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The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results for 2016 have shown that 69.3% of children are now achieving a ‘good level of development’; a 3% increase on last year’s 66.3%

 

Released today, the results also showed that while girls continue to do better than boys, the gender gap has decreased. The gap in the average total point score between girls and boys has fallen from 2.6 points in 2015 to 2.5 points for this year.

 

Neil Leitch, chief executive at the Pre-school Learning Alliance, welcomed today’s results saying that they demonstrated the sector’s continuing ability to deliver high quality learning opportunities to children, despite the many challenges they face.

 

However, he said that there is still room for improvement, noting specifically that although it is positive to see the gap between girls and boys achievement decreasing, it is a gap none-the-less.

 

“And of course, with 30% of children not currently reaching a ‘good level of development’, it’s important that we look at the reasons why and what can be done to address this going forward, while recognising that children inevitably learn and develop at different rates,” he said.

 

“Overall, however, we are pleased to see that the general picture is a continually improving one.”

 

Earlier this week it was revealed that , and Neil said that today’s findings are a timely reminder of the importance of supporting children across all areas of development, not just those that are easier to measure.

 

“We hope that, as the government prepares to consult on primary assessment, it will listen to the sector and recognise that early assessment should focus first and foremost on the child, and supporting their ongoing learning and development and not – as has been the focus more recently – measuring and ranking schools and providers," Neil concluded.