Smooth transition for pupils from foundation stage to year 1 is crucial if they are to develop the confidence to move towards more formal learning. Yet teachers have reported that many five-year-olds are struggling, and it's exacerbated by an "unsophisticated" and "bureaucratic" assessment system.
Ofsted inspectors visited 46 schools over three terms. Their harshest criticisms centred on the Foundation Stage Profile, the single national assessment system that replaced baseline assessment schemes in 2002. Teachers complained that not only did it not give enough detail to help them plan curricula, but it focused on what pupils hadn't achieved, rather than what they had. It also confused parents with complex and detailed language, and had impersonal tick boxes and unclear questions.
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