Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency

Last updated: 03 Apr 2000

Ninety per cent of practitioners found QCA's guidance on the booklet Early Learning Goals helpful or very helpful and 78 per cent found it easy or very easy to understand. These were the findings of an evaluation carried out for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER).

The NFER survey also found that three quarters of practitioners intended to use the booklet for information and two thirds said they would use it to evaluate their own practice. The most helpful sections of the guidance were found to be those on areas of learning and the early learning goals, the aims for the new foundation stage for children aged 3 to the end of the reception year, and children's personal, social and emotional development.

There was clear support for more guidance and QCA is currently looking at what practitioners are asking for as they plan future work.

Welcoming the report, Dr Nick Tate, Chief Executive of QCA said: "I am delighted to see how well the guidance on early learning goals has been received by practitioners. The foundation stage of children's education is vital to their future development and we will continue to work with those in early years settings to give children the best possible start to their education. Alongside the Department for Education and Employment, we are working with early years experts and practitioners to develop further guidance that will be published soon."

Notes to Editors

1. The survey was carried out in January and February 2000. It was sent to three groups of people: practitioners in maintained schools with early years provision; non-maintained early years settings; and early years advisers and chairs of Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships in England. A total of 34 092 questionnaires were dispatched and 11 998 people responded.
   
2. Copies of the NFER evaluation report are available from the Early Years Team at QCA on 020 7509 5521.
   
3. The booklet Early Learning Goals (QCA/99/436) was published in October 1999 and is now out of print. For further information please contact the QCA Orderline. The booklet contains the early learning goals and principles and aims for the foundation stage, which includes children from age 3 to the end of the reception year. It introduces these goals to all practitioners involved in early years settings and sets them into context. The information in the booklet will be included and further developed in Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage to be published in May.
   
4. For further press information contact QCA newsdesk 020 7509 6789.