# EYFS long-term plan (nursery and Reception)

> iFairy working template — not official guidance. Built by reading the official documents listed under "Based on"; each requirement cites the document and section it comes from. Check the current official wording before you adopt it, and adapt it to your setting and your local authority or trust procedures.

- **Status:** Required by law or statutory guidance — The duties this plan helps you meet are statutory: providers must teach the seven areas of learning through the educational programmes, plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child, and (in Reception) complete the EYFS Profile no later than 30 June. The framework does not require a written long-term plan or prescribe a format or teaching approach — this document is one way of showing how you meet the duties. Development Matters is non-statutory: it can help you design a curriculum, but Ofsted does not take it into account and you are not required to use it.
- **Applies to:** England; Early years
- **Review:** Annually before the autumn term, and whenever the statutory framework or EYFS Profile handbook is updated. Adjust the termly content each half-term in light of what the children know and can do.
- **Template last reviewed by iFairy:** 2026-10-04

## Our curriculum principles

_A short statement of what you want children to learn here and how, so that the termly plan can be checked against it._

**Must include:**

- Reflect the four overarching principles: every child is a unique child; children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships; children learn and develop well in enabling environments; children develop and learn at different rates. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Overarching principles, paragraph 5)_
- The framework does not prescribe a teaching approach. Practitioners decide what they want children to learn and the most effective ways to teach it, and must stimulate children's interests and respond to each child's emerging needs. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.16)_
- Development Matters describes the curriculum as a top-level plan of everything the setting wants children to learn; it should be ambitious, carefully sequenced and flexible, with depth valued over coverage. _(Development Matters (Sep 2023) — eyfs dfe report sep2023, Section 2, Seven key features of effective practice — 3. The curriculum)_

**Questions to answer:**

- What do you most want children to leave this class knowing and able to do, beyond the early learning goals?
- What do you know about your intake (language, experiences, SEND, EAL) that the plan must respond to?
- What balance of child-led play, adult-guided play and direct teaching will you use, and how does it change across the year?

At [setting name] our early years curriculum aims for every child to [two or three ambitious aims, e.g. talk confidently using a wide vocabulary; love books and stories; ...]. Our children typically arrive [brief description of starting points]. We teach through a mix of play, adult modelling and guided learning, with more direct teaching of [phonics / number / ...] as children move through Reception. We value depth over coverage: we revisit key knowledge and vocabulary until children are secure.

## The seven areas of learning

_Set out the areas you must teach and how prime and specific areas are weighted in your setting._

**Must include:**

- There are seven areas of learning and development that providers must teach. All are important and inter-connected. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.4)_
- Three prime areas: Communication and language; Physical development; Personal, social and emotional development. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.5)_
- Four specific areas: Literacy; Mathematics; Understanding the world; Expressive arts and design. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.6)_
- The educational programmes set out what should be taught in each area and must involve activities and experiences that enable children to learn and develop. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Section 1, Educational Programmes)_
- Practitioners working with the youngest children are expected to ensure a strong foundation in the three prime areas. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.12)_
- As children move into Reception there should be a greater focus on teaching the essential skills and knowledge in the specific areas, to prepare for Key Stage 1. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.17)_

**Questions to answer:**

- For each area, what are the two or three most important things children must learn this year (your 'core' content)?
- Where does spoken language sit in every area? The framework says it underpins all seven.
- How will the balance shift from prime to specific areas between autumn and summer?

Area | Core knowledge and skills this year | How it is taught (continuous provision / adult-guided / direct teaching) | Lead
Communication and language | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Personal, social and emotional development | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Physical development | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Literacy | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Mathematics | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Understanding the world | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Expressive arts and design | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]

## Characteristics of effective teaching and learning

_Show how the plan builds the way children learn, not only what they learn._

**Must include:**

- In planning and guiding what children learn, practitioners must reflect on the different rates at which children are developing and adjust their practice. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.18)_
- The three characteristics: playing and exploring (investigate, experience things and 'have a go'); active learning (concentrate, keep trying and enjoy achievements); creating and thinking critically (have own ideas, make links, develop strategies). _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.18)_

**Questions to answer:**

- Which routines, resources and adult behaviours in your setting deliberately develop each characteristic?
- When will you give children extended time for projects that last more than one session?
- Will Reception teachers write a short commentary on each child's characteristics for Year 1 (optional — see transition section)?

