Making Exemptions from EYFS &
Disapplication at KS1
Guidance for Schools & Settings
The guidance in this document reflects the current requirements for EYFS as
outlined in the Child Care Act 2006 and the current requirements for KS1 as
outlined in the 2011 Assessment and Reporting Arrangements.
The guidance within this document is reproduced partially or fully from
sections within:
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Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage (2008)
Early years foundation stage profile handbook (2008)
Assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA) 2011
Guidance on completing a notification of disapplication from teacher
assessment (QCDA 2010)
Notification of disapplication from teacher assessment (QCDA 2010)
Guidance on exemptions from EYFS
The statutory part of the EYFS is made up of learning and development
requirements and welfare requirements. The Childcare Act 2006 provides for
the Secretary of State to grant exemptions to providers from all or part of the
learning and development requirements set out in the EYFS, in certain
circumstances. The regulations also allow providers to grant exemptions for
individual children from all or part of the learning and development
requirements, in certain circumstances.
The Act does not allow exemptions from the welfare requirements of the
EYFS, as they deal with child safety.
The EYFS learning and development requirements comprise the following
three parts.
1. Educational programmes show the main ways children develop within each
area of learning. Providers must support children in acquiring the
matters, skills and processes described in these programmes. Providers
are required to support children in these areas, but the approach and the
pace at which they do so is up to their professional judgement on a
case-by-case basis with each child.
2. Early learning goals are developmental milestones demonstrating the
knowledge, skills and understanding that most, though not all, young
children should be able to achieve by the end of the academic year in
which they turn five. Children are not required to achieve these
milestones, and it is a matter of professional judgement how children
should be supported towards them.
3. Assessment arrangements in the EYFS take place through observation of
day-to-day activities – there is no testing. During the year children turn
five, providers record their observations on the EYFS profile and give
these to the local authority, who use the information to understand how
children in the area are developing, and to personalise the support they
offer to providers, schools and families. While good practice calls for
providers to observe regularly the children’s development, they are not
formally required to make any written records before the EYFS profile.
All providers across the maintained, private, voluntary and independent
sectors, including day nurseries, childminders, playgroups, children's centres,
pre-school and maintained and independent schools must deliver the EYFS
from September 2008.
The EYFS is a flexible and inclusive framework designed to meet the needs of
individual children, including children with learning difficulties and disabilities,
and the many different approaches used by early year’s providers.
It offers flexibility for providers to make professional judgements about the
pace at which individual children should progress and does not seek to set or
standardise day-to-day practice across settings. Therefore, exemptions
should rarely be needed and should only be granted in exceptional
circumstances.
The government has committed to reviewing the EYFS in 2010. This review
will look at the whole content of the EYFS, including the approach to
exemptions. Because of this upcoming review, the maximum duration of an
exemption is two years, although in some cases it may be less.
What exemptions are available for an individual child?
Parents can apply for exemption for their child if they feel that the learning and
development requirements of the EYFS, or some element(s) of it, conflict with
their religious or philosophical convictions.
The parent must apply to the provider whose setting their child attends or will
attend. The provider ultimately decides whether to grant an exemption.
Exemptions can be granted when applications:
• seek to modify the educational programmes in the EYFS
• seek modifications or exemptions from individual early learning goals
• seek modifications or exemptions from the assessment arrangements. In
this case, providers should still conduct observational assessment of
children’s development as they normally would and plan accordingly.
The provider may receive exemption from the requirement to complete
and submit the EYFS profile.
Guidance for Schools and Settings
If a parent applies for an exemption from elements of the EYFS requirements
for an individual child, you must consult the local authority. You should send a
written request for advice to the local authority, explaining why the exemption
has been sought, your view on whether you should grant the exemption and
whether you think you can accommodate the parent’s religious or
philosophical convictions within your setting’s practice if an exemption is
granted.
The local authority will provide you with a response stating whether it agrees
that an exemption should be granted and whether it will continue to fund the
free early education entitlement to the child.
As the provider, you must decide whether to grant an exemption. While you
are required to consult the local authority and should consider its advice, you
are not obliged to follow it. If you do not wish or feel unable to alter the
provision made for that child, you can refuse to do so and ask the parent
either to accept the provision as it stands or to seek an alternative provider.
Providers can only grant exemptions for a maximum of 12 months. Parents
may submit a new application for exemption at the end of this period.
