Good Level of Development - Reception Aged Children

Introduction

Good Level of Development 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.

This year's data is the first publication since the 2021/22 EYFS reforms were introduced in September 2021. As part of those reforms, the EYFS profile was significantly revised. It is therefore not possible to directly compare 2021/22 assessment outcomes with earlier years. It is also the first release since the publication of the 2018/19 statistics, as the 2019/20 and 2020/21 data collections were cancelled due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

There are 17 early learning goals that are assessed across seven specific areas of learning :

Communication and language
Listening, attention and understanding
Speaking

Personal, social and emotional development
Self-regulation
Managing self
Building relationships

Physical development
Gross motor skills
Fine motor skills

Literacy
Comprehension
Word reading
Writing

Mathematics
Number
Numerical patterns

Understanding the world
Past and present
People, culture and communities
The natural world

Expressive arts and design
Creating with materials
Being imaginative and expressive

Children achieve the 'Good Level of Development (GLD)' if they are at the expected levels 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.

Data Overview

The data that follows refers to the 2021/22 academic year.

Latest data from 2021/22 shows 59.2% of reception aged children in Oldham achieved GLD. This is lower than the England rate of 65.2% and is 4th lowest across Greater Manchester. Manchester has the lowest rate at 53.1% and Trafford the highest at 71.6% (figure 1).

Figure 1: children achieving a good level of development across Greater Manchester, 2021/22
Source: Department for Education (DfE) 

Figures 2 - 6 below explore the percentage of children achieving a good level of development by various characteristics.

• In Oldham, White children achieve a rate of 64.3%, higher than Asian/Asian British (56%), Black/Black British (57.8%) and Mixed (54.1%). This trend isn't seen nationally, whereby attainment is more similar across ethnic groups.
• Attainment is significantly higher for children not eligible for free school meals in Oldham, with a 17.1 percentage point difference over children who receive free school meals. There is a similar difference nationally.
• Rates are substantially lower for children with an EHCP or in receipt of SEN Support. Comparing to England rates, the attainment gap between these groups and the average for all children is higher in Oldham than nationally.
• Summer-born children have significantly lower rates of attainment compared to Autumn-born. Compared to nationally, Oldham's Autumn-born children are behind by 4.3 percentage points. The gap for Spring-born children is 2.8 percentage points. The gap for Summer-born children is substantially larger at 9 percentage points.
• Girls are more likely to achieve a good level of development than boys for Oldham and England. Girls are ahead by 14.6 percentage points in Oldham and a similar gap exists nationally (13.2 percentage points).

Figures 2-6: Percentage of children achieving a good level of development by characteristic


Source: Department for Education (DfE) 

Figure 7 below shows the percentage of children across Oldham and England at the expected level for each of the 17 Early Learning Goals (ELGs).

• The ELG with the highest percentage of children at the expected level in Oldham was 'Gross motor skills', with a rate of 88%.
• The ELG with the lowest percentage of children at the expected level in Oldham was 'Writing', with a rate of 63.9%.
• Oldham's performance falls below national on all 17 ELGs.
• The greatest differences between Oldham and England are observed in the 'past and present' ELG, part of the Personal, Social and Emotional area of learning (70.9% Oldham, 81.7% England) and the 'people, culture and communities' ELG, part of the Social Development area of learning (71.4% Oldham, 81.3% England).

Figure 7: Children at the expected level for each of the Early Learning Goals
Source: Department for Education (DfE) 

Further Information & Resources

Early years foundation stage profile 
Results for the 2021 to 2022 academic year at national and local authority level. 

OHID's Child and Maternal Health Data Profile
For further data and information relating to Early Years Education

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