Statutory guidance

2025 reception baseline assessment: assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA)

Published 1 April 2025

1. Summary

1.1 About this guidance

This document sets out the statutory requirements for the reception baseline assessment (RBA) and reporting arrangements for the academic year 2025 to 2026. It is produced by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE).

These assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA) apply to the following schools with a reception cohort:

• maintained schools
• academies, including free schools
• special schools, including maintained special schools and special academies
• Ministry of Defence (MoD) schools

1.2 Who is this document for?

This document is for:

• all staff responsible for administering the RBA
• headteachers and senior leadership teams
• governors and trustees

1.3 Legal status

The ARA contains delegated supplementary provision made under Article 3D of The Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development Requirements) Order 2007. The Secretary of State has consulted the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) before making these provisions. Article 3D is made by the Secretary of State under powers in Section 42 of the Childcare Act 2006. This document gives full effect to the provisions made in the 2007 Order concerning the RBA and has effect as if made by the Order. The ARA also contains information that does not form part of the law. The Legal requirements and responsibilities explain how the arrangements apply to different types of schools.

The statutory requirements in this document are indicated by the use of the word ‘must’. Additionally, providers must take into account other provisions in this document and should not depart from them unless there is good reason for doing so. These provisions are indicated by the use of the word ‘should’.

2. Changes for the academic year 2025 to 2026

2.1 Assessment services accessed via DfE Sign-in

Schools will be required to use 2 services to prepare for and administer the RBA.

These 2 new assessment services will be available for schools to access from Monday 2 June 2025 via DfE Sign-in. Further information on how to access the services will be available in the 2025 RBA administration guidance from Monday 2 June.

Schools must use the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’ from the autumn term to:

• register pupils
• record reasons for pupils not taking the assessment
• complete their headteacher’s declaration form (HDF)
• view and download narrative statements

Schools must use the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’ to:

• complete training
• familiarise themselves with assessment questions
• check devices can connect
• access the ‘RBA modified administration guidance’
• manage accessibility settings
• administer an assessment

The Baseline ePortal (BeP), which schools used to administer the RBA in the 2024 to 2025 academic year, will close in July 2025, at the end of the summer term.

2.2 Assessment materials

Out of the current RBA materials, schools will only need to keep the toy bears to administer the assessment in the future.  Schools should continue to store the bears securely, for reuse with future reception cohorts.

Schools will no longer require the other resources which were previously part of the RBA resource pack. Schools can recycle or keep these resources for general use within the classroom.

If schools have any questions about the assessment materials, they should contact the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013, selecting the option for RBA.

2.3 Digital devices

Schools must have a minimum of 2 compatible devices to administer the RBA:

1. The practitioner will use one device to administer the assessment.
2. The pupil will need to use a separate touchscreen device to respond to some of the questions.

The RBA IT guidance contains further information on specific device requirements.

2.4 Changes to the assessment

We have updated the questions within the assessment and updated the assessment framework accordingly.

The assessment will remain interactive. Pupils will respond to questions by interacting with a touchscreen device, verbally with the teacher or, in some of the mathematics questions, by using the bears. This change supports accessibility and aligns with developments in classroom practice.

Practitioners should preview and familiarise themselves with the new assessment from Monday 2 June within the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’.

2.5 Narrative statements

From Monday 22 September, schools can view and download narrative statements. After this date, they will automatically become available once a pupil has completed both assessment components.

2.6 Quality monitoring

Schools will not receive any quality monitoring visits relating to the administration of the RBA in the academic year 2025 to 2026.

We will monitor the RBA, by collecting and reviewing assessment data, and may contact schools with any questions about their administration – for example, if the assessment is completed outside of school hours.

3. Reception baseline assessment

3.1 What is the reception baseline assessment

The RBA is an age appropriate assessment of early mathematics and early literacy, communication and language. It is delivered in English and administered within the first 6 weeks of a pupil starting reception.

The assessment has 2 components, each consisting of questions the pupil responds to by interacting with a touchscreen device, verbally with the teacher or, in some of the mathematics questions, by using toy bears.

The system will mark some questions automatically. For other questions, the practitioner will need to mark them. This depends on the type of response needed.

DfE will use the data from the RBA to create primary school progress measures, which will show the progress schools make with their pupils from reception until the end of key stage 2 (KS2).

