and learn to relate to others. Taking turns to serve pretend food in a role-play café gives practice in sharing and cooperation.
- Foundation for further learning: These skills help children take part in experiences across the curriculum, from listening to a number rhyme to collaborating on a shared construction.
- Connected planning: Practitioners can use one activity to support several prime skills, such as a turn-taking ball game involving movement, listening and interaction.
Communication and language supports children in understanding instructions, asking questions and making meaning from what they encounter. In a cooking activity, for instance, children can hear words such as “pour” and “stir”, describe what they are doing and respond to a partner’s suggestions. Rich conversation during ordinary routines gives children reasons to listen and express themselves, not only to repeat vocabulary.
Physical development includes large movements such as balancing and jumping, as well as smaller controlled actions used for drawing, fastening and manipulating objects. Threading large beads onto a lace combines hand-eye coordination with persistence; carrying cushions to build a den involves movement, planning and cooperation. Personal, social and emotional development supports children as they recognise their feelings, grow in independence and form relationships. A child choosing a quiet activity after a busy group game is practising awareness of personal needs, while agreeing who will add the next block helps a group play continue.
Prime areas come first in development and curriculum planning because they enable children to engage with more complex experiences. A pretend café, for example, can later involve writing menus, counting play coins and learning about food and family routines. Secure communication, movement and social participation help children make the most of those specific-area opportunities; practitioners can adapt activities so that each child has a meaningful way to join in.
Specific areas
The four specific areas are literacy, mathematics, understanding the world, and expressive arts and design. They broaden children’s knowledge and skills, building on the foundations offered by the prime areas. Practical, playful experiences can bring each area into a child’s day without separating learning from exploration.
Literacy includes early reading and writing. Sharing a familiar story, noticing repeated phrases and inviting children to make marks on a pretend shopping list can connect books with purposeful writing. Children might dictate a caption for a picture or use their own symbols to label a model.
Mathematics involves developing understanding of number, shape, space and measures. Children can count how many cups are needed for a toy picnic, compare which container holds more sand or sort blocks by shape. These activities give mathematical words and ideas a concrete context.
Understanding the world concerns people, places, technology and the natural environment. Planting beans in clear pots lets children notice roots and shoots over several weeks; looking at family photographs or local maps can prompt discussion about different experiences and places.
Expressive arts and design gives children opportunities to explore materials, sounds, movement and imaginative ideas. They might combine fabric scraps and cardboard to make a puppet, then invent a voice and story for it. Such open-ended activities allow children to make choices and communicate ideas in different ways.
Characteristics of effective learning
The characteristics of effective learning describe how children approach learning, rather than forming additional areas to be assessed. They help practitioners notice the processes behind a child’s activity: what holds attention, how the child responds to difficulty and how ideas develop. The three characteristics are playing and exploring, active learning, and creating and thinking critically.
Playing and exploring includes finding out, investigating and trying things out. A child who tests whether a wooden block or a sponge will float is exploring materials through direct experience. The child may repeat the test with different objects, watching what happens and becoming interested in the result.
Active learning involves concentration, effort and enjoyment in achieving what matters to the child. A child building a tall tower may carefully add blocks, rebuild after it falls and keep going until the structure stands. The effort and satisfaction are part of the learning approach, not simply the finished tower.
Creating and thinking critically involves developing ideas, making connections and choosing ways to solve problems. When a bridge made from blocks will not support a toy car, children might compare wider bases, add another block or test a different design. Practitioners can support this thinking with questions such as “What could you change?” rather than supplying a solution.
These characteristics can appear together in one experience: children may explore materials, persist with a challenge and revise an idea during the same play session. They describe learning approaches, not assessment areas alongside the seven areas of learning.
Assessment in the EYFS
Assessment in the Early Years Foundation Stage is woven into children’s everyday experiences, rather than relying on frequent formal tests. Practitioners use what they notice in play, conversations and routines to understand each child’s learning and development. Two formal points also help summarise progress: the progress check between ages two and three, and the EYFS Profile at the end of Reception. Each has a distinct purpose, from identifying support needs to recording outcomes against early learning goals.
