Professional Judgement | EYFS

EYFS definition

Professional judgement is an informed decision that draws on a practitioner’s knowledge, experience and understanding of a particular child or situation. In the EYFS, it helps adults interpret learning, choose appropriate support and decide how to respond in everyday practice.

What informs professional judgement

A practitioner brings together knowledge of child development, the curriculum and the child’s experiences, communication and interests. What they notice in the setting can be considered alongside information from families, colleagues and, where relevant, other professionals.

Guidance and assessment tools can provide a reference point. Their meaning still needs to be interpreted in context: a completed form cannot explain a child’s learning by itself.

Examples in everyday practice

  • Choosing support: an adult notices a toddler trying to join a game and considers whether a modelled phrase, gesture or change to the activity might help.
  • Interpreting an observation: a practitioner checks whether an unfamiliar situation may have affected what a child showed.
  • Planning next: a teacher decides that more time exploring a familiar idea would be useful before introducing something new.

These decisions may be revisited as the adult learns more about the child or sees how the support works.

Making decisions clear and considered

Professional judgement involves being able to explain what informed a decision and remaining open to another perspective. Discussion can help distinguish an observation from an assumption, particularly when children communicate or participate in different ways.

In the EYFS Profile, judgement is applied to the published early learning goals using the current assessment guidance. In everyday assessment, it helps identify what a child knows and what may help next, with recording kept proportionate to its purpose.

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