The methodology page should be referenced alongside this data.
Coverage
These statistics report on teacher assessments of children’s development at the end of the early years foundation stage (EYFS), specifically the end of the academic year in which a child turns 5. This is typically the summer term of reception year. The assessment framework, or EYFS Profile, consists of 17 early learning goals (ELGs) across 7 areas of learning.
Data is collected from local authorities covering state-funded schools and private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers (including childminders) as part of the EYFS Profile return. This data is then matched to other data sources, including the school and early years censuses, to obtain information on pupil characteristics.
The underlying data files include national, regional, local authority-level, and local authority district-level information for England.
File formats and conventions
Rounding and suppression
Percentages and averages have been rounded to one decimal place. As a result of rounding, the sum of the percentage of children at the emerging level and the percentage of children at the expected level may not equal 100% in file 2.
Suppression has not been applied to the underlying data.
Symbology
The following symbols have been applied in the underlying data files:
z not applicable
u low reliability
b break in time series
Where any number is shown as zero, the original figure submitted was zero.
Data files
All data files associated with this releases are listed below with guidance on their content. To download any of these files, please visit our data catalogue.
1 Headline measures by characteristics
Filename
1_eyfsp_headline_measures_2022_2023.csv
Geographic levels
Local authority; Local authority district; National; Regional
Time period
2021/22 to 2022/23
Content
Headline measures by child characteristics (gender, major and minor ethnic group, first language, free school meal eligibility, term of birth, special educational needs (SEN) provision and SEN primary need).
Breakdowns by local authority district are based on the location of the child’s school or provider.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
average_elgs
Average number of early learning goals at expected level per child
characteristic_type
Child characteristics
children_number
Number of children
comm_lang_lit_number
Number of children at expected level in communication and language and literacy areas of learning
comm_lang_lit_percentage
Percentage of children at expected level in communication and language and literacy areas of learning
elg_number
Number of children at expected level across all early learning goals
elg_percentage
Percentage of children at expected level across all early learning goals
gender
Gender
gld_number
Number of children with a good level of development
gld_percentage
Percentage of children with a good level of development
Footnotes
Autumn-born: September to December. Spring-born: January to March. Summer-born: April to August. In previous publications, children born in April were classified as spring-born. In the 2022/23 release, children born in April are now classified as summer-born to align with other departmental outputs. Data for 2021/22 has been revised to reflect this change.
The 'Unclassified' first language category describes cases where a child's first language could not be determined. These children are included in the 'Total' numbers.
The 'Unclassified' SEN provision category describes cases where SEN provision could not be determined. These children are included in the 'Total' numbers.
The 'Unclassified' ethnic group category describes cases where a child's ethnicity was refused or not obtained. These children are included in the 'Total' numbers.
In previous publications, the category ‘Not known to be eligible for free school meals’ included both those not eligible for free school meals and those not known to be eligible for free school meals (i.e. children who did not appear in the school census). In this 2022/23 release, as a methodological improvement, the categories have been split out and are now ‘Eligible for free school meals’, ‘Not eligible for free school meals’ and ‘Unclassified’ (i.e. children who did not appear in the schools census). Data for 2021/22 has been revised to reflect this change.
Local authority; Local authority district; National; Regional
Time period
2021/22 to 2022/23
Content
Early learning goals and areas of learning by child characteristics (gender, major and minor ethnic group, first language, free school meal eligibility, term of birth, special educational needs (SEN) provision and SEN primary need).
Breakdowns by local authority district are based on the location of the child’s school or provider.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
characteristic_type
Child characteristics
children_number
Number of children
early_learning_goal
Early learning goal
emerging_number
Number of children at emerging level
emerging_percentage
Percentage of children at emerging level
expected_number
Number of children at expected level
expected_percentage
Percentage of children at expected level
gender
Gender
Footnotes
Autumn-born: September to December. Spring-born: January to March. Summer-born: April to August. In previous publications, children born in April were classified as spring-born. In the 2022/23 release, children born in April are now classified as summer-born to align with other departmental outputs. Data for 2021/22 has been revised to reflect this change.
The 'Unclassified' first language category describes cases where a child's first language could not be determined. These children are included in the 'Total' numbers.
The 'Unclassified' SEN provision category describes cases where SEN provision could not be determined. These children are included in the 'Total' numbers.
The early years foundation stage profile was significantly revised in September 2021. This included changes to the 17 early learning goals and 7 areas of learning. See the methodology page for more information.
The 'Unclassified' ethnic group category describes cases where a child's ethnicity was refused or not obtained. These children are included in the 'Total' numbers.
Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding.