Observation in daily practice
Ongoing observation is the primary way practitioners assess learning in the EYFS. It helps them understand what a child can do independently, what captures their interest and where they may benefit from a new experience or support. Evidence comes from ordinary moments: a conversation during snack, a child solving a problem with blocks, or the way they join a game with others. Practitioners also notice how children respond to adult-led activities, not just what they choose during play. Observation happens throughout the day, rather than at a fixed testing interval. A practitioner may watch closely when a child tries a new skill, then return to the same area of learning over subsequent days to see whether the child uses it again in a different situation. Looking across several examples gives a more reliable picture than drawing a conclusion from one brief moment. Notes should capture what the child actually said or did, with the date and context where useful. Record-keeping can be brief and selective. A short observation, a dated example of a child’s mark-making or a photograph with a concise explanation may be enough to show a relevant change over time. Practitioners do not need to document every activity or produce lengthy reports for each day. They use the evidence they gather to decide what to offer next, adapt the curriculum to individual needs and share meaningful examples with families. This keeps observation focused on understanding the child, rather than creating paperwork that does not inform practice.
The progress check at age two
A practitioner carries out the progress check when a child is between two and three years old. It gives a short written summary of the child’s development in the three prime areas: communication and language, physical development, and personal, social and emotional development. These areas provide a useful overview of skills that support children’s participation in everyday learning, such as communicating needs, moving with increasing control and forming relationships. The check is shared with the child’s parents or carers. Practitioners draw on what they have observed in the setting and, where appropriate, information families share about the child’s experiences at home. The summary should describe strengths as well as any areas where progress appears less advanced, using clear examples rather than a general label. It can help families understand what the child is learning and give them an opportunity to discuss questions or changes they have noticed. In practice, the check supports decisions about suitable experiences and any additional help that may be useful. For example, if a child is finding it difficult to communicate during group routines, the practitioner and family can discuss approaches that encourage communication in familiar situations. The check is a snapshot made between the second and third birthdays, not a prediction of later attainment or a formal diagnosis. Its value lies in bringing observations together and helping the adults around the child agree on practical next steps.
The EYFS Profile at the end of Reception
At the end of the Reception year, the EYFS Profile records a teacher’s judgement for each of 17 early learning goals (ELGs). Each goal is judged as ‘emerging’ or ‘expected’, based on the teacher’s knowledge of the child’s learning across the year. The Profile is a summary of attainment at this point, not a test score or a detailed record of every activity. The goals are grouped across the seven areas of learning as follows.
| Area of learning | Number of goals | Early learning goals |
|---|---|---|
| Communication and language | 2 | Listening, attention and understanding; speaking |
| Personal, social and emotional development | 3 | Self-regulation; managing self; building relationships |
| Physical development | 2 | Gross motor skills; fine motor skills |
| Literacy | 3 | Comprehension; word reading; writing |
| Mathematics | 2 | Number; numerical patterns |
| Understanding the world | 3 | Past and present; people, culture and communities; the natural world |
| Expressive arts and design | 2 | Creating with materials; being imaginative and expressive |
| Total | 17 | Across all seven areas |
A child is recorded as having a good level of development (GLD) when they are judged ‘expected’ in all 12 goals across the five areas other than understanding the world and expressive arts and design. Those 12 goals are in communication and language, personal, social and emotional development, physical development, literacy and mathematics. The Department for Education reported that 68.3% of children in England reached a good level of development in 2024 to 2025 (DfE, 2024–25). This national figure describes the proportion meeting that defined combination of goals; it is not an individual child’s score. Teachers make Profile judgements using their knowledge of each child’s learning and development over time, including observations and examples from familiar activities. The Reception baseline assessment is separate: it is a short check completed in the first weeks of Reception, not part of the end-of-year Profile. The two assessments take place at different points and serve different purposes; the Profile records the teacher’s end-of-Reception judgement against the 17 ELGs.
Safeguarding, welfare and staffing
In England, safeguarding and welfare requirements set practical standards for staffing, first aid and child protection in early years settings. The EYFS framework includes minimum adult-to-child ratios for group settings, with a different ratio for children aged three and over when a qualifying teacher works directly with them. It also requires paediatric first aid cover and a named safeguarding lead. The Department for Education has announced further framework changes to take effect on 1 September 2026; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own systems, and rules can change over time.
