DfE publishes new Development Matters guidance as schools start revised EYFS
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, September 3, 2020
The Department for Education has published its revised curriculum guidance as the first schools adopt the new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework.
The guidance is aimed at supporting 2,800 schools signed-up as early adopters of the framework from the current term.
Schools not classed as early adopters may still use the new Development Matters guidance but must also prove they are adhering to previous guidelines until the revised EYFS becomes statutory in September 2021, the DfE said.
Early adopter schools are free to use the revised guidance developed by Dr Julian Grenier, lead researcher at the East London Research School and headteacher of Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre.
“Development Matters has been written for all early years practitioners, for childminders and staff in nurseries, nursery schools, and nursery and reception classes in school. It offers a top-level view of how children develop and learn. It guides, but does not replace, professional judgement,” the guidance states.
Responding to a government consultation before the framework was finalised, early years practitioners warned the revised EYFS could become a “tickbox exercise”.
The introduction to the new non-statutory guidance states: “Development Matters sets out the pathways of children’s development in broad ages and stages. However, the actual learning of young children is not so neat and orderly. The main purpose of these pathways is therefore to help you assess each child’s level of development. Accurate assessment helps practitioners to make informed decisions about what a child needs to learn and be able to do next.
“The document is not a tick list for generating lots of data. You can use your professional knowledge to help children make progress without needing to record lots of next steps. Settings can help children to make progress without generating unnecessary paperwork.”
The guidance sets out seven key features of effective practice:
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The best for every child
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High-quality care
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The curriculum: what we want children to learn
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Pedagogy: helping children to learn
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Assessment: checking what children have learnt
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Self-regulation and executive function
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Partnership with parent
It also includes three “characteristics of effective learning” which include playing and exploring; active learning and creating and thinking critically.
The guidance also lays out advice on documenting children’s development in three prime areas including communication and language, physical development, and personal, social and emotional development and in four specific areas: literacy, mathematics, understanding the world, and expressive arts and design.
“Checkpoints” have also been included to help providers “notice whether a child is at risk of falling behind in their development”.
Iram Siraj, Professor of Child Development and Education at University of Oxford described the new guidance as “a valuable and important starting point as non-statutory guidance”.
He said: “This is critically important in supporting and asserting that professional judgement is central to staff creating a contextually full and relevant curriculum and the right learning, teaching and well-being support for young children.”
Nurun Begum, managing director of Kool Kidze daycare, welcomed the guidance saying it “focuses on children's interactions, spending quality time and getting to really know the child through talking and playing and finding out about their interests”.
“Instead of the constant pressures of having to write up observations about every child, we can focus on getting to know and understand the children who need extra support,” Begum said.
Helen Donohoe, policy advisor at PACEY said: "We welcome the publication of the revised Development Matters, today. Alongside our own training and resources, including EY Smart, it will form a crucial source of support and guidance as our members gear up to the launch of the updated EYFS in late 2021."
However, others criticised the Development Matters document, with Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance saying it highlights “serious flaws contained within the new Early Years Foundation Stage framework”.
He added: “Early education should be about supporting the needs of each individual child and ensuring that they are at the centre of their own learning, something that was championed in the previous version of Development Matters, but is sadly lacking in this latest guidance.
"As a result, those more experienced early years practitioners will find little in the new document to help improve their practice while, even more concerningly, those who are new to the early years will now be presented with a narrow and limited view of how children learn and develop, and their essential role in supporting this.
"With so many educational experts expressing concerns about the current direction of travel of the early years curriculum, we urge the government to listen, take stock, and acknowledge that it needs to change its approach on this critical issue sooner rather than later."
