Nursery World - Setting up children to fail in maths?

A recent report in the education press claimed 'yet another year of improvement across the board' following the Government's release of the EYFS results for last year. What was not mentioned was the fundamental change to the 'expected standard' for five year olds in mathematics with the new EYFS which became statutory in September.

Reception teachers who are grappling with the new raised expectations for mathematics may wish to know that they are unlikely to be successful. The new Early Learning Goal for Number, to be achieved at the end of the Reception year, includes being able to add and subtract and ‘count on or back to find the answer’ as well as ‘to solve problems including doubling’. These skills were previously expected only at the top level of the Foundation Stage Profile, which was achieved by just 7 per cent of reception children, according to the DfE’s own statistics (‘Calculating’, scale point 9; Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Results In England, 2011/12: Statistical First Release).

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