How confident are you that your behaviour, attitudes and routines provision would stand up to Ofsted scrutiny?
This self-evaluation quiz uses the 11 factors the Early Years Inspection Toolkit identifies as contributing most strongly to this evaluation area, giving you and your team a clear, evidence-based score to work from.
Work through each of the 11 non-negotiables, select the statement that most closely reflects your nursery right now and tally your score at the end.
The 11 EYFS Behaviour non-negotiables
The 11 non-negotiables in this article are drawn directly from the Early Years Inspection Toolkit where the factors that contribute to effective provision are shared.
Before we get to the scoring quiz, a refresher on what Ofsted says about the evaluation area of EYFS behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines.
1. A behaviour policy that’s used every day
Your policy should cover expectations for behaviour, attitudes to learning and healthy routines, not lean towards being a description of sanctions. Strong settings have a policy practitioners can explain confidently and use consistently to help them navigate challenging behaviours.
2. Strong key person arrangements
Warm, positive relationships and effective key worker arrangements are central to children’s feelings of security and character development. The system needs to work when a key person is absent, not just when everything is running smoothly.
3. Intentional teaching of self-regulation
Purposefully developing age-appropriate skills in executive function, including self-regulation, cooperation, sharing, listening and ability to manage conflicts should be evident through how your practitioners model and scaffold learning opportunities.
4. Consistent high expectations across the whole setting
High expectations for behaviour, attitudes and routines must be embodied in every practitioner’s day-to-day interactions (particularly for children identified as vulnerable).
5. Staff CPD and practitioner confidence
Professional learning in this area needs to be planned, bespoke to your setting’s needs and evaluated for impact, not covered at induction and revisited only when behaviour concerns arise.
6. Proactive attendance monitoring
Settings must track, monitor and evaluate attendance and identify reasons for poor or irregular patterns (particularly for disadvantaged children and those with SEND).
7. Meaningful parental partnerships
The toolkit identifies settings working with parents to establish routines and promote attendance as a key factor, so that children form good habits for future learning.
Parent partnerships in this area should be proactive and consistent helping to build healthy routines from the start.
8. High expectations for disadvantaged and vulnerable children
High expectations apply to every child, with support adjusted to reduce barriers, never expectations lowered to match them.
9. Strategic use of data and tracking
Data should inform strategic planning across all seven areas of learning, helping leaders anticipate and address poor attitudes to learning and routines before they become habitual.
10. Transition planning with school-readiness in mind
Ofsted are looking to see how you ensure your children are school-ready. Using frameworks to support how your team prepares your children for the next stage of learning is a sign of strong provision.
Transitions should be well prepared and include a clear picture of each child’s development, behaviour, attitudes and routines, not focus only on learning outcomes.
11. A positive, inclusive culture underpinned by British Values
Fundamental British values should be visible in every aspect of nursery life. Showing children that inclusion and respect are essential for how we live together.
The Behaviour, Attitudes and Establishing Routines Scoring Tool
How to use this self-audit quiz: For each of the 11 areas, select the statement that most closely reflects where your nursery is right now. Use this as a first-step tool for nursery improvement and tally your score at the end to see where to focus next.
