Early learning and childcare quality indicators: Children’s progress

Children’s progress is an HM Inspector quality indicator. There are illustrations of practice and challenge questions below. These can help you to evaluate your current practice and identify areas for growth.

Themes for children's progress

The themes for this quality indicator are:

children’s progress over time
overall quality of children’s achievements
ensuring equity for all children

About this quality indicator

This quality indicator reflects the extent to which children are making meaningful progress in their learning and development over time. It focuses on the holistic nature of children’s learning and development. It ensures these foundations are secure to achieve future success and attainment. It requires a clear and shared understanding of early learning pedagogy and child development, supported by strong pedagogical leadership. It reflects the integrated way children learn and the importance of high-quality interactions, experiences and spaces. It emphasises that high-quality early learning and childcare (ELC) contributes to closing the attainment gap and ensuring equity for all.

This quality indicator has a strong emphasis on the use of data and meaningful evidence to inform future planning and to report to parents/carers about their child’s progress. It recognises the vital role of early learning and childcare in closing the poverty-related attainment gap and ensuring equity for all children.

Illustrations of children's progress over time

'Very good' children's progress over time

Within our setting children make very good progress across almost all aspects of their learning and development as a result of high-quality early learning experiences. From the earliest stages children are becoming increasingly confident, resilient, and independent learners. All children, including those with additional support needs are supported very well to make choices and share their learning and progress in their own individual way.

A strong focus on health and wellbeing enhances children’s learning. Children develop and apply their early language and literacy, numerical and mathematical skills very well across a variety of meaningful play and real-life experiences. Children are confident to try new experiences across the curriculum as they gain knowledge and understanding of their world. They are supported to build on their prior experiences, develop new skills, and positive attitudes to learning.

Our staff make accurate professional judgements about significant learning and children’s progress over time based upon a shared understanding of our robust evidence. Senior leaders play a key role in interpreting and using data with staff to inform future planning to secure positive outcomes for children. We work collaboratively with parents/carers, colleagues, and where appropriate, other professionals to agree and share information about children’s progress.

‘Weak’ children’s progress over time

We do not yet demonstrate a secure understanding of early learning pedagogy or child development. As a result, children do not make sufficient progress across aspects of their learning and development. While some children may show strengths, the experiences provided do not consistently build on prior learning or support sustained progress.

Children are not supported to develop confidence, independence or resilience. We do not consistently use professional judgement or evidence to understand and track children’s progress over time.

Illustrations for overall quality of children’s achievements

'Very good' overall quality of children’s achievements

Children’s individual successes are valued, recognised and celebrated routinely. Families feel empowered to share children’s achievements and successes from outwith the setting. This information is used meaningfully to inform planning, enabling children to build on prior learning and make sustained progress.

Children are successful, confident and responsible learners who contribute effectively to the life of the setting, the wider community, and beyond. Our staff recognise and value all children’s strengths. We use feedback and praise meaningfully to help children recognise and celebrate their achievements. Children are developing and achieve a range of relevant skills and attributes through engaging in a wide range of high-quality experiences across the curriculum.

‘Weak’ overall quality of children’s achievements

Children’s achievements are not consistently recognised, valued or used to inform learning. We do not routinely gather or use information about children’s successes from outwith the setting. As a result, children are not supported to reflect on and celebrate their progress or apply what they have learned. They miss opportunities to develop a strong sense of self, understand their own capabilities, and build on their achievements.

We do not use feedback and praise effectively to help all children recognise what they have achieved or identify next steps in their learning. This limits their motivation, confidence, and ability to contribute meaningfully to the life of the setting or wider community.

Illustrations of ensuring equity for all children

'Very good' ensuring equity for all children

We take very good account of children’s differing learning needs and the cultural, socio-economic and linguistic context in which they live. We use a range of data to enable us to respond sensitively with well-timed support, taking account of individual children and their family circumstances.

Based on robust evidence, we proactively plan and monitor a range of support to reduce and minimise where possible, potential barriers to learning and development. This includes children who are care experienced. We evaluate the impact of strategies to ensure they are leading to improved outcomes for all children.

Our consistent approach informs what needs to happen to ensure children continue to make progress in their learning and development. We work very effectively with partners, including parents/carers, to secure improved outcomes for children.

‘Weak’ ensuring equity for all children

We do not consistently take account of children’s individual needs or the socio-economic, cultural or linguistic context in which they live. Our use of data is not robust enough to identify gaps or inform planning.

We do not demonstrate a clear understanding of how poverty impacts children’s learning and development. As a result, support is not well-targeted or timely, and we do not take effective action to reduce barriers or close the poverty-related attainment gap. Our approach to building and sustaining partnerships with families and professionals is not effective. This limits our ability to improve outcomes for children.

Challenge questions for children’s progress and achievement

The following challenge questions can support your self-evaluation:

How effectively do we build on the skills and experiences children bring from home to ensure they make the best possible progress?
In what ways do we ensure our interactions, experiences and spaces support children to make progress across almost all aspects of their learning
How well do we use assessment information to identify the progress children make over time?
In what ways can we demonstrate children’s achievements, and the range of skills developed as a result of their ELC experience?
How effectively do we share information on children’s progress with families and relevant partner organisations, including colleagues working within and across the early level? How does this ensure children experience continuous and progressive learning?
In what ways do we use contributions about children’s achievements from families? How does this impact positively on children’s progress? How effectively do we gather, analyse, and use data to inform future planning and to ensure equity for all?
In what ways do we work with partners, including parents/carers, to ensure children have an equitable ELC experience? How is this supporting all children to make the best possible progress?