EYFS

Also called Early Years Foundation Stage, Early years

The statutory framework for children from birth to the end of Reception, covering learning, development and welfare.

What it is

The Early Years Foundation Stage is the mandatory framework for all early years providers — nurseries, childminders, pre-schools and school Reception classes. It sets learning and development requirements, assessment, and safeguarding and welfare requirements including staff ratios.

Where it applies

Every Ofsted-registered early years provider and every maintained or academy school with a Reception class.

How it works

There are seven areas of learning, three of them prime. Progress is assessed against Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception, recorded in the EYFS Profile.

A progress check must be carried out between ages two and three and shared with parents.

The Reception baseline assessment happens in the first weeks of Reception and is used for school accountability rather than for the individual child.

What you can ask for

Ask for the two-year progress check if you have not had one — it is a requirement and it is the earliest formal opportunity to raise a concern.

Ask what "emerging" means in practice and what the setting is doing about it. Early years is where SEND is most often first identified and where early help is most effective.

Settings can apply for Disability Access Fund and SEN inclusion funding. Ask whether they have.

Where to get help

Your council's early years team, the setting's SENCO, and SENDIASS, which covers 0-25 and not just school age.