DfE confirms EYFSP publication date

It has confirmed that the latest EYFS Profile statistics results for the 2018 to 2019 academic year, at national and local authority level will be published on 17 October.

The DfE had asked for views on moving to a single annual release of the EYFSP statistics from November 2019.

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However, following feedback, the DfE said it had decided to continue releasing the data in mid-October, in the same format as previous years.

In a statement on the website the department said, ‘After considering your feedback, we have decided to continue releasing the main figures in mid-October in 2019, in the same format as in previous years.

‘Users saw the benefit of combining the publications into a single release, around the coherence of the statistics and having all of the information available at the same time. However, the importance of the timing to users was the key determinant in our decision to keep the October release, in particular so that local authorities can benchmark and target interventions early in the academic year.’

At the end of November, the DfE is planning to release the characteristics statistics in the department’s new Explore Education Statistics dissemination platform.

EYFSP data collection 2020

The DfE is also asking for views on closing the EYFSP data collection on the last working day in July, instead of the first week in September, stating that it already authorises 85 per cent of returns by the end of July.

‘Making this change to the data collection closure data will enable us to publish both headline figures and the characteristics breakdowns as a single release in the new platform
in October 2020.'

Looking further ahead, the DfE will implement the new EYFSP under the revised EYFS in September 2021.

• Feedback can be sent to EarlyYears. STATISTICS@education.gov.uk by 9 October. The DfE said it plans to confirm the 2020 EYFSP data collection closure date by mid-December 2019.