3.2 Assessment framework

The RBA framework is intended for assessment developers, but may also be of interest to schools. It sets out:

• what the RBA assesses
• assessment design and delivery

Teachers should not use the assessment framework to guide teaching and learning. Schools should continue to follow the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework for group and school-based providers until the end of the reception year.

Schools may also find it useful to refer to Development Matters, which is non-statutory curriculum guidance for the EYFS, supporting providers to deliver the EYFS learning and development requirements. Ofsted and inspectorates of independent schools will not take the Development Matters guidance into consideration during their inspections, as it is non-statutory. Providers can decide how they approach the curriculum.

3.3 Making adaptations to the assessment

We have developed the RBA to be an inclusive assessment, accessible to the majority of pupils on entry to school. We have designed it so that pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and those learning English as an additional language (EAL), can participate. 

Practitioners can apply accessibility settings to the standard assessment within the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’ if required. These settings include:

• changing the background colour
• selecting greyscale or simplified images
• amending the colour contrast

The ‘RBA modified administration guidance’ provides further information on accessibility settings and other adaptations for pupils with a visual or hearing impairment. Schools can download this from the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’.

Some pupils with a specific need may not be able to access a touchscreen, but could access a paper based version of the assessment. Schools should contact the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013, selecting the option for RBA, or submit a contact us form to request this.

Schools may find that some pupils are unable to access the assessment even with necessary adaptations. If this is the case, schools must record those pupils as ‘unable to access’ within the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’ (see ‘Pupils who are unable to access the assessment’ in Assessment participation). This includes schools where all pupils are unable to access the assessment.

4. Important dates for 2025

These dates are subject to change. If any changes are needed due to circumstances beyond STA’s control, schools will be informed at the appropriate time, via the assessment update and on GOV.UK.

Date	Action
From Monday 2 June	RBA administration guidance available on GOV.UK.
From Monday 2 June	Schools should ensure they have access to the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’ in preparation for the autumn term.
From Monday 2 June	Schools should access the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’ to complete training, familiarise themselves with the assessment content and ensure their devices can connect successfully.
From the start of the autumn term	Schools must upload pupil data and provide a status for pupils who are not participating in the assessment.
From the start of the autumn term	Schools must administer the assessment within the first 6 weeks of a pupil starting reception.
Monday 22 September	Narrative statements for pupils who have completed both assessment components are available for practitioners to view and download.
Friday 7 November	Deadline for headteachers to submit the HDF in the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’.

5. Responsibilities

5.1 Headteachers’ responsibilities

All references to headteachers include acting headteachers or anyone with delegated authority in the absence of the headteacher.

Headteachers must ensure that:

• the requirements outlined in the ARA are implemented in their school
• teachers and other staff comply with the ARA
• the deadlines in the ARA are met
• the needs of all pupils are considered, and suitable arrangements are put in place to enable pupils to take part in the assessment, where possible (see ‘Participating pupils’ in Assessment participation)
• parents are issued with a privacy notice that explains how pupils’ personal data is processed
• a delegated member of staff has uploaded data for all reception pupils to the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’ at the start of the autumn term
• any pupils who start reception later in the academic year are added to the pupil data in the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’
• they work with practitioners to identify which pupils will take the RBA and whether there are any pupils who cannot participate in the assessment
• they discuss with practitioners whether any pupils will need any accessibility settings applied or other adaptations made to assessment materials, as detailed in the ‘RBA modified administration guidance’ (available to download from the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’)
• practitioners administer the assessment securely and keep any RBA materials and content secure and confidential
• those administering the assessment have completed the training modules and familiarised themselves with the assessment
• those administering the assessment are familiar with the digital devices and have checked they can successfully connect to the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’
• those administering the assessment have followed the RBA administration guidance
• assessments are administered in the first 6 weeks of participating pupils starting reception
• they work with practitioners to ensure that they have recorded an appropriate assessment taking status for any pupils not participating in the assessment (see Assessment participation)
• they notify STA of any incident that may have affected the integrity, security or confidentiality of the assessment (see Maladministration)
• they complete and submit the RBA HDF by Friday 7 November 2025

Headteacher’s declaration form

The HDF confirms that either:

• all assessments have been, or will be, administered according to the RBA administration guidance
• any issues have been, or will be, reported to the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013, selecting the option for RBA

The HDF will be available from the start of the autumn term. You must submit it by Friday 7 November 2025.

