Milestone Assessment Toolkit (MAT)
How to access the Milestone Assessment Toolkit (MAT)Kent settings can access the MAT free of charge. All Kent setting accounts have been updated to access KCC funded training and products without using a code. In order to access this product please log in to your Education People account and search for the product you need, select ‘buy now’ and this will add the product to your basket. Go to your basket and select ‘check out’ once you get to the step 2 section and this should change to £0.00. Please contact threadsofsuccess@theeducationpeople.org if you have any problems accessing this for free. Once you have completed 'purchase', the product will be available to download. The MAT is available for purchase for settings outside Kent. See The Education People website for details. Training for Milestone Assessment Toolkit (MAT)See The Education People website for details of training available to support MAT. |
The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) states that:
'Assessment plays an important part in helping parents, carers and practitioners to recognise children’s progress, understand their needs, and to plan activities and support’. (2021, p18, 2.1)
Aim of MAT
The aim of the toolkit is to establish children’s starting points and to strengthen the early identification process to ensure that all children can flourish.
The MAT will:
- enable you to meet the requirement within the EYFS (2021) and SEND code of practice (2015)
- ensure a standardised approach to assessment
- assist with the monitoring of children’s progress
- identify when a child is not on track towards the ELGs
- support with implementing the Kent Graduated Approach
- link with Kent documentation such as transition, the Progress Check at Age Two, and Early Years Local Inclusion Forum Team (LIFT) paperwork.
Two key elements
- Milestone Assessment Documentation
- Milestone Assessment Tool - electronic programme
Milestone Assessment Documentation
Milestone Assessment Documents:
- provide a clear and simple criterion to enable the key person to make an accurate assessment about the level of learning and development at each milestone.
- are divided into each area of learning and development and broken down further into the Early Learning Goal headings.
The milestones at each 12-month checkpoint enable the key person to map the child’s learning and development journey to ensure that they are ‘on track’ at each point. If not, the Graduated Approach should be actioned to ensure that children at risk of delay, with emerging SEN or in need of any additional support, are identified early.
Early years practitioners can use a range of non-statutory child development guidance and documentation to support them in their delivery of the EYFS learning and development requirements. The milestone assessment checkpoints have been collated from this range of guidance and are mapped back from the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) for each area of learning and development within the EYFS 2021.
Milestone Assessment Tool - electronic programme
The Milestone Assessment Tool builds on the paper documentation and pulls together all the relevant information to ensure that children’s needs are met in a timely manner. It is designed to support in making quick, accurate assessments to decide if children are on track towards the ELGs or if there are concerns around their development.
The Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years (January 2015) valid from 1 April 2015 states that:
‘Providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEN or disabilities. These arrangements should include a clear approach to identifying and responding to SEN’. (2015 p79,5.4)
The Milestone Assessment Tool should be used for all children but also affords the opportunity for information regarding children on targeted and personalised support to be collated. In this way it will enable you to identify any concerns or emerging Special Educational Needs or Disabilities early, demonstrate the support provided, and track the child through the graduated approach.
My Unique Progress
The Kent My Unique Progress format is now part of the MAT. This format will enable the key person to collate all the relevant information required.