The Early Years Foundation Stage: Setting the Standards for Learning, Development and Care for children from birth to five

• Makes sounds and movements to initiate social interaction.
• Uses vocalisations to communicate needs and discomfort.
• Plays active role in conversation-like exchanges.
• Recognises and is most responsive to prime carer's voice: face brightens, activity increases when familiar carer appears.
• Prefers particular people, for example, is happier and more settled with preferred carers and is unsettled or distressed with less familiar people.
• Snuggles into your body when held.
• Shows affection.
• Is wary of unfamiliar events.
• Gets upset if toy is taken away.
• Calms from being upset when held, rocked, spoken or sung to with soothing voice.
• Shows pleasure at being tickled and other physical games.
• Enjoys playing with hands, fingers, feet and toes.

• Cries to express needs, for example, when hungry, angry or in pain.
• Responds to calming input, for example, patting, rocking, wrapping and cuddling.
• Stops crying when picked up.
• Sucks on hands, clothes, or pacifier to calm self.
• Recognises and is most responsive to prime carer's voice, for example, may become more vocal, active or make more eye contact.
• Looks intently at faces nearby and later watches speaker's face carefully.
• Begins to hold eye contact with you.
• Turns eyes and or head towards voice.
• Maintains eye contact during interactions with a familiar person or smiles and makes sound in response to eye contact.
• Gazes a long time at your face, especially when feeding.
• Smiles in response to touch or sound.
• Smiles or quietens to familiar voice or face.
• Smiles at interesting objects.
• Shows emotional responses to other people's emotions, for example, smiles when smiled at and becomes distressed if hears another child crying.
• Smiles at another person.
• Smiles more often to familiar rather than unfamiliar people.
• Responds when talked to, for example, moves arms and legs, changes facial expression, moves body and makes mouth movements.
• Makes own sounds when talked to, especially to parent and when a smiling face is used.
• Makes special sounds to get attention.
• Copies facial expressions and mouth shapes, for example, sticking out tongue, opening mouth and widening eyes.
• Produces and copies non-speech sounds such as coos, raspberries, effort grunts, shrieks and squeals.
• Shows anger if physically restrained, for example, cries when held still for injection or medication.
• Laughs and squeals to express pleasure when happy or excited.
• Shows distress at being left alone.
• Shows pleasure at return of parent or familiar carer.
• Likes cuddles and being held: calms, snuggles in, smiles, gazes at carer's face or strokes carer's skin.
• Responds to facial expressions of happiness and sadness in others, for example, smiles if adult smiles or frowns if adult frowns.

• Cries to express needs, for example, when hungry, angry or in pain.
• Gurgles to get attention.
• Turns quickly to hear your voice across the room.
• Listens to familiar voices even if they can't see the person.
• Vocalises back when talked to (making own sounds) especially to familiar people and when a smiling face is used.
• Responds differently to different tones of voice (for example, sing-song, questioning, soothing and playful) as the tone of voice helps them to understand the meaning.
• Uses voice, gesture, eye contact and facial expression to make contact with people and keep their attention.
• Vocalises more when adults use child-directed speech.

• Quietens or alerts to the sound of speech.
• Turns quickly to your voice across the room.
• Responds differently to different tones of voice or speech sounds.
• Is calmed by soft speech or song.
• Makes sounds such as gurgles and coos.
• Produces and copies non-speech sounds such as coos, raspberries, effort grunts, shrieks and squeals.
• Vocalises back when talked to (making own sounds) especially to familiar adult and when a smiling face is used.
• Begins to develop and use vowel sounds from the language used at home, for example, 'a' as in hat or 'e' as in pet.
• Begins to babble by repeating a series of the same sounds (reduplicated babble), for example, "Ba-ba-ba", "Ma-ma-ma".
• Begins to develop and use some consonant sounds, for example, 'g-g', 'mmm', 'h', 'd-d'.
• Makes sounds for pleasure, for example, vocalises with tuneful voice for minutes at a time to self when lying in cot or at play.

• Looks at pictures and moving objects.
• When lying on back or propped up, moves eyes to follow face or toy moving slowly from side to side, close to face.
• Looks toward an object or person that moves near by.
• Looks from one object to another and back again; this is called shifting visual attention.
• Blinks if object is moved sharply towards face.
• Reacts with abrupt behaviour change when a face or object disappears suddenly from view.
• Begins to look around a room with interest; visually scans environment for novel, interesting objects and events.
• Actively explores the environment with all senses.
• Explores hands and fingers, for example, watches them, presses hands together, clasps and unclasps hands.
• Plays with and explores objects by touching them, looking at them, placing them in the mouth and listening to the sounds they make.
• Uses feet to help in grasping objects.
• Repeats actions that have an effect, for example, kicking or batting a mobile to create movement including actions to make a sound again, for example, shaking a rattle.
• Reacts to familiar sounds or sights by changes in behaviour, for example, extends arms and legs, smiles, searches with eyes when hears the vacuum cleaner, running bath, footsteps and so on.
• Shows anticipation and enjoyment of familiar caring routines and simple games, for example, sucks or licks lips in response to sounds of preparation for feeding or gets excited upon seeing spoon or a familiar toy.
• Recognises familiar environmental sounds such as the washing machine, microwave or footsteps. This is shown by quietening, consistent reactions, turning to look at source of sound and so on.
• Likes listening to music, rattles and other sound-making toys.
• Shows interest in moving pictures and sound, for example, on television.
• Very early imitation of adults, for example, tries to move hands or object after watching adult.
• Persistently and deliberately reaches out for toys that interest them.
• Begins to be interested in small objects or the detail of a toy, for example, will gaze at small beads in a rattle.
• Moves limbs, changes facial expression and laughs in anticipation of being lifted.
• Smiles at image of self in mirror, but does not yet realise that this is reflection of self.

• Turns head to the side when placed on tummy.
• Turns head or eyes towards diffuse light or interesting objects.
• Closes eyes to bright light.
• Can move eyes to look at different parts of objects and pictures.
• When lying on back or propped up, moves eyes to follow face or object moving slowly from side to side, close to face.
• Can lift head when lying on tummy and move it from side to side.
• When lying on tummy, lifts head up in the middle and uses forearms to support.
• Holds head in the middle (not to one side or the other) when lying on back.
• Able to control head when supported in an upright position: head does not flop forwards or backwards.
• Is able to hold head steady for several seconds when being moved from lying to sitting.
• Moves head to look around when lying on back or supported in sitting.
• Holds head and upper body up by themselves when supported in sitting.
• When lying on tummy can lift head and chest and support self with straight arms and flat hands.
• Raises head to look at feet when lying on back.
• Presses down feet or straightens body when held standing on a hard surface.
• Moves arms and legs, arms more than legs and chuckles when played with.
• Arm and leg movements become smoother and more continuous, no longer so sudden and jerky.
• Makes crawling movements with arms and legs when lying on tummy.
• Kicks legs vigorously, one leg then the other.
• When lying on back, lifts legs into vertical position and grasps feet.
• Reaches and plays with toes when lying on back or sitting up with support.
• Puts arms up to be lifted.
• Takes weight through legs and bounces up and down when held in