If you cannot complete the HDF, or have made errors in your submission, you should notify the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013, selecting the option for RBA.

5.2 Schools’ responsibilities

Teachers and other practitioners administering the RBA must comply with the statutory provisions of this ARA. The same applies to Annex B of the EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers, when carrying out assessment and reporting functions.

6.  Assessment participation

6.1 Participating pupils

Schools required to administer the RBA must register all enrolled pupils using the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’. This includes any pupils who are unable to access the assessment.

Schools will only be able to upload pupils within the service from the start of the autumn term.

6.2 Pupils who are unable to access the assessment

Headteachers make the final decision about whether it is appropriate for a pupil to participate in the RBA. In exceptional circumstances, headteachers may decide that a pupil is unable to access the assessment, even when making appropriate adaptations.

In these cases, the headteacher should:

• discuss the pupil’s circumstances and needs with their parents and teachers
• if appropriate, consult the school’s SENCO, an educational psychologist, medical professional, or other specialist staff, to consider whether adaptations may make the assessment accessible (see ‘Making adaptations to the assessment’ in Reception baseline assessment)

If a pupil is unable to access the assessment, their taking status must be changed to ‘unable to access’ within the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’.

6.3 Delaying pupils

It may be appropriate for the headteacher to delay a pupil’s assessment if they are unable to complete the assessment within 6 weeks of starting reception – for example, a pupil may not start school at the intended time due to deferred entry or a long period of illness.

To delay a pupil’s assessment, the pupil’s taking status must be changed to ‘delayed’ within the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’.

6.4 Pupil taking status

Schools must upload their full reception cohort to the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’. The system will automatically record pupils as taking the assessment. If a pupil is not participating in the assessment, schools must change the pupil’s status within 6 weeks of entering reception.

Schools will be able to assign one of the following taking statuses:

• unable to access (see ‘Pupils who are unable to access the assessment’ in Assessment participation)
• pupil has left the school without completing the RBA
• pupil was uploaded in error – for example, the pupil did not join the school
• delayed

7. Assessment administration

7.1 Administering the tests

Schools must follow the RBA administration guidance, which will be published on Monday 2 June 2025. We will publish this annually on behalf of the Secretary of State, to ensure that practitioners can administer the assessments consistently and fairly.

7.2 When to administer the assessment

Practitioners must administer the RBA to participating pupils in the first 6 weeks after they enter reception. Assessments must continue throughout the academic year for any pupils who join reception and have not already participated in the RBA.

8. Narrative statements

Narrative statements on how pupils performed in the assessment, across both components, will be available for schools to download from the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’ from Monday 22 September 2025.

Schools will not receive numerical scores for their pupils. DfE will only use the assessment data for the purposes of calculating primary progress measures.

9. Security of assessment administration

Headteachers must ensure the assessment is administered securely. All staff involved in the administration must keep any materials used secure and assessment content confidential at all times. Schools must not use assessment materials for any purpose other than administering the assessment.

Headteachers must ensure that teachers and any other staff who may handle the materials understand the need to maintain the integrity, security and confidentiality of the assessment.

10. Maladministration

The term ‘maladministration’ refers to any act that:

• affects the integrity, security, or confidentiality of the RBA
• leads to an outcome that does not accurately reflect a pupil’s independent input

STA has a statutory duty to investigate any matter brought to our attention relating to the accuracy or correctness of any pupil’s outcome. The maladministration investigation procedures explain how we process allegations.

Potential maladministration can arise from misunderstandings about how to administer the RBA. To help avoid this, practitioners should ensure they are familiar with the training modules and must administer the assessment in accordance with the guidance.

We receive allegations of maladministration from various sources, including parents, school staff and external organisations, such as Ofsted. Sources can request to be anonymous. We log all allegations of maladministration and ask anyone reporting an allegation for as much detail as possible, so that we can investigate cases appropriately. We will process and retain all information collected in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

If headteachers, teachers, practitioners and other staff do not comply with the provisions of this ARA and other guidance, this could result in the school being investigated for maladministration. If we find that maladministration has occurred, the data of any affected pupils will not be used to calculate the KS2 progress measure. We review and investigate allegations of maladministration in consultation with schools to support practices, provide clarification and ultimately check and ensure the validity of data and information.

Anybody with concerns about the assessment, its administration, or any allegations of maladministration, should report them to the maladministration team at STA.maladministration@education.gov.uk or the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013, selecting the option for RBA.

