The EYFS Statutory Framework from September 2026: Ratios, Qualifications and What Changed

There are two Early Years Foundation Stage statutory frameworks in England, not one, and both were replaced on 1 September 2026. If your policies cite a single framework, or a 2023 or 2025 version, they are out of date.

This guide sets out the current structure, the ratios and qualification conditions paragraph by paragraph, the training obligations, and what changed in September 2026.

Which document applies to you

Both frameworks are made under the Childcare Act 2006, both are dated 13 July 2026, and both came into force on 1 September 2026:

• Early years foundation stage statutory framework — for group and school-based providers
• Early years foundation stage statutory framework — for childminders

They share the strapline "Setting the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five". The split into two documents happened in December 2023, with providers told to use them from 4 January 2024, so a single combined framework is now two versions out of date.

Each has three sections: Section 1, the learning and development requirements, at paragraphs 1.1 to 1.20; Section 2, assessment, at paragraphs 2.1 to 2.21; and Section 3, the safeguarding and welfare requirements, at paragraphs 3.1 to 3.82.

What changed for September 2026

Eight changes, per the Department for Education:

• Explicit safer sleep requirements moved into the main body of the framework.
• Banned dog breeds — registered childcare cannot be provided from premises where a banned breed is kept or present.
• Reporting allegations: providers must report allegations of harm, not only serious harm, to Ofsted or their childminder agency.
• Criminal records checks — enhanced checks are now required for volunteers, and new employees cannot start before the check is received.
• Amended requirements on what staff must disclose about their suitability.
• Household changes — in the group and school-based version, childcare on domestic premises must notify Ofsted or the agency of changes to people aged 16 or over living or working there.
• Providers must have regard to the screen use guidance for early years settings.
• Minor clarificatory changes.

From the same date, nannies cannot take a banned dog breed onto premises, and the early years qualifications document was updated to clarify Level 2 English requirements.

The seven areas of learning

Paragraph 1.4 states that there are seven areas of learning and development that set out what providers must teach, expressed as educational programmes — high-level curriculum summaries rather than a prescribed curriculum.

The three prime areas, at paragraph 1.5 of the group and school-based framework, are communication and language; physical development; and personal, social and emotional development.

The four specific areas, at paragraph 1.6, are literacy; mathematics; understanding the world; and expressive arts and design.

In the childminder framework the same lists sit at paragraphs 1.4 and 1.5. The early learning goals follow at paragraphs 1.7 to 1.11 with the goal tables.

The two assessment points

The progress check at age two sits at paragraphs 2.6 to 2.10. When a child is aged between two and three, practitioners must provide parents and carers with a short written summary of development in the prime areas. Beyond the prime areas it is for practitioners to decide what the summary includes. It must highlight areas in which a child is progressing well and describe the activities and strategies the provider intends to adopt. Practitioners should encourage parents and carers to share the check with other relevant professionals including the health visitor, and providers must have parental consent to share information directly.

The EYFS Profile sits at paragraphs 2.13 to 2.20. It is completed in the final term of the academic year in which the child reaches age five, and no later than 30 June in that term. Each child’s level of development must be assessed against the early learning goals, with practitioners noting whether children are meeting expected levels or are not yet reaching them, described as "emerging". Year 1 teachers must be given a copy of the Profile report, results must be shared with parents and carers, and the Profile must be completed for all children including those with special educational needs or disabilities.

Staff-to-child ratios, group and school-based

Paragraph 3.47 sets the framing rule, and it is the one most often misapplied: ratios apply to the total staff available to work directly with children across the whole provision, not per room. They may be adjusted in exceptional cases if care and safety are maintained, and overnight settings must always have at least one member of staff awake.

The ratios, with the qualification conditions that sit in the same paragraphs:

• Under two — paragraph 3.48 — one member of staff for every three children. At least one member of staff must hold an approved Level 3 qualification, or approved experience-based route status, with suitable experience of working with children under two. At least half of all other staff must hold a Level 2 qualification. At least half of all staff must have training in the care of babies. The person in charge of the under-twos room must have suitable experience, judged by the provider.
• Two-year-olds — paragraph 3.49 — one member of staff for every five children. At least one must hold a Level 3 qualification, and at least half of all other staff a Level 2.
• Three and over, registered early years provision, with a qualified teacher working directly with the children — paragraph 3.50 — one to thirteen, with at least one other member of staff at Level 3.
• Three and over, registered early years provision, without such a teacher — paragraph 3.51 — one to eight, with at least one other member of staff at Level 3 and half of other staff at Level 2.
• Three and over, independent schools including nursery classes, with a qualified teacher, instructor or suitably qualified overseas trained teacher working directly with the children — paragraph 3.52 — one to thirty where the majority of children reach age five or older during the school year, and one to thirteen in all other classes, with at least one other member of staff at Level 3 for the one-to-thirteen classes.
• Three and over, independent schools, without such a teacher present — paragraph 3.53 — one to eight, with at least one member of staff at Level 3 and half of other staff at Level 2.
• Three and over, maintained nursery schools and maintained school nursery classes — paragraph 3.54 — one to thirteen, with at least one school teacher plus at least one other member of staff at Level 3.