Playing and exploring: [e.g. open-ended resources indoors and out; weekly new material or object to investigate].
Active learning: [e.g. projects continued over several days; adults praise persistence, not only outcomes].
Creating and thinking critically: [e.g. children plan before building; adults model 'thinking aloud'; talk about how a problem was solved].

## Overview by term

_The one-page year: what is taught when, while leaving space to follow children's interests._

**Must include:**

- Practitioners must consider the individual needs, interests and development of each child and use this to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all areas. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.12)_
- Young children's learning is often driven by their interests, so plans need to be flexible. _(Development Matters (Sep 2023) — eyfs dfe report sep2023, Section 2, Seven key features of effective practice — 3. The curriculum)_

**Questions to answer:**

- Which content must be taught in a fixed order (for example phonics following your programme, number to 5 before 10) and which can move to follow interests?
- When do you plan settling-in, the Reception Baseline (schools), parent meetings, and end-of-year Profile judgements?
- Which half-terms will deliberately revisit earlier content rather than introduce new topics?

Term | Theme or focus (optional) | CL | PSED | PD | Literacy | Maths | UtW | EAD | Key texts | Visits / visitors
Autumn 1 | [settling in, routines, relationships] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Autumn 2 | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Spring 1 | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Spring 2 | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Summer 1 | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Summer 2 | [transition to Year 1 / to Reception] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ]
Note: themes are a vehicle, not the curriculum. Adapt each half-term after reviewing what children know and can do.

## Key texts, experiences and vocabulary

_Plan the books, rhymes, first-hand experiences and words every child will meet, because the educational programmes put these at the centre._

**Must include:**

- Communication and language: reading frequently to children, engaging them in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and giving extensive opportunities to use and embed new words. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Educational Programmes — Communication and Language)_
- Literacy: reading has two dimensions — language comprehension and word reading; writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Educational Programmes — Literacy)_
- Mathematics: a strong grounding in number, a deep understanding of numbers to 10, and rich opportunities for spatial reasoning (shape, space and measures). _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Educational Programmes — Mathematics)_
- Understanding the world: a range of personal experiences (for example visiting parks, libraries and museums, meeting police officers, nurses and firefighters) and a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Educational Programmes — Understanding the World)_
- Expressive arts and design: regular opportunities to engage with the arts and explore a wide range of media and materials; frequency, repetition and depth of experience matter. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Educational Programmes — Expressive Arts and Design)_
- In Reception, books children read aloud should be consistent with their developing phonic knowledge, and children should not be asked to read books at home they cannot yet read. _(Development Matters (Sep 2023) — eyfs dfe report sep2023, Section 7 Literacy — 'Children in reception' (word reading))_

**Questions to answer:**

- Which core books will every child hear many times this year (so they can retell them), and which rhymes and songs will they know by heart?
- Which first-hand experiences (visits, visitors, outdoor learning) will you guarantee for every child, especially those who get fewer at home?
- Which tier 2 and subject words will you teach deliberately each half-term, and how will you check children use them?
- Which phonics programme do you follow, and how is the reading book offer matched to it?

Half-term | Core books (repeated) | Rhymes and songs | Non-fiction | First-hand experiences | Vocabulary to teach and use
[Autumn 1] | [title, title, title] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [word, word, word]
...
Phonics: we follow [programme name]. Reading books sent home are matched to the sounds each child has been taught.

## Children who need extra help, SEND and EAL

_Make sure the plan works for every child and that concerns are acted on early._

**Must include:**

- If a provider is worried about a child's progress in any prime area, practitioners must discuss it with parents and/or carers, agree how to support the child, and consider whether the child needs additional support, including for a special educational need or disability. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.13)_
- Providers may take reasonable steps to let children use their home language in play and learning. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.14)_
- Providers must ensure children have sufficient opportunities to reach a good standard in English during the EYFS. When assessing communication, language and literacy, practitioners must assess skills in English; if a child does not have a strong grasp of English, they must explore the child's home language skills with parents to establish whether there is cause for concern about language delay. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.15)_
- Children at earlier stages of development need extra help to become secure in earlier stages; it is not helpful to wait for them to become 'ready'. _(Development Matters (Sep 2023) — eyfs dfe report sep2023, Section 1, Introduction)_

**Questions to answer:**

- How quickly after a concern is noticed will you speak to parents and the SENCO, and who records the agreed support?
- Which parts of the plan will be pre-taught or repeated for children who need it (for example vocabulary for the core books)?
- How will you find out about and use children's home languages?