11. Reporting to parents

Schools should inform parents that they will administer the RBA with all participating reception pupils. Schools have access to model privacy notices, which they can use as a basis for their own. Schools should share privacy notices with parents at the beginning of the school year.

There is no legal requirement for schools to report RBA narrative statements to parents. However:

• it may be helpful to use them as the basis of any feedback to parents
• schools must share a pupil’s RBA narrative statement with the child’s parents if they request them

12. Keeping and maintaining records

12.1 Pupils’ educational records

Maintained schools and non-maintained special schools must ensure that educational records are maintained and disclosed to parents on request, as prescribed in the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005. Educational records include information about current and former pupils:

• processed by, or on behalf of, the governing body or a teacher
• originating from, or supplied by, local authority employees
• originating from, or supplied by, teachers or other employees of the school

Information processed by a teacher solely for the teacher’s own use is excluded from the definition of educational records.

Maintained schools and non-maintained special schools must also keep curricular records on every pupil. Curricular records form a ‘subset’ of a pupil’s educational record. They are a formal record of a pupil’s academic achievements, skills, abilities, and the progress they make at a school. You must update these records at least once every academic year.

Schools are data controllers and are therefore required to comply with data protection legislation including the UK GDPR and the DPA . This means schools are responsible for ensuring that any processing of personal data (the collection, retention, storage and security of all personal information they hold) meets the provisions of the DPA and complies with data protection legislation. This includes:

• personal information appearing in a pupil’s educational record
• any other information they hold that identifies individuals, including pupils, staff and parents

12.2 Disclosure of educational records

For the RBA, schools will not receive information on numerical scores and therefore cannot disclose these to parents. We designed the narrative statement to be shared with parents and this should be disclosed on request (see Narrative statements).

There are several pieces of legislation under which information may be accessed from public organisations, including schools. These include the UK GDPR, the DPA and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Access to a pupil’s educational record held by a maintained school or non-maintained special school is covered by a parent’s right of access under the ‘Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005’.

Under the 2005 Regulations, a maintained school’s governing body must ensure that a pupil’s educational record is made available for parents to see, free of charge, within 15 school days of receipt of the parent’s written request. If a parent makes a written request for a copy of the record, this must also be provided within 15 school days of receipt of the request. Governing bodies can charge a fee for these copies, but this must not be more than the cost of supply. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) provides further information on charges.

The 2005 Regulations describe the material that is exempt from disclosure to parents. This relates to information that the pupil could not lawfully be given under the DPA. It also relates to information that they would not have a right of access to under the DPA, by virtue of paragraph 18 in Schedule 1 or paragraph 16 in Schedule 2 of the Act. This includes material that may cause serious harm to the physical or mental health or condition of the pupil or someone else. A school may not fulfil a parent’s request for these records if there is a court order in place which limits a parent’s exercise of parental responsibility. This affects the parent’s entitlement to receive such information. The ICO can provide further advice.

13. Legal requirements and responsibilities

13.1 How the arrangements apply to different types of schools

Maintained schools

This ARA applies to maintained schools, including maintained special schools, with a reception cohort.

Academies (including free schools)

This ARA applies to all academies and free schools with a reception cohort.

Ministry of Defence schools

This ARA applies to all MoD schools with a reception cohort. Overseas schools which are not MoD schools cannot participate in the RBA.

Maintained nursery schools

This ARA does not apply to maintained nursery schools, even if a nursery has pupils of reception age.

Independent schools

This ARA does not apply to independent schools or nurseries. Independent schools cannot opt in to the RBA, even if the school has pupils of reception age.

Home educated pupils

This ARA does not apply to pupils who are being educated at home.

13.2 Special needs provision

Schools should put in place the right support for pupils with special educational needs. Schools must also make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services, to ensure that disabled pupils are not at a substantial disadvantage compared to their peers. For information about the adaptations that can be made to the RBA, see ‘Making adaptations to the assessment’ in Reception baseline assessment.

13.3 Regulatory concerns

If you have any regulatory concerns that STA has not fully addressed in line with the published procedures, you can raise them with Ofqual. Ofqual regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England.

14. Further information

For further guidance and help to answer any questions you might have, you can:

• visit our RBA help centre
• use our virtual assistant
• contact us directly

If you are still unable to find an answer to your question, you can contact the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013, selecting the option for RBA.