Taking a Closer Look at the Revised Development Matters Non-Statutory Guidance for the EYFS
Val Clarke | Segment Manager for Early Years & Nursery Practitioners (England) at Twinkl Iveco Daily L3 H2
The fi nalised Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage has now been published for all schools and early years providers in England to follow from September 2021. Changes to the educational programmes, safeguarding and welfare, as well as assessment arrangements (including revised Early Learning Goals) have been signifi cant. Perhaps the most signifi cant change, however, has come with the newly updated Development Matters Non-Statutory Curriculum Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage (September 2020). So, why has Development Matters been updated, who has been involved and what does it look like now?
Why Update Development Matters?
Development Matters has been updated with an aim to reduce practitioner workload, focus in on children’s communication and support those children at risk of falling behind the majority.
Who’s been involved in the update?
Approximately 200 practitioners from across all sectors have read documents, given feedback and shared their views throughout the process, whilst Dr Julian Grenier has led the work on the new guidance.
What does it look like now? What remains the same?
The updated Development Matters (2020) remains a non-statutory guidance that sets out the pathways of children’s development from birth to a child’s year in Reception.
It is still made up of the seven Areas of Learning set
out as the three Prime areas (Communication and Language, Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development) and the four Specifi c areas (Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design).
The guidance still emphasises play and fi rst-hand experiences/activities, as well as adults supporting and guiding play alongside the direct teaching of new skills and ideas.
The (slightly renamed from the previous 2012 guidance) Characteristics of Eff ective Teaching and Learning remain. They retain the same titles of ‘Playing & Exploring’, ‘Active Learning’ and ‘Creating & Thinking Critically’ and the content of their descriptions remains broadly the same as previously published. However, the previous sub-titles have been removed and all descriptions are now under the common heading of ‘Children will be learning to’, with added examples of how to support this learning alongside.
What has changed?
The updated Development Matters (2020) guidance is two thirds of the length of the previous version, as one of the aims was that it should be shorter.
One of the most noticeable changes for practitioners may well be the reorganisation of the age-bands. The updated Development Matters covers the same birth to fi ve age range as its predecessor, however, the age bands outlined within it are much broader. Whereas, the Development Matters (2012) contained six diff erent age bands, the revised Development Matters (2020) contains only three: ‘Birth to three - babies, toddlers and young children’, ‘3 & 4-year-olds’, and ‘Children in Reception’.
24 Shop Little Learners
ypo.co.uk/earlyyears
For more ideas and inspiration visit
ypo.co.uk/littlelearners MR Clipart 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28