When a practitioner is worried about a child's progress in a prime area, they will [discuss it with the key person / EYFS lead] within [timescale], meet the child's parents or carers to agree support, and involve the SENCO, [name], where a special educational need may be present. Children learning English as an additional language are [how home language is supported]; their English is assessed in English, and their home-language skills are explored with parents before any concern about language delay is raised.

## Assessment points through the year

_Fix when statutory and in-house assessment happens, and keep it proportionate._

**Must include:**

- Assessment should not involve long breaks from interaction with children or require excessive paperwork; practitioners are not required to prove judgements through collecting physical evidence. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 2.2)_
- Ongoing (formative) assessment is integral to learning; there is no requirement to keep written records of it. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 2.5)_
- Practitioners should keep parents and/or carers up to date with their child's progress and development. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 2.3)_
- Settings with two-year-olds: between ages two and three, practitioners must review progress and give parents a short written summary of development in the prime areas, highlighting strengths, areas needing support and any concern about developmental delay, and describing the planned response. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraphs 2.6–2.8)_
- Schools: the Reception Baseline Assessment is a short assessment taken in the first six weeks after a child starts Reception; administration requirements are in Annex B. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraphs 2.11–2.12)_
- The EYFS Profile must be completed for each child in the final term of the year in which they reach age five, and no later than 30 June; each child's development must be assessed against the early learning goals as meeting the expected level or 'emerging'. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraphs 2.13 and 2.15)_
- Development Matters is not designed to be used as a tick list for generating lots of data. _(Development Matters (Sep 2023) — eyfs dfe report sep2023, Section 1, Introduction)_

**Questions to answer:**

- What is the smallest set of in-house assessment points that tells you which children need extra help? Will each one change what you teach?
- When will parents hear about progress (meetings, reports) and in what form?
- When will the team moderate Profile judgements before the 30 June deadline?

Point in year | What | Who | What we do with it
[First six weeks of Reception] | Reception Baseline Assessment (schools) | [Reception teacher] | Statutory; not used to label children
[Half-termly] | Team discussion of children not keeping up in prime areas, phonics and number | [EYFS team] | Adjust teaching; agree extra help; talk to parents
[Autumn / spring] | Parent meetings | [key person / teacher] | Share progress; agree home learning
[Age 2–3] | Progress check at two (settings with two-year-olds) | [key person] | Written summary to parents
[By 30 June] | EYFS Profile against the 17 ELGs | [Reception teacher] | Report to parents and Year 1

## End of Reception: the early learning goals

_Keep the ELGs where the framework puts them — an end-point judgement — rather than turning them into the curriculum._

**Must include:**

- The ELGs define the level of development children should be expected to have reached by the end of the EYFS. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.7)_
- The ELGs should not be used as a curriculum or to limit the wide variety of rich experiences crucial to child development; they support a holistic, best-fit judgement at the end of the EYFS. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraphs 1.8–1.9)_
- Teachers draw on their knowledge of the child and professional judgement; recorded, written or photographic evidence is not required. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.11)_
- Practitioners working with children below Reception age do not need to use the ELGs. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 1.10)_
- There are 17 ELGs: Listening, Attention and Understanding; Speaking; Self-Regulation; Managing Self; Building Relationships; Gross Motor Skills; Fine Motor Skills; Comprehension; Word Reading; Writing; Number; Numerical Patterns; Past and Present; People, Culture and Communities; The Natural World; Creating with Materials; Being Imaginative and Expressive. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Section 1, Early Learning Goals (after paragraph 1.11))_

**Questions to answer:**

- Working back from the ELGs, what must children have learnt by the end of each term so the summer judgement is not a surprise?
- Which ELGs have historically had the most children 'emerging' in your school, and what does the plan change as a result?