However, it is important to recognise that it is possible that an exemption may
no longer be required, for instance because the parents’ views have changed
or because they may no longer feel it is necessary as the child grows older.
If you decide to exempt a specific child, you must inform your local authority of
your decision, detailing from which elements of the EYFS learning and
development requirements you are granting exemption and the nature of the
exemption. You must also provide written confirmation to the parent.
Exemptions should be backdated to start on the day that the parent submitted
the written application. You should retain any paperwork associated with the
exemption.
On inspection, the onus will be on providers to show Ofsted inspectors that
any exemptions have been properly granted. Ofsted may ask to see:
• the application letter from the child’s parent, together with copies of any
correspondence and notes of discussions with the parent about the
exemption
• full records of the provider’s consultation (copies of letters and notes of
discussions) with the local authority, as well as the notification of the
local authority's decision
Guidance on disapplication from KS1 Assessments
Where a child has been disapplied from all or part of the national curriculum,
D should be recorded for those parts of the statutory assessment
arrangements that are included in the disapplication.
Children who are not physically able to write and can only dictate their writing
to a scribe should not have a teacher assessment for writing and should be
recorded as D.
Schools should write a short report, setting out the reasons why a teacher
assessment will not be made. A copy of the report should be sent to:
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the child’s parents or persons with parental responsibility, who should
be given an opportunity to discuss the report. Where a headteacher
believes that parents or persons with parental responsibility may have
difficulty in understanding the report, they should offer appropriate
assistance, for example by providing an interpretation or translation of
the documents, or arranging to discuss them with the parents or
persons with parental responsibility
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the chair of the governing body
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the local authority assessment coordinator.
A copy should also be placed on the child’s educational record. Schools could
use the Notification of disapplication from teacher assessment at key stage 1
form in order to complete this exercise.
A copy of the form is reproduced below and available on the QCDA website at
www.qcda.gov.uk/accessarrangements
Key stage 1 notification of
disapplication from teacher
assessment
Please ensure that you have read the Guidance on completing a notification
of disapplication from teacher assessment before completing this form.
Name of school
DfE number
Child's
surname
/
Child's first
name
Reason for disapplication
Headteacher's
signature
Headteacher's name
Copy to
Date
Child’s parents, carers or guardians
Chair of school’s governing body
Local authority assessment coordinator
Child’s educational record
Before completing the notification form
Please ensure that you refer to section 4.5 ‘Children for whom the school is
unable to make a teacher assessment’ of the 2011 key stage 1 Assessment
and reporting arrangements (ARA).
Notes on completing the form
The key stage 1 Notification of disapplication from teacher assessment form is
provided to assist schools in recording details for children who have been
disapplied from teacher assessment in one or more attainment
targets.
Disapplication from teacher assessment is very rare and schools should
discuss decisions about possible disapplication with their local authority
assessment coordinator before completing the notification form.
It is more likely that a child will be unable to access individual tasks or tests
but their teacher is still able to make a teacher assessment. In this case,
teachers need to write a report indicating why the child cannot be
entered for some or all of the tasks or tests, as outlined in ‘Assessing children
working at level 1 or above, but unable to access tasks and tests’ on page 5 in
the key stage 1 Assessment and reporting arrangements: further guidance
and information document.
Teachers may wish to use the key stage 1 Notification of a child working at
the level of the tests but unable to access them form as the template for their
report.
The forms referenced above are available in the ‘Access arrangements’
section of the QCDA website at www.qcda.gov.uk/accessarrangements.
Further Guidance
Schools should provide a brief explanation on the notification form, setting out
the reasons why the child is being disapplied from teacher assessment. The
explanation should:
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include a brief description of the child’s present circumstances
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refer to any action already taken, or special support already offered,
any procedures the school has used to analyse and monitor the child’s
needs, or if this information is documented elsewhere, indicate where it
can be found
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indicate whether these circumstances are likely to be short or long term
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refer to discussions with the child’s teachers and parents or persons
with parental responsibility
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refer to any consultations with educational psychologists, medical
officers or other specialist staff, where appropriate.
Children who have been disapplied from teacher assessment should be
recorded as D for the appropriate attainment targets in your school’s
management information system.
Next Steps
The completed report should then be circulated to child’s parents, carers or
guardians, chair of school’s governing body and the local authority
assessment coordinator A copy she also placed with the child’s educational
record