1. Main facts and figures
- 65.6% of 4 to 5 year olds met the ‘expected’ level in all 17 early learning goals by the end of the 2022 to 2023 school year – up from 63.4% in the previous year
- 73.8% of pupils from the Chinese ethnic group met the expected level – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups
Download the data to see the following findings:
- in every ethnic group, girls were more likely to meet the expected level than boys
- in all 5 aggregated ethnic groups (Asian, black, mixed, white and ‘other’), pupils eligible for free school meals were less likely to meet the expected level than non-eligible pupils
- the percentage of pupils who met the expected level went up in the 2022 to 2023 school year for all ethnic groups except the traveller of Irish heritage group
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data measures the percentage of pupils in England who met the expected level in 17 early learning goals at the end of the early years foundation stage (EYFS), or ‘reception year’.
Teachers assess pupils at the end of the school year in which they turn 5 years old (typically the summer term of reception year). The assessment is based on classroom observation. For each of the 17 early learning goals, children are assessed as having either an ‘expected’ or ‘emerging’ level of development.
Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
Not included in the data
The EYFS profile is completed for all children unless:
- the school is exempt – this applies to independent schools and schools whose principles conflict with the EYFS
- the child is exempt because their family’s religious or philosophical beliefs conflict with the EYFS (read the exemptions guidance for more information)
- the child is continuing in the EYFS after the year in which they turn 5
The ethnic groups used in the data
The data uses categories from the Department for Education’s (DfE) school census. This is based on the 19 ethnic groups used in the 2021 Census, with 2 exceptions:
- the Gypsy and Roma categories are combined, and traveller of Irish heritage is separate
- there is no separate Arab ethnic group within the ‘other’ ethnic group
Data by local authority and free school meals eligibility is shown for 5 aggregated ethnic groups:
- Asian
- black
- mixed
- white
- ‘other’
This means figures are shown for these groups as a whole. This is because the number of pupils was too small to make any reliable conclusions about individual ethnic groups.
Ethnicity was not known for 3.3% of pupils.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for this data.
Changes to the EYFS were introduced in September 2021. This means it is not possible to directly compare assessment outcomes for 2022 and 2023 with earlier years.
In the data file
Download the data to see data by:
- gender
- local authority
- eligibility for free school meals
3. By ethnicity
| 2021/22 | 2022/23 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | 2021/22 % | 2021/22 All pupils | 2022/23 % | 2022/23 All pupils |
| All | 63.4 | 622,583 | 65.6 | 618,891 |
| Asian | 62.1 | 74,613 | 64.3 | 75,255 |
| Bangladeshi | 59.4 | 10,793 | 62.4 | 10,076 |
| Chinese | 71.7 | 3,153 | 73.8 | 3,308 |
| Indian | 69.1 | 21,746 | 69.8 | 23,387 |
| Pakistani | 57.1 | 26,980 | 59.7 | 26,031 |
| Asian other | 60.4 | 11,941 | 62.3 | 12,453 |
| Black | 58.1 | 31,183 | 60.9 | 32,825 |
| Black African | 58.5 | 21,852 | 61.6 | 23,433 |
| Black Caribbean | 58.2 | 4,913 | 59.9 | 4,924 |
| Black other | 56.0 | 4,418 | 58.6 | 4,468 |
| Mixed | 65.1 | 45,311 | 67.1 | 46,152 |
| Mixed white and Asian | 69.5 | 11,346 | 72.0 | 11,440 |
| Mixed white and black African | 64.8 | 5,924 | 66.2 | 5,904 |
| Mixed white and black Caribbean | 60.5 | 10,180 | 62.8 | 10,149 |
| Mixed other | 65.2 | 17,861 | 66.8 | 18,659 |
| White | 64.8 | 439,484 | 67.2 | 430,226 |
| White British | 65.5 | 389,889 | 68.0 | 380,101 |
| Gypsy and Roma | 29.9 | 2,182 | 32.1 | 2,137 |
| White Irish | 68.4 | 1,483 | 70.7 | 1,520 |
| White Irish Traveller | 34.6 | 674 | 32.6 | 654 |
| White other | 59.9 | 45,256 | 62.3 | 45,814 |
| Other | 52.7 | 13,574 | 56.7 | 13,932 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
4. Data sources
Source
Early years foundation stage profile results: 2022 to 2023
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Department for Education
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The early years foundation stage profile aims to:
- provide an accurate picture of each child’s development against early learning goals
- support pupils' transition to key stage 1 (which they take from 5 to 7 years old)
5. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, time, time_type, country_code, country_name, region_code, region_name, geography, geography_type, geography_code, geography_code_type, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, gender, denominator, value, value_type
This file contains the following: measure, time, time_type, geography_type, geography_code, geography, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, fsm_eligibility, gender, denominator, value, value_type