We use the early learning goals only at the end of Reception, to make a best-fit judgement for each child. Our curriculum is broader than the ELGs. During the year we check progress against our own sequenced curriculum (above), not against ELG statements.

## Transition to Year 1

_Plan how information and learning continue into Key Stage 1._

**Must include:**

- Assessment should inform an ongoing dialogue between practitioners and Year 1 teachers about each child, to support a successful transition to Key Stage 1. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 2.4)_
- Year 1 teachers must be given a copy of the Profile report. Reception teachers may add a short commentary on each child's characteristics of effective teaching and learning to inform planning in Year 1. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 2.16)_
- Profile results must be shared with parents and/or carers, with an explanation of when and how they can discuss them with the practitioner who completed it. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 2.17)_
- If a child moves setting during the year, the original setting must send its assessment against the ELGs to the relevant school within 15 days of a request. _(EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025), Paragraph 2.17)_

**Questions to answer:**

- When will Reception and Year 1 teachers meet, and what will they discuss beyond the Profile outcomes?
- Which routines, resources or ways of learning from Reception will continue in the first weeks of Year 1?
- How will children who were 'emerging' in phonics, number or communication be picked up in Year 1?

In [month], the Reception and Year 1 teachers will meet to discuss each child. Year 1 receives the Profile report [and a short commentary on each child's characteristics of effective learning]. Parents receive Profile results with [the end-of-year report] and are invited to [meeting / conversation] by [date]. In the first [number] weeks of Year 1 we keep [routines / continuous provision / phonics groupings] to help children settle.

## Checklist

- [ ] Each of the seven areas has planned content for every term, with prime areas prioritised for younger children.
- [ ] Core books, rhymes, experiences and vocabulary are planned for every half-term, not left to chance.
- [ ] The ELGs are used only for the end-of-Reception judgement, not as the curriculum or a tracking grid.
- [ ] The assessment calendar includes the Reception Baseline (schools, first six weeks) and the EYFS Profile (by 30 June).
- [ ] Settings with two-year-olds have a process for the progress check at two, agreed with parents.
- [ ] In-house assessment has been cut to what changes teaching; no evidence is collected only to 'prove' judgements.
- [ ] Year 1 teachers receive the Profile report and a transition meeting is booked.
- [ ] The plan has been checked against the current statutory framework on GOV.UK this year.

## Watch out

- Version: this template follows the group and school-based providers framework dated 14 July 2025, effective 1 September 2025. As of 2026-10-04, check GOV.UK for any later version before relying on paragraph numbers.
- Childminders have a separate EYFS statutory framework; use that one if you are a childminder.
- Development Matters (revised September 2023) is non-statutory. Ofsted will not take it into account, and the framework says it is up to providers to decide how they deliver the learning and development requirements (paragraph 1.20). Check whether a newer revision has been published.
- Do not turn Development Matters statements or the ELGs into a tick list or tracker. Both documents warn against it, and the framework says no written, recorded or photographic evidence is needed for ELG judgements.
- The EYFS Profile deadline is 30 June. The DfE EYFS Profile handbook is updated each year; read the current year's edition before making and moderating judgements.
- The Reception Baseline Assessment applies only to school Reception classes; its rules are in Annex B of the framework.
- A child who stays in EYFS provision beyond the year they turn five is an exceptional case with its own Profile rules (paragraphs 2.18–2.19) — agree it with parents and discuss with the local authority before the cohort's Profile is completed.

## Based on

- EYFS statutory framework (group/school providers, Sept 2025) — The seven areas of learning, educational programmes, early learning goals, characteristics of effective teaching and learning, and the assessment requirements (progress check at two, Reception Baseline, EYFS Profile).
- Development Matters (Sep 2023) — eyfs dfe report sep2023 — Non-statutory guidance on curriculum design, sequencing, assessment without tick lists, and Reception-stage examples (for instance, decodable reading books).
- Development Matters (Sep 2023) — eyfs — Accessible web version of the same Development Matters guidance.

Source: UK Curriculum Digital Centre, iFairy CIC — /v2/templates/eyfs-long-term-plan