Early years foundation stage profile results
Annual statistics on early years foundation stage profile assessments in England relating to the 7 areas of learning and the 17 early learning goals.
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Headline facts and figures
Percentage of children with a good level of development
72.3%
Up 4.0 pp from 2024/25 and up 7.1 pp from 2021/22
Good level of development
Children are defined as having a good level of development if they are at the expected level for the 12 early learning goals within the 5 areas of learning relating to: communication and language; personal, social and emotional development; physical development; literacy; and mathematics.
Percentage of children at expected level across all ELGs
70.9%
Up 4.0 pp from 2024/25 and up 7.5 pp from 2021/22
Expected level across all ELGs
These children are at the expected level for all 17 early learning goals. This includes the 2 areas of learning relating to understanding the world and expressive arts and design, which are not included in the good level of development measure.
Average number of ELGs at expected level per child
14.4
Up 0.3 from 2024/25 and up 0.4 from 2021/22
Average number of ELGs
The mean number of early learning goals children are at the expected level for. The maximum number would be 17, if every child was at the expected level for every early learning goal.
In 2025/26:
- over 7 in every 10 children or 72.3% had a good level of development, up from 68.3% a year earlier and 65.2% since 2021/22 (the first year following the EYFS reforms in September 2021).
- just over 7 in every 10 children or 70.9% were at the expected level across all 17 early learning goals (ELGs), up from 66.9% a year earlier and 63.4% since 2021/22.
Whilst these percentages have increased in each of the four years since the EYFS reforms were introduced in 2021/22, the latest annual rises of 4.0 percentage points across both measures represent the largest since 2021/22. For context, the next largest annual increases were 2.1 percentage points for children with a good level of development, and 2.3 percentage points for children with all ELGs at the expected level in 2022/23, i.e. the second year following the EYFS reforms.
The latest annual rises represent, on average, one additional child in every class reaching a good level of development and one additional child in every class reaching the expected level across all ELGs (based on the average 2025/26 class size for infants).
In 2025/26, each child, on average, had reached the expected level in 14.4 early learning goals, up from 14.1 in each year between 2021/22 and 2024/25.
Through the strategy Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life (opens in new tab), the government has set a target for 75% of children to reach a good level of development in the EYFS profile assessment by 2028. Focusing on supporting children's development from their earliest years is essential to enabling all children to realise their potential. Progress towards this target is monitored through these official statistics.
Year-on-year changes in the data should be interpreted in the context of this government policy target, together with wider government interventions. These include: greater access to EYFS profile data for accountable bodies from September 2025, updates to the EYFS profile handbook (opens in new tab), and the introduction of new EYFS profile assessment support aimed at enhancing practitioners’ and leaders’ knowledge and expertise in this statutory assessment.
About these statistics
These annual statistics report on teacher assessments of children’s development at the end of the early years foundation stage (EYFS), typically the summer term of the academic year in which a child turns 5 (reception year). The assessment framework, or EYFS profile, consists of 17 early learning goals (ELGs) across 7 areas of learning.
The statutory EYFS framework (opens in new tab) sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow to ensure all children have the best start in life and are prepared for school. It requires that children be assessed against the EYFS profile, typically the summer term of the academic year in which they turn 5 (reception year).
The EYFS profile is intended to provide an accurate representation of each child’s development at the end of the EYFS to support their transition into year 1. It comprises an assessment of the child’s outcomes in relation to 17 early learning goals (ELGs) across 7 areas of learning.
The 3 prime areas of learning are: communication and language; personal, social and emotional development; and physical development. These prime areas are particularly important for children’s healthy development and are the basis for successful learning in the other 4 specific areas of learning: literacy; mathematics; understanding the world; and expressive arts and design.
As shown in the table below, children are defined as having a good level of development at the end of the EYFS if they are at the expected level for the 12 ELGs within the 5 areas of learning relating to: communication and language; personal, social and emotional development; physical development; literacy; and mathematics.