Staff to child ratios
The minimum ratios below apply to group settings in England under the Department for Education’s Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework. The 1:13 ratio for children aged three and over applies only when an early years teacher or a teacher with qualified teacher status works directly with the children.
| Children’s age | Minimum ratio | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Under two | 1 adult to 3 children | Applies to children younger than two |
| Two-year-olds | 1 adult to 5 children | Applies to children aged two |
| Three and over | 1 adult to 8 children | Standard group-setting ratio |
| Three and over | 1 adult to 13 children | An early years teacher or a teacher with qualified teacher status works directly with the children |
For example, a group of ten two-year-olds needs at least two adults under the 1:5 ratio. The 1:13 option is not a general staffing concession: the specified teacher must work directly with the children. Staff counted towards ratios also need a valid paediatric first aid certificate.
Paediatric first aid and the safeguarding lead
In England, staff counted in the required ratios need a valid paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate. A certificate is normally valid for three years, after which the holder must renew it to continue meeting the requirement. Providers must also ensure that a person with a current PFA certificate is on the premises and available whenever children are present, and accompanies children on outings.
Each provider must identify a named person to take lead responsibility for safeguarding children. This is commonly called the designated safeguarding lead. The lead makes sure staff know the setting’s child-protection procedures, understand how to pass on a concern, and can access relevant safeguarding guidance. They coordinate the response to concerns and liaise with children’s social care or other appropriate agencies when needed.
The lead role does not replace every practitioner’s responsibility to act on a concern. Staff should follow the setting’s reporting procedure promptly, share relevant information with the lead, and keep a clear record of what they observed or were told. Providers should ensure the named person has suitable knowledge and training for the role, and that staff know who to contact if the lead is unavailable.
Changes from 1 September 2026
The Department for Education has set out changes to the statutory framework for early years providers in England that take effect on 1 September 2026. The announced updates cover safeguarding, welfare, staff checks and guidance for practice.
- Safer-sleep requirements move into the main framework, placing the relevant expectations within the statutory requirements providers use for day-to-day care.
- A rule concerning banned dogs is added, clarifying that prohibited dogs must not be present where children are cared for in an early years setting.
- Requirements for reporting allegations are updated, clarifying providers’ responsibilities when an allegation is made about someone working with children.
- Volunteer checks are clarified, setting out the suitability checks providers must consider before volunteers take part in activities with children.
- Screen guidance is added to support providers in making appropriate decisions about children’s screen use during early years provision.
- The Level 2 English requirement is clarified, helping providers understand how the relevant English qualification requirement applies to early years staff.
Providers should use the version of the Department for Education’s statutory framework that applies from 1 September 2026 when checking these requirements. The changes apply to England; the other UK nations set their own early years rules.
Questions about the EYFS
The EYFS is England’s framework for early education before children begin primary school.
What does EYFS stand for?
EYFS stands for the Early Years Foundation Stage, the framework for children’s care, learning and development in England from birth to the end of Reception. It covers early education in settings such as nurseries and childminders, as well as the Reception year in school. The term describes this early phase of education, rather than a single type of nursery or a school year. A child usually completes the EYFS at the end of Reception, before starting Year 1.
Is the EYFS statutory?
Yes. The EYFS is a statutory framework in England, so providers covered by its requirements must follow them. This includes Ofsted-registered early years providers and schools offering early years provision, including maintained schools. The framework sets requirements for children’s learning and development, alongside welfare and care requirements. Its statutory basis is the Childcare Act 2006, which gives the Secretary of State powers to set requirements for early years providers. The framework applies in England; early years arrangements differ in the other UK nations.
Do childminders have to follow the EYFS?
Yes. A childminder providing registered early years care in England must follow the EYFS, just as other covered providers do. The requirement applies whether care is delivered in the childminder’s home or another approved setting. Maintained schools providing early years education also follow the framework, so the duty is not limited to nurseries. For parents, this means a registered childminder’s provision is subject to the same EYFS framework as other registered early years care, rather than being exempt because it takes place in a home.
What happens after the EYFS?
After Reception, children move into Key Stage 1, beginning with Year 1, usually aged five to six. The EYFS Profile, completed at the end of Reception, is shared with the Year 1 teacher to support the transition into the next stage of primary education. It gives the receiving teacher information about each child’s learning and development at the end of the EYFS. Year 1 continues the child’s schooling under the primary curriculum, rather than the Early Years Foundation Stage.