What are the Early Years Outcomes?
Sometimes when working in an early years setting it is easy to become confused around jargon and the choice of phrases used by other practitioners and Ofsted inspectors. It is important to remember that the early years do follow a framework and Ofsted need to see that all practitioners can competently implement it in order to promote the learning and development of all children. One way Ofsted will judge the implementation of the early years framework is by inspecting practitioners knowledge of child development, they will also look closely at how children are supported within the environment.
Early Years Outcomes is not the most common phrase and is often confused for the early learning goals however this is not the case. The outcomes refer to the development matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage document and are the points detailed in the unique child section. These are the statements that every practitioner should make reference to in all aspects of daily practice from planning, learning journals and when observing children. We have created some helpful posters to help minimise the confusion in the term Early Years Outcomes, these will remind practitioners what they should be looking for when observing children. Do not use these purely as the other sections in the EYFS document are important and include vital pieces of information that practitioners need to be aware of.
Evidencing that you are promoting the learning outcomes
The learning outcomes are used at two stages in a child’s life; one is at the two year check where nursery practitioners and health visitors work together to identify which of the learning outcomes a child is meeting and if they are on track for their age and the other is at the end of reception class. Having a strong foundation for your two year check is therefore very important and Ofsted may request to see how the two year check is completed by practitioners. To enable practitioners to identify when a child is falling below expected levels of development it is best practice to ensure ongoing assessments are completed at regular intervals across the year. This can be done through various development tracking tools and learning journals. The information from these should be relayed onto the weekly planning in the form of next steps.
Important information to take away from this article is if an Ofsted inspector was to ask you how you promote the Early Years outcomes; they are simply asking you what you do every day to ensure the child is meeting the points detailed in the development matters document. You may choose to point them in the direction of the poster we have created to show you are aware of what they are and that you have a constant reminder of what to look out for when observing children.
Click here to down our free Early Years Outcomes posters.