Area of learning | Early learning goal | Part of the good level of development measure | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime areas of learning | Communication and language | Listening, attention and understanding | Yes |
| Speaking | Yes | ||
| Personal, social and emotional development | Self-regulation | Yes | |
| Managing self | Yes | ||
| Building relationships | Yes | ||
| Physical development | Gross motor skills | Yes | |
| Fine motor skills | Yes | ||
| Specific areas of learning | Literacy | Comprehension | Yes |
| Word reading | Yes | ||
| Writing | Yes | ||
| Mathematics | Number | Yes | |
| Numerical patterns | Yes | ||
| Understanding the world | Past and present | No | |
| People, culture and communities | No | ||
| The natural world | No | ||
| Expressive arts and design | Creating with materials | No | |
| Being imaginative and expressive | No | ||
Changes to the EYFS profile in 2021
As part of wider early education reforms to the EYFS, the EYFS profile (opens in new tab) was significantly revised in September 2021. Changes from the previous framework (opens in new tab) include:
- revisions to all 7 areas of learning in the EYFS, with new educational programmes that set out what children must experience and learn about.
- revisions to all 17 ELGs across the 7 areas of learning to make these clearer and more precise and to make it easier for practitioners to understand what is required for a child to be at the expected level of development.
- removal of ‘exceeding’ assessment band.
- removal of statutory local authority moderation.
It is therefore not possible to directly compare assessment outcomes since 2021/22 with earlier years.
Data collection
Data is collected from local authorities covering state-funded schools and private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers as part of the EYFS profile return (opens in new tab). This data is then matched to other data sources, including the school and early years censuses, to obtain information on child characteristics.
Headline measures
In 2025/26:
- over 7 in every 10 children or 72.3% had a good level of development, up from 68.3% a year earlier and 65.2% since 2021/22 (the first year following the EYFS reforms in September 2021).
- just over 7 in every 10 children or 70.9% were at the expected level across all 17 early learning goals (ELGs), up from 66.9% a year earlier and 63.4% since 2021/22.
Whilst these percentages have increased in each of the four years since the EYFS reforms were introduced in 2021/22, the latest annual rises of 4.0 percentage points across both measures represent the largest since 2021/22. For context, the next largest annual increases were 2.1 percentage points for children with a good level of development, and 2.3 percentage points for children with all ELGs at the expected level in 2022/23, i.e. the second year following the EYFS profile reforms.
The latest annual rises represent, on average, one additional child in every class reaching a good level of development and one additional child in every class reaching the expected level across all ELGs (based on the average 2025/26 class size for infants).
In 2025/26, each child, on average, had reached the expected level in 14.4 early learning goals, up 0.3 from 2024/25 and up 0.4 from 2021/22.
Through the strategy Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life (opens in new tab), the government has set a target for 75% of children to reach a good level of development in the EYFS profile assessment by 2028. Focusing on supporting children's development from their earliest years is essential to enabling all children to realise their potential. Progress towards this target is monitored through these official statistics.
Year-on-year changes in the data should be interpreted in the context of this government policy target, together with wider government interventions. These include: greater access to EYFS profile data for accountable bodies from September 2025, updates to the EYFS profile handbook, and the introduction of new EYFS profile assessment support aimed at enhancing practitioners’ and leaders’ knowledge and expertise in this statutory assessment.
For context, 576,700 children were assessed under the EYFS profile in 2025/26, down from 589,500 in 2024/25 and continuing the gradual decrease from 622,600 in 2021/22. This follows a decline in live births (opens in new tab) for the relevant cohorts.
Whilst assessment outcomes since 2021/22 are not directly comparable with earlier years due to significant changes to the EYFS profile (see ‘About these statistics’ section for more information), a time series of the headline EYFS measures is shown below for context.
Areas of learning and early learning goals
Areas of learning
In 2025/26, across the 7 areas of learning, expressive arts and design still had the highest percentage of children at the expected level for the second consecutive year. In contrast, continuing the same pattern since the EYFS reforms, literacy still had the lowest percentage. However, the difference between these areas of learning narrowed from a year earlier, from 14.6 to 12.4 percentage points.
Compared with a year earlier, the percentage of children at the expected level increased in 2025/26 across all areas of learning, ranging from rises of 1.2 to 3.8 percentage points for physical development and literacy, respectively. This is larger than the annual changes seen in 2024/25, where they ranged from being unchanged for physical development to a rise of 0.6 percentage points for mathematics.
Broadly speaking, in 2025/26, areas of learning with lower percentages in 2024/25 increased by more than areas of learning with higher percentages.
