Progress check at two and EYFS Profile

The progress check at age two

A clear account of a young child’s learning can help families and practitioners discuss what is going well and where support may be useful. The check draws on what a child does during familiar activities, rather than relying on a single performance. Its written summary gives parents a practical point of reference for conversations with the early years setting. When concerns arise, communication with the health visitor can help connect the setting’s observations with the child’s health review.

Purpose and timing

The early years provider carries out the check when a child is between two and three years old. Completing it within this age range is a statutory duty for providers in England. The practitioner who knows the child’s experiences in the setting is well placed to draw together observations from everyday play, conversations and care routines. This makes the review relevant to the child’s actual participation, not just to what they can do in an unfamiliar, one-off activity.

The purpose is to build a concise picture of development across the areas that underpin early learning and relationships. Practitioners can notice, for example, how a child communicates during play, moves around the setting and responds to other people. These observations support child development monitoring and help the practitioner recognise strengths as well as areas where progress may be less than expected. The check is not a diagnosis; it helps adults decide whether a child may benefit from additional support or a closer conversation.

Timing matters because a review between two and three gives parents and practitioners an opportunity to discuss emerging needs while the child is still attending an early years setting. If an area of development raises a concern, the adults can consider suitable next steps rather than waiting for the child to move on to another stage. A timely discussion also gives parents the chance to add what they see at home, where a child may communicate, play or manage routines differently from how they do in the setting.

What the summary contains

The provider records the outcome in a short written summary. It focuses on the three prime areas of learning and development, noting strengths and any areas where progress is less than expected. The summary should make the child’s current development understandable to parents and identify practical next steps, including a referral where one is appropriate.

• Communication and language: observations of how the child listens, understands familiar language and communicates needs, ideas or interests during everyday activities.
• Physical development: a picture of how the child uses movement and coordination, and develops growing independence in relevant care routines.
• Personal, social and emotional development: observations of relationships, emotional responses, confidence and participation in familiar play and routines.
• Strengths: specific things the child is doing well, described through examples from play, interactions or familiar activities in the setting.
• Progress needing attention: any area where development appears less advanced than expected, described clearly without reducing the child to a label.
• Next steps or referrals: suggested actions for parents and practitioners, or a referral for further advice when the child’s needs indicate it.

These points give the discussion a shared focus: what the child can do now, what may need attention and what adults can do next. Concrete observations make it easier for parents to connect the written summary with familiar moments, such as a child joining play or expressing a need. The summary is brief, but it should still give a useful account of the child’s development across the prime areas.

Sharing it with parents and health visitors

Parents receive the written summary and should have an opportunity to discuss what it says with the practitioner. A parent consultation for progress checks can add valuable context: a child may use different words at home, show particular interests with family members or approach everyday routines in a different way at the setting. Sharing those observations helps parents and practitioners build a fuller picture together, rather than treating the written account as a complete description of the child.

When the practitioner identifies a concern, the setting may suggest an integrated review with the health visitor. This links the early years provider’s observations of learning and participation with the health visitor’s knowledge of the child’s health and development. The two perspectives can help parents and professionals consider whether further advice or support would be useful. The provider’s check remains an early years assessment; the health review complements it rather than replacing the provider’s responsibility to complete the check.

The next step depends on what the concern is and what the family and professionals agree is appropriate. The setting can explain the observations behind its concern, listen to the parents’ perspective and discuss possible support or referral. Where a health visitor is involved, practitioners can work with the family and health visitor to share relevant information and coordinate follow-up. Parents should know who will take each agreed action and how the setting will continue to observe the child’s progress. If a referral is suggested, the practitioner can explain its purpose and discuss the process with the family, without presenting a concern as a diagnosis.

Keeping communication clear helps parents understand how observations from the setting relate to the health review and any agreed support. It also gives practitioners a consistent basis for following the child’s development in familiar activities and revisiting agreed actions with the family.

How the results are used

The EYFS Profile results support the move from Reception into Year 1 and help teachers build on what children have learned. They provide a record of development at the end of Reception, rather than a prediction of later attainment. Families can use the information to understand their child’s progress and discuss what may help next. The Reception baseline assessment is a separate assessment carried out earlier in the school year.

Transition to Year 1

The EYFS Profile gives the Year 1 teacher useful information when planning the first part of the new school year. It can be considered alongside classroom observations, children’s work and information shared by families, so teaching starts from a rounded understanding of each child.

At transition, the results can help teachers decide where to begin, what to revisit and which children may benefit from additional support. In practice, this can inform choices such as:

• Planning suitable starting points by connecting children’s demonstrated knowledge and skills with the learning experiences introduced in Year 1.
• Adjusting tasks and explanations, for example by offering extra modelling, visual prompts or more challenging activities to match individual needs.
• Organising focused support when a child’s results and current classroom observations suggest that a particular skill needs further attention.
• Identifying strengths that can be used to engage a child, such as a strong interest or a skill they show confidently in familiar activities.
• Preparing transition conversations with families, using specific examples to explain what their child can do and what learning will continue next.

The Profile should inform professional judgement, not determine every teaching decision. A result records a child’s learning at a particular point; the Year 1 teacher continues to observe progress and adapts teaching as the child encounters new routines, relationships and curriculum content.

Parents can use the reported information to share relevant context, such as activities their child enjoys or changes they have noticed. These conversations help teachers connect the Profile with the child’s experience beyond school and make transition planning more individual.

National data

EYFS Profile results are reported to parents and shared with the Year 1 teacher. Results are also collected nationally by the Department for Education (DfE), allowing national information about outcomes at the end of Reception to be brought together.

These purposes operate at different levels. The individual Profile helps the family and receiving teacher understand one child’s learning, while national collection provides information across schools and local areas. National figures describe patterns in the data; they do not replace a conversation about a particular child’s strengths, progress or next steps.

Schools and local authorities may have record-keeping and transfer arrangements for assessment information. Practices can vary, so parents who need to know how a child’s record is stored or passed to a new setting can ask the school directly. There is no single local filing method that should be assumed for every school.

For teachers, the national collection is distinct from the decisions made in the classroom. A child’s results can contribute to national reporting while still being interpreted in light of day-to-day observations and the child’s circumstances. The DfE collection does not change the purpose of the family report or the receiving teacher’s use of the information during transition.

When discussing results, it is useful to keep the level of information clear: parents receive information about their own child, the Year 1 teacher receives information to support continuity, and the DfE collects results nationally. This distinction helps families understand how an individual assessment can contribute to wider education data without treating national summaries as an individual judgement.

Reception baseline assessment

The Reception baseline assessment is a separate, short assessment taken during a child’s first six weeks in Reception. It is not part of the EYFS Profile, which is completed at the end of the Reception year.

The baseline gives the school information about children’s starting points soon after they begin Reception. It uses brief, age-appropriate activities to assess early skills, including aspects of language, communication, literacy and mathematics. The teacher uses the assessment alongside what they learn through everyday interaction and observation; it is not a complete account of a child’s abilities.

Because the two assessments take place at different points and serve different purposes, their results should not be treated as interchangeable. The baseline is an early measure near the start of school, while the Profile records learning at the end of Reception against the EYFS assessment framework. A baseline result is not an EYFS Profile judgement and does not replace the Profile.

For parents, the key distinction is timing: the baseline happens within the first six weeks of Reception, whereas Profile results relate to the end of that year. If a school discusses both, asking which assessment a result comes from can make the information easier to understand.