Baseline Observations

A Baseline observation, sometimes referred to as an ‘On-Entry’ observation, creates a starting point which you can use to accurately track each child’s development during their time at your setting.

A Baseline observation should be completed during the first few weeks of a child starting at your setting to ensure their development is tracked accurately. A Baseline observation can only be completed once for each child; however, you will be able to re-do a baseline when upgrading to the updated EYFS 2021 curriculum.

The Baseline observation allows you to quickly select the level and age band a child is working at for each area of the EYFS curriculum. 

To create a Baseline observation, do the following:

1.  On the Observations Menu, create a new observation, select the child you wish to record a baseline for and click/tap on the 'Save' button.
    Refer to Selecting Children for an Observation for help with this. 
    This will open the Observation form.
2.  Select the Baseline observation date; the field will automatically show today's date but you can backdate the observation if necessary.
   
3.  Select 'Baseline Observation' as the observation type:
   
   
   
   
4.  Enter a description of the child's current developmental stage within the observation text box. This field can be left blank if you wish.
   
5.  In the 'Upload Evidence' section you are able to attach any files related to the child's progress; this is particularly useful if the child was previously attending another setting or to show their progress on the previous EYFS guidance:
   
   
   
   
6.  Click/tap on the 'Save and Continue' button to load the next section of the Observation form.
   
7.  For each EYFS area choose whether the child is emerging 'E', developing 'D' or secure 'S' in each age band. If a child has not reached a particular age band yet you do not need to select the 'E', 'D', or 'S' buttons. For example: 
   
   
   
   If you have recorded any observations prior to creating a Baseline, you will see an alert explaining that some of the levels have been pre-filled based on the EYFS levels you set in those observations.
   
   
8. If you have observed a child working at a mixture of levels within an age band (e.g. they are developing in some skills but emerging in others) you can refine the Baseline to create a more accurate starting point by clicking/tapping on the  button for an EYFS area. This will open the 'Refine' window:
   
   
   
   
9. Click/tap on the age band you wish to refine; the selected age band will expand to reveal each of the development matter statements:
   
   
   
   
10.  For each development matter choose whether the child is emerging 'E', developing 'D' or secure 'S'. If you have not observed the child demonstrating one or more of the matters you do not need to select the 'E', 'D', 'S' buttons.
    
11.  Repeat step 10 for all applicable age bands for the selected EYFS area and then click/tap on the 'Apply' button.
    
12.  You will see a numbered badge overlay the 'E', 'D', 'S' buttons to show that you have refined the observation for a particular age band; the badges show the number of development matter statements observed at each level. For example:
    
    
    
    
13.  Once you have finished assigning levels to each EYFS area / age band you can complete the observation by clicking/tapping on the arrow next to the 'Save and Continue' button and choosing the 'Complete Observation' option:
    
    Alternatively, you can create a draft, which you can finish later, by choosing the 'Save as Draft' option, or you can continue through the remaining stages of the form to enter the child's Characteristics of Effective Learning, set their levels of Wellbeing and Involvement, and create their next steps.

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