Early learning goals
In 2025/26, across the 17 early learning goals (ELGs) the same pattern since the EYFS reforms continued; gross motor skills still had the highest percentage of children at the expected level whilst writing still had the lowest percentage. The difference narrowed from a year earlier, from 19.8 to 16.8 percentage points.
Compared with a year earlier, the percentage of children at the expected level in 2025/26 increased across all ELGs, ranging from rises of 0.9 to 3.9 percentage points for gross motor skills and writing, respectively. This is larger than the annual changes seen in 2024/25, where they ranged from a slight fall of 0.1 percentage points to a rise of 0.6 percentage points.
Broadly speaking, in 2025/26, ELGs with lower percentages in 2024/25 increased by more than ELGs with higher percentages.
Number of ELGs at the expected level
The distribution of the number of ELGs at the expected level shows that in 2025/26, just over 7 in 10 (70.9%) children reached the expected level in all 17 ELGs, followed by just under 1 in every 20 children who did not reach the expected level in any ELGs (4.6%). The percentages for the remaining numbers of ELGs were lower, ranging from 1.0% to 2.7%. This pattern has remained consistent over time.
Compared with a year earlier, the percentage of children reaching the expected level in 2025/26 in all 17 ELGs increased. Conversely, it decreased across all other numbers, with 0 ELGs having the largest fall (down 0.5 percentage points).
As stated in earlier sections, the percentage of children reaching the expected level in all 17 ELGs and in all 12 ELGs relating to a good level of development has increased each year since 2021/22. Regarding the percentage of children at the expected level in 0 ELGs (out of 17), this increased each year between 2021/22 and 2024/25, from 4.2% to 5.1%. This resulted in growing divergence over the period between those with the highest and lowest levels of development. However, in 2025/26, this percentage fell for the first time since the EYFS reforms to 4.6%
The proportion of children not reaching the expected level in any ELGs is considerably higher for children with special educational needs (SEN) than in those without SEN (26.8% and 0.9% respectively in 2025/26). Given there has been an increase each year in the proportion of children assessed under the EYFS profile with SEN, up from 10.2% in 2021/22 to 13.8% in 2025/26, the overall increase in the proportion of children not reaching the expected level in any ELGs, up from 4.2% in 2021/22 to 4.6% in 2025/26, is partly associated with this.
Further information on children with SEN can be found in the SEN section below.
Good level of development by child characteristics
Sex, first language, free school meal eligibility, and term of birth
In 2025/26, continuing the long-term trend, a higher percentage of female children had a good level of development than male children, at 78.6% and 66.3%, respectively. The difference narrowed for the second consecutive year to 12.3 percentage points in 2025/26.
A higher percentage of children with English as their first language, children not eligible for free school meals and autumn born children had a good level of development than children with English as an additional language, children eligible for free school meals and summer-born children, respectively. This pattern has remained consistent across all years since the EYFS reforms in 2021/22.
In 2025/26, all characteristic types had increases (from a year earlier) in the percentage of children with a good level of development, ranging from rises of 2.8 to 5.0 percentage points for autumn born and summer born children, respectively.
Children not eligible for free school meals and children whose first language was English both accounted for over three-quarters of the cohort (in both years), and these groups increased by just under 4 percentage points each in 2025/26.
The difference between children not eligible and eligible for free school meals widened for the third consecutive year to 21.6 percentage points in 2025/26. Conversely, the differences for whether English was the first language or not and autumn born compared with summer born children narrowed for the fourth consecutive year, to 4.3 and 12.2 percentages points respectively in 2025/26.
Figure 6: Percentage of children with a good level of development by child characteristics, 2024/25 and 2025/26
Characteristic | Characteristic type | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | Change (pp) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | Female | 75.3 | 78.6 | 3.3 |
| Male | 61.6 | 66.3 | 4.7 | |
| Difference (pp) | 13.7 | 12.3 | -1.4 | |
| First language | English | 69.9 | 73.7 | 3.8 |
| Other than English | 64.7 | 69.4 | 4.6 | |
| Difference (pp) | 5.2 | 4.3 | -0.8 | |
| Free school meals | Not eligible | 72.5 | 76.4 | 3.9 |
| Eligible | 51.3 | 54.8 | 3.5 | |
| Difference (pp) | 21.3 | 21.6 | 0.4 | |
| Term of birth | Autumn-born | 75.6 | 78.4 | 2.8 |
| Spring-born | 70.0 | 74.7 | 4.7 | |
| Summer-born | 61.1 | 66.1 | 5.0 | |
| Max difference (pp) | 14.4 | 12.2 | -2.2 |
- ‘pp’ indicates percentage point
Ethnicity
The statistics in this section are based on children with a recorded/known ethnicity. In 2025/26, 2.5% of children assessed under the EYFS profile had an unknown ethnicity (down from 3.1% in 2024/25).
