Switching to the new ELGs in the Early Years

This guidance is relevant for schools who have previously recorded the old Early Learning Goals in Pupil Asset or may otherwise not have the new ELGs created to assess the EYFS profile against.

The new ELGs

The 17 new Early Learning Goals (ELGs) became statutory for all schools from September 2021.

This is also referred to as the ‘EYFS 2020 Framework’ in reference to the year it began trialling in some Early Adopter schools.

In June 2022, all schools with a Reception year group will be required to submit their Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) profile to their local authority using the new ELGs.

This is assessed as an ‘EYFS Judgement’ of either 1 (‘Emerging’), 2 (‘Expected’) or A (‘Absence’) in each of the 17 ELGs:

Communication and LanguagePersonal, Social and Emotional DevelopmentPhysical DevelopmentLiteracyMathematicsUnderstanding the WorldExpressive Arts and Design
Listening, Attention and UnderstandingSelf-RegulationGross Motor SkillsComprehensionNumberPast and PresentCreating with Materials
SpeakingManaging SelfFine Motor SkillsWord ReadingNumerical PatternsPeople, Culture and CommunitiesBeing Imaginative and Expressive
Building RelationshipsWritingThe Natural World

Your school’s EYFS setup

To ensure your teachers can record ELGs in the correct subjects you will need to check these have been created in your school.

If you were an early adopter or converted in September this will already be setup but it’s worth checking to make sure.

Just go to Admin > School Options > Subject Setup > EYFS Subject Set Up.

If you see the following screen you do not need to take any further action. Your school is ready to record and report EYFS data.

Creating EYFS 2020 subjects

If the screen prompts you to create new EYFS subjects, then this step will need to be completed before you are ready to record the new ELGs.

This will close the old EYFS subjects with an end academic year of 2020/21.

Any custom EYFS subjects used just by your school or cluster will not be affected.

The 17 new EYFS subjects will then be created so you can record ELGs.

FAQs:

Will I lose results recorded in old EYFS subjects?

No. The old EYFS subjects will be given an end academic year of 2020/21 and you will be able to see this data by going to Filters and switching the Archive to look at the previous year.

Will this change or convert my existing results to the new ELGs?

No. The new ELGs do not have direct analogues in the old EYFS subjects so can not be converted.

What happens if I keep using the old EYFS subjects?

Schools are now expected to assess using the new ELGs in Early Years. Assessing in the old EYFS subjects will be possible but this data can not be used to submit your statutory EYFS profile.

Where can I find more information about the EYFS 2020 Framework?

We have general guidance about the new EYFS framework as well as a video guide which can be accessed from our webinar archive.

Follow this link for the DfE’s guidance on the Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage.