The Good Level of Development (GLD) measure
The Government has set out how the new Good Level of Development (GLD) measure will be defined.
Children are defined as having reached a good level of development at the end of the EYFS if they have achieved at least the expected level in:
Children are defined as having reached a good level of development at the end of the EYFS if they have achieved at least the expected level in:
- the early learning goals in the prime areas of learning (personal, social and emotional development; physical development; and communication and language) and;
- the early learning goals in the specific areas of mathematics and literacy.
The GLD measure is supported by a measure of the average of the cohort's total point score across all the early learning goals in order to also help to promote the attainment of all children across all the early learning goals.
The levels attained by children at the end of the EYFS are allocated a number as follows: Emerging = 1, Expected = 2 and Exceeding = 3.
For each of the 17 Early Learning Goals a child is recorded as have achieved a 1, 2 or 3. Consequently it is possible to give children an overall 'score'.
Once data has been submitted to the DfE the average score of the whole national cohort will give the secondary measure of a 'Good Level of Development' that is referred to. It is therefore possible to compare your schools cohort average with the national cohort average, and also presumably a child's average score compared to your cohorts average and the national average.
Phonics screening tests at Year One and Year Two
The phonics screening check is a short, light-touch assessment to confirm whether individual children have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard.
It will identify the children who need extra help so they are given support by their school to improve their reading skills. They will then be able to retake the check so that schools can track children until they are able to decode. This us undertaken in all state schools in Year 1 and for children in year 2 who did not meet the year 1 standard. They are administered internally by teachers.
The phonics screening check is a short and simple assessment of phonic decoding. It consists of a list of 40 words, half real words and half non-words, which Year 1 children read to a teacher. Administering the assessment usually takes between four and nine minutes per child.
Non-words (made up words) are included because they will be new to all children, so there won’t be a bias to those with a good vocabulary knowledge or visual memory of words. Children who can read non-words should have the skills to decode almost any unfamiliar word. The non-words are presented alongside a picture of an imaginary creature, and children can be told the non-word is the name of that type of creature. This helps children to understand the non-word should not be matched to their existing vocabulary.