When the children start school in reception we carry out baseline assessments. These are statutory and we are required to report the results to the DFE by the end of the first term. We make these assessments as fun as possible and the children are not aware that they are doing any type of 'test'!  If you require any further information the DFE has a page dedicated to explaining why we carry out these assessments, the link is as follows..

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reception-baseline-assessment-information-for-parents

As a village school, we are very fortunate to be able to have our Reception children in a single cohort class, rather than mixing them with Year 1 pupils. This means the children receive significant adult support and make exceptional progress in their first year at school. 

The curriculum for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) differs from the National Curriculum and is a natural progression from learning that has taken place in pre-school, nurseries or with child minders before starting school. Our teaching is hands on and play based, often following the children's interests. On entry we carry out a baseline assessment which helps us to differentiate our teaching to meet all children's needs. At the end of the year the children are assessed against the 17 Early Learning Goals in the Foundation Stage Profile. More details on both the baseline assessment and Early Learning Goals can be found below.