Enter EYFS profile results

The EYFS profile records whether each child has reached the expected level in the 17 early learning goals (ELGs) by the end of reception. Enter the results on the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) page in the summer term, once the profile is complete.

Before you start

You need:

• an edit role, such as Full Edit or Partial Edit
• each child’s completed profile, and the date it was completed

Stand-alone schools that have entered the profile in their management information system (MIS) can import the results with a common transfer file (CTF) instead. See Import and export statutory data.

What the profile records

The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) sets the rules in its EYFS profile handbook on GOV.UK. It says that:

• each child is judged against every ELG as expected or emerging
• the profile must be completed, and the results submitted to the local authority, no later than 30 June
• a good level of development (GLD) means the expected level in every ELG for the three prime areas, literacy and mathematics

These are the 17 goals, and the 12 that count towards GLD:

Area of learning	Early learning goals	Counts towards GLD
Communication and Language	Listening, Attention and Understanding; Speaking	Yes
Personal, Social and Emotional Development	Self-Regulation; Managing Self; Building Relationships	Yes
Physical Development	Gross Motor Skills; Fine Motor Skills	Yes
Literacy	Comprehension; Word Reading; Writing	Yes
Mathematics	Number; Numerical Patterns	Yes
Understanding the World	Past and Present; People, Culture and Communities; The Natural World	No
Expressive Arts and Design	Creating with Materials; Being Imaginative and Expressive	No

The codes

In Sonar you record each ELG with a code:

Code	Meaning in Sonar’s Information key
1	Emerging
2	Expected
A	Unable to assess, or exemption applies

Warning

STA’s rule for A is narrower than Sonar’s key. Use A only for a child with an individual exemption on religious or philosophical grounds, and only for the goals they are exempt from. Children with SEND are not exempt. A child you could not fully assess, for example after a long absence or a late start, is recorded as emerging (1). The handbook says a school that submits A for any other reason is not meeting the statutory requirements.

Select Information to see the three codes.

Enter the results

1. Go to Assessments.
2. In the Statutory Assessments card, select Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP).
3. In the Select Pupils box, choose Reception from the Year Group list.
4. Select Open Assessment.
5. Select Edit Assessment.
6. In Assessment Date, enter the date the profile was completed.
7. Select Start Editing.
8. Select a child’s cell under a goal, then choose 1, 2 or A.

Each result saves as soon as you choose it. You can also type the code into the cell.

Choose 1, 2 or A for each goal.

The page opens with all seven areas of learning, shown as 7 Selected. To work on fewer goals at a time, open that list and untick the areas you do not need.

Choose a date Sonar accepts

Sonar does not save a result whose date it cannot accept. Instead it shows a message such as Error: Result date 2027-07-31 is not valid, with a red label under the cell. To fix it:

1. Select Change Assessment Date.
2. Enter the date the profile was completed, in the summer term of the child’s reception year.
3. Select Start Editing.
4. Enter the result again.

The date Sonar suggests when you start editing may not be one it accepts, so check it before you enter anything. If the completion date is still refused, contact support.

Summative judgements and ELG results

ELG results are the statutory outcome, entered once at the end of reception. They are separate from the summative judgements, such as Just At, that you make through the year on EYFS Summative Assessment (New). Neither fills in the other: a child judged Securely At in every area at summer 2 still needs a result for each ELG here. See Summative judgements and the EYFS profile.

Where the results appear

ELG results appear in:

• the End of Reception Outcomes report
• the EYFS Profile section of the Statutory Dashboard, which shows Good Level of Development, Achieved All Goals and Average Number of Goals
• the reception columns of the Primary Flight Path report, such as ELG Word Reading and GLD
• the EYFS GLD column of the Primary Triangulation of Data Analysis report
• the Triangulate panel on the primary summative page, once the children reach year 1

The Statutory Dashboard refreshes overnight. Its EYFS figures count only children with a result in all 17 ELGs.

Send the results to your local authority

The return to your local authority is a CTF made in your MIS. In a Portal-linked school, results you enter in Sonar pass to Juniper MIS automatically, and you make the return from there.

A stand-alone school exports the results from Sonar with EYFS Profile Data Export, imports the file into its own MIS, then makes the return. The export flags a child who has A for some goals but not all. If a child’s exemption covers only some goals, contact support before you export. See Export a CTF from a stand-alone school.

Good practice

The handbook says the profile needs no written or photographic evidence. Sonar needs only the result for each goal.

If something goes wrong

The message says the result date is not valid. Sonar has not saved the result. See Choose a date Sonar accepts.

A child is missing. New children arrive from your MIS overnight, and leavers are hidden unless you change the Leavers filter. See Include leavers.

Children are missing from the dashboard’s EYFS figures. One missing ELG result leaves a child out. Fill the gaps, then wait for the overnight refresh.

Related pages

• Statutory assessment in Sonar
• Enter EYFS summative judgements
• EYFS Good Level of Development Tracking
• Import and export statutory data