In 2025/26, continuing the same pattern since the EYFS reforms, the Chinese ethnic group still had the highest proportion of children with a good level of development. Conversely, the Irish Traveller ethnic group still had the lowest proportion, for the fourth consecutive year. The difference between the two ethnic groups widened from a year earlier (from 46.9 to 51.8 percentage points).
Compared with a year earlier, the percentage of children with a good level of development in 2025/26 increased across all but one of the 18 ethnic groups. The changes ranged from a fall of 1.0 percentage points for the Irish Traveller group to a rise of 5.9 percentage points for the Irish group.
In comparison, 13 ethnic groups increased at least slightly in 2024/25, while 5 ethnic groups fell at least slightly; the changes ranged from a fall of 3.4 percentage points for the Irish Traveller group to a rise of 3.8 percentage points for the Gypsy / Roma group.
Special educational needs (SEN)
SEN support
SEN support means support that is additional to, or different from, the support generally made for other children of the same age in a school. It is provided for pupils who are identified as having a learning difficulty or a disability that requires extra or different help to that normally provided as part of the school’s usual curriculum offer. A pupil receiving SEN support will not have an education, health and care plan.
Education, health and care (EHC) plans
A local authority may issue an EHC plan for a pupil who needs more support than is available through SEN support. This will follow a statutory assessment process whereby the local authority considers the pupil’s special educational needs and any relevant health and social care needs; sets out long term outcomes; and specifies provision which will deliver additional support to meet those needs.
In 2025/26, 13.8% of children assessed under the EYFS profile had a special educational need (SEN) and, of those children, 25.8% had an EHC plan. Whilst both percentages were similar to a year earlier, they were up from 10.2% and 21.5% respectively in 2021/22.
The percentage of children with SEN support that had a good level of development in 2025/26 increased for the fourth consecutive year, as did the corresponding percentage for children without SEN. The percentage of children with an EHC plan that had a good level of development increased for the second consecutive year.
Children without SEN accounted for around 85% of the cohort (in both years) and the percentage with a good level of development increased by 4 percentage points in 2025/26 (compared with a year earlier).
Figure 8: Percentage of children with a good level of development by special educational need category, 2024/25 and 2025/26
SEN category | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | Change (pp) |
|---|---|---|---|
| No SEN provision | 76.5 | 80.5 | 4.0 |
| All SEN provision | 20.6 | 24.1 | 3.5 |
| SEN support | 26.4 | 30.7 | 4.3 |
| EHC plan | 4.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 |
- ‘pp’ indicates percentage point
Deprivation
The Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) measures the proportion of all children aged 0 to 15 living in income deprived families and is based on the child’s residence. IDACI is a supplementary index of the English indices of deprivation (opens in new tab). The statistics (specifically data set 4) for 2021/22 to 2025/26 are based on the 2025 version of IDACI. For more information on IDACI, see the methodology page.
The percentage of children with a good level of development is lowest for those who live in the 10% most deprived areas (decile 1) and rises incrementally to being the highest for those who live in the 10% least deprived areas (decile 10).
In 2025/26 (compared with a year earlier), the percentage of children with a good level of development increased across all IDACI deciles, ranging from rises of 3.0 to 4.4 percentage points for deciles 10 and 2, respectively. This continues the pattern from a year earlier, although with much larger increases (the rises ranged from 0.1 to 0.8 percentage points in 2024/25).
The difference between the 10% most and the 10% least deprived areas in 2025/26 was 19.1 percentage points, narrowing from 20.2 percentage points in 2024/25 and 21.2 percentage points in 2021/22.
Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Early years foundation stage profile results statistics and data:
Early Years Statistics Team
Email: earlyyears.statistics@education.gov.ukContact name: Jay Morris
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Telephone: 020 7783 8300
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