A free EYFS observation template (and how to use it)

Most EYFS observation templates have too many boxes. Date, time, location, adult-led or child-initiated, area of learning, aspect, age band, statement, characteristic of effective learning, next steps, parent comment, signature. By the time you have filled it in the moment is gone and the child has moved on. The template below has three parts, fits on a sticky note or in a text message, and produces observations that are actually worth reading. Copy it, print it, or type it into whatever you already use.

The template

Child, age:

What I saw:

What it shows:

What next:

That is it. Three prompts under a name. Each one does a specific job.

• What I saw is the facts. Who, what, where, roughly how long, and what the child said in their own words. No judgement, no adjectives like "lovely" or "good".
• What it shows is the learning. Name the area of the EYFS it relates to and say what the child can now do or is trying to do. One sentence is usually enough.
• What next is the one small thing you will do to build on it. A resource, a question, a repeat opportunity, something to tell a parent, something to watch for. If there is no obvious next step, write "nothing yet" and move on; not every moment needs one.

A filled-in example

Child, age: Priya, 2y 4m

What I saw: Spent about five minutes at the water tray pouring from the big jug into a cup, overfilling every time, saying "oh no!" and laughing. Tried once with the small cup as the pourer and it worked.

What it shows: Mathematics and understanding the world. Exploring capacity, starting to anticipate overflow, and experimenting with a different container to change the result.

What next: Smaller jug and a funnel at the tray tomorrow. Use "full", "empty" and "nearly" with her.

Four lines, well under a minute, and in six months it will tell you exactly where Priya was.

A quick version

When you have no time at all, the first two lines are enough: who, and what you saw. Add the rest at nap time if the moment deserves it, or leave it. A photo with one factual line underneath is a complete quick observation for parents, and the "what it shows" is usually obvious to anyone who reads it.

Child, age: Teddy, 13m

What I saw: Pointed at the bin lorry, looked at me, pointed again and said "da!" I said "the lorry" and he said "lo".

What is deliberately missing

The boxes left out of this template were left out on purpose. Here is why.

• Age band. Month-by-month age bands came from the old 2012 Development Matters, which was replaced in 2021. The current Development Matters uses broad ranges instead, and the statutory framework has never required them. Describing what the child did is more useful than placing them in a band.
• Statement reference. There is no requirement to match observations to statements in Development Matters or Birth to 5 Matters. Both are non-statutory and neither is a checklist. Naming the area of learning is plenty.
• Adult-led or child-initiated. Occasionally interesting, rarely acted upon. If it matters, say it in "what I saw".
• Characteristic of effective learning. Worth mentioning when how the child learned is the point of the observation. Not worth a box on every one. See our guide to observing the characteristics of effective learning.
• Parent comment and signature. Parents should see observations and respond to them, but a signature box on every sheet is a barrier, not a partnership. Share the observation and have the conversation.
• Time and location. Include them in "what I saw" if they matter ("at the end of the session", "in the garden"). Otherwise they are noise.

Why this is enough

The EYFS statutory framework effective from September 2026 says practitioners should make and act on their day-to-day observations, and that "there is no requirement to keep written records in relation to this." It also says assessment should not "require excessive paperwork" and that practitioners are "not required to prove this through collection of any physical evidence." A template, therefore, is a convenience for you, not a compliance document. The right template is the one that gets used, and three lines gets used.

For the two statutory written assessments, the progress check at age two and the EYFS Profile, the requirements are different and specific. Our guide to the progress check at age two includes a worked example of that.

Ways to use it

• Paper. Print a sheet of six and keep them on a clipboard in each area. Transfer the ones worth keeping at the end of the day and recycle the rest.
• Sticky notes. Write the name and "what I saw" in the moment. Stick it in the child's folder or on a planning board. Add the rest later or not at all.
• Phone notes. Dictate the first two lines. Clean up at nap time.
• Your software. Any decent system has a free-text box. Type the three prompts into it. If your system makes you fill in six other fields first, that is a reason to question the system.

In Taylormade Care an observation is a photo, a short text box and a tap on the area of learning, which is this template with the typing taken out. Observations tagged to a child feed straight into their two-year check and their learning journal PDF for parents, so the three lines you write once get used three times.

Common questions

Is there an official EYFS observation template?

No. Neither the Department for Education nor Ofsted publishes or requires one. Any template you see is a setting's or a company's own design, including this one.

Should the template include the seven areas of learning as tick boxes?

Naming the area in "what it shows" is enough. Tick boxes for all seven encourage ticking several, which tells you nothing. If you want to see coverage across areas over time, that is a job for whatever holds your observations, not for each individual sheet.

How many observations should I collect with it?

There is no required number. See how often should you do EYFS observations. A few significant ones a month per child is plenty for most settings.

Can I adapt this template?

Yes, freely. The only advice is to add boxes reluctantly, and to remove any box that has not changed what you did for a child in the last term.