Reception classes in maintained schools and academies are governed by paragraph 3.55 and the infant class size limit of 30 pupils per school teacher; teaching assistants and other support staff do not count as school teachers. Paragraph 3.56 allows schools to mix reception with younger children, with ratios then set within the mixed group.

Paragraph 3.57 is the one that catches settings relying on students. Under-17s cannot be counted in ratios, except apprentices from age 16. Students and long-term volunteers aged 17 and over, and apprentices aged 16 and over, may be counted one level below their level of study — but only if they are suitable, competent and responsible, and hold a valid paediatric first aid qualification. Under-17s must never care for children unsupervised.

Paragraph 3.58 covers before and after school and holiday care for children in reception or older: staffing must be sufficient for a class of 30, with providers determining exact numbers and qualifications. Paragraph 3.44 sets the supervision baseline: children must always be within sight or hearing of staff, and usually within sight and hearing.

Qualification requirements

Paragraph 3.45 requires the manager to hold an approved qualification at Level 3 or above, and at least half of all other staff to hold at least an approved Level 2. Managers appointed on or after 4 January 2024 must hold a suitable Level 2 maths qualification or achieve one within two years of starting. Managers should have about two years of relevant experience, and a named deputy must be in place.

Paragraph 3.46 requires Early Years Educators and staff counted through the experience-based route to hold a suitable Level 2 English qualification to count at Level 3.

Safeguarding training: the two-year renewal

Paragraph 3.4 requires that in every setting a practitioner is designated to take lead responsibility for safeguarding children, liaising with local statutory children’s services and the Local Safeguarding Partners. Our guide to designated safeguarding lead training requirements covers that role in more detail.

Paragraph 3.31 requires that all practitioners are trained in line with the criteria set out in Annex C. Paragraph 3.32 requires the designated safeguarding lead to attend a training course consistent with those criteria. And paragraph 3.33 sets the interval: training must be renewed every two years, with annual refresher training optional.

Two years is shorter than the three-year refresher common in adult social care, and it applies to all practitioners rather than only the lead. Our guides to safeguarding children and to Keeping Children Safe in Education cover the content, though the statutory source for early years is Annex C of the framework itself. Settings in Ireland work to a different regime, covered in our guide to Children First training.

Paragraph 3.42 requires that each child is assigned a key person.

Suitability and criminal records checks

Paragraph 3.13 requires providers to ensure that people looking after children are suitable. Paragraph 3.15 requires group and school-based providers to obtain an enhanced criminal records check and barred list check for every person aged 16 and over. Paragraph 3.17 — tightened in the September 2026 version — prohibits allowing individuals to begin working or volunteering until the enhanced check and barred list check have been received. Paragraph 3.19 requires a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service if a member of staff is dismissed for harming a child or putting a child at risk of harm.

Volunteers are now expressly inside the enhanced check requirement, which is a change worth checking against your recruitment process. Our guide to safeguarding training for volunteers and employers covers the wider position.

Paediatric first aid

Paragraph 3.37 requires at least one person with a current paediatric first aid certificate on the premises, and that person must also accompany children on outings. The certificate must be for a full course consistent with the criteria in Annex A, and training must be renewed every three years and be relevant for people caring for young children and babies.

Paragraph 3.39 adds a deadline: all staff who obtained a Level 2 or Level 3 qualification since 30 June 2016 must obtain a paediatric first aid qualification within three months of starting work. Staff counted at Level 3 through the experience-based route must obtain it before they count in ratios.

Paediatric first aid is a distinct regime from first aid at work, which is covered in our workplace first aid training guide — a first aid at work certificate does not satisfy the EYFS requirement.

Frequently asked questions

Which EYFS framework is current?

The versions dated 13 July 2026, in force from 1 September 2026 — one for group and school-based providers and one for childminders.

What is the ratio for two-year-olds?

One member of staff for every five children, under paragraph 3.49. It changed from one to four in the 2023 version.

Do ratios apply per room?

No. Paragraph 3.47 applies them to the total staff available to work directly with children across the whole provision.

How often must safeguarding training be renewed?

Every two years, under paragraph 3.33, with annual refresher training optional.

Can a student count in ratios?

A student or long-term volunteer aged 17 or over, or an apprentice aged 16 or over, may be counted one level below their level of study if suitable, competent and responsible and holding a valid paediatric first aid qualification.

Can a new employee start before their DBS check comes back?

No. Paragraph 3.17 prohibits it, and from September 2026 enhanced checks are also required for volunteers.

A note on what we did not verify

Two things, stated plainly rather than guessed. The substance of the Annex C safeguarding training criteria was not something we could read in full, so take the content requirements from the framework itself before writing a training specification. And the framework does not state a total number of early learning goals — counts circulating online are tallies rather than a figure the Department publishes.

Where training fits

The EYFS sets three hard training obligations: safeguarding for all practitioners renewed every two years, a designated lead on a course meeting Annex C, and paediatric first aid held by at least one person on the premises and renewed every three years. Everything else is a qualification condition attached to a ratio.

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