The Foundation Stage Profile is a way of recording children's progress during the last three terms of the Foundation Stage. This is sometimes called the Reception Year. The word 'Profile' has been carefully chosen, as it is a picture of what a child has achieved, knows and can do. The Profile is based on the Early Learning Goals and Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage.

Why has it been introduced?

The Profile has been introduced to standardize assessment procedures across the Foundation Stage.

How will the information be obtained?

The Profile is based on practitioners' ongoing observations and assessments over all six areas of learning in the Foundation Stage. Each child's development and achievements will be recorded on assessment scales derived from the stepping-stones and Early Learning Goals. Booklets for each child are available for recording the information. Pre-school staff have access to training to support their practice as for many, particularly childminders, it may be more demanding than what they are used to.

How will the information be used?

As the Profile builds, practitioners will use the information to identify each child's strengths and interests in order to plan for their future learning.

What will happen to the findings?

Completed Profiles will be used to inform parents and Year One teachers about a child's achievements and learning needs. The Local Education Authority will collect numerical results annually.

There are 13 scales, based on the Early Learning Goals and divided between the six areas of development and learning. The scales are:

Dispositions and attitudes (DA)

Personal, social and emotional Development (PSED)
Social development (SD)
Emotional development (ED)

Language for communication and thinking (LCT)
Communication, language and literacy (CLL)
Linking sounds and letters (LSL)
Reading (R)
Writing (W)

Numbers as labels and for counting (NLC)
Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy Calculating (C)
Shape, space and measures (SSM)

Knowledge and understanding of the world (KUW)

Physical development (PD)

Creative development (CD)

Each scale has nine assessment points.

Scale points 1–3 describe the attainment of a child who is still progressing towards the Early Learning Goals.

Scale points 4–8 describe the attainment of a child in the context of the Early Learning Goals. They are not hierarchical or linear, indeed some scale points require ongoing assessment over time and a child may achieve them in any order.

Scale point 9 describes the attainment of a child who has achieved scale points 1–8 and developed further, working consistently beyond Early Learning Goals. Children who have significant abilities in an area of learning will attain this. Its purpose is to identify these abilities to Year 1 teachers and ensure that these children's specific development and learning needs will be met.

The good practice of pre-school staff should ensure that these detailed assessments do not cause anxiety to children. If your young child does appear to be worried at all you should talk with staff.

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