In previous publications, the category ‘Not known to be eligible for free school meals’ included both those not eligible for free school meals and those not known to be eligible for free school meals (i.e. children who did not appear in the school census). In this 2022/23 release, as a methodological improvement, the categories have been split out and are now ‘Eligible for free school meals’, ‘Not eligible for free school meals’ and ‘Unclassified’ (i.e. children who did not appear in the schools census). Data for 2021/22 has been revised to reflect this change.
Headline measures by multiple characteristics (gender, major ethnic group, special educational needs (SEN) provision and free school meal eligibility).
Breakdowns by local authority district are based on the location of the child’s school or provider.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
average_elgs
Average number of early learning goals at expected level per child
children_number
Number of children
comm_lang_lit_number
Number of children at expected level in communication and language and literacy areas of learning
comm_lang_lit_percentage
Percentage of children at expected level in communication and language and literacy areas of learning
elg_number
Number of children at expected level across all early learning goals
elg_percentage
Percentage of children at expected level across all early learning goals
ethnicity_major
Ethnic group: major
fsm
Free school meal eligibility
gender
Gender
gld_number
Number of children with a good level of development
gld_percentage
Percentage of children with a good level of development
sen_provision
SEN provision
Footnotes
The 'Unclassified' SEN provision category describes cases where SEN provision could not be determined. These children are included in the 'Total' numbers.
The 'Unclassified' ethnic group category describes cases where a child's ethnicity was refused or not obtained. These children are included in the 'Total' numbers.
In previous publications, the category ‘Not known to be eligible for free school meals’ included both those not eligible for free school meals and those not known to be eligible for free school meals (i.e. children who did not appear in the school census). In this 2022/23 release, as a methodological improvement, the categories have been split out and are now ‘Eligible for free school meals’, ‘Not eligible for free school meals’ and ‘Unclassified’ (i.e. children who did not appear in the schools census). Data for 2021/22 has been revised to reflect this change.
Headline measures by income deprivation affecting children index (IDACI) decile and gender.
Breakdowns by local authority district are based on the location of the child’s residence.
Variable names and descriptions
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
average_elgs
Average number of early learning goals at expected level per child
children_number
Number of children
comm_lang_lit_number
Number of children at expected level in communication and language and literacy areas of learning
comm_lang_lit_percentage
Percentage of children at expected level in communication and language and literacy areas of learning
elg_number
Number of children at expected level across all early learning goals
elg_percentage
Percentage of children at expected level across all early learning goals
gender
Gender
gld_number
Number of children with a good level of development
gld_percentage
Percentage of children with a good level of development
idaci_decile
Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) decile - IDACI deciles: 1 = 10% most deprived, 10 = 10% least deprived
Footnotes
Figures based on location of the child’s residence.
IDACI deciles are calculated based on the percentage of children living in income-deprived households within a certain neighbourhood. 1 = 10% of neighbourhoods with highest percentage of children living in income-deprived households nationally, 10 = 10% of neighbourhoods with lowest percentage of children living in income-deprived households nationally. See the methodology page for more information.
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
average_elgs
Average number of early learning goals at expected level per child
children_number
Number of children
comm_lang_lit_percentage
Percentage of children at expected level in communication and language and literacy areas of learning
elg_percentage
Percentage of children at expected level across all early learning goals
gld_percentage
Percentage of children with a good level of development
Footnotes
The 2019/20 and 2020/21 data collections were cancelled due to coronavirus (COVID-19).
The early years foundation stage profile was significantly revised in September 2021. It is therefore not possible to directly compare 2021/22 and 2022/23 assessment outcomes with earlier years. See the methodology page for more information.
In 2018/19, 23 schools piloted the revised set of early learning goals and the revised approach to assessment and moderation. These schools are excluded from the results for 2019. In 2018, the pupils in these 23 schools represented 0.2% of the national cohort of children.
Figures for 2012/13 to 2018/19 have been calculated using the National Pupil Database, which excludes service children living abroad, shielded pupils, and duplicate records. Therefore these figures may not exactly match previously published figures that were calculated using raw data.
Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:
Variable name
Variable description
area_of_learning
Area of learning
children_number
Number of children
emerging_number
Number of children at emerging level against area of learning or early learning goal
emerging_percentage
Percentage of children at emerging level against area of learning or early learning goal
expected_number
Number of children at expected level against area of learning or early learning goal
expected_percentage
Percentage of children at expected level against area of learning or early learning goal
Footnotes
The early years foundation stage profile was significantly revised in September 2021. This included changes to the 17 early learning goals and 7 areas of learning. See the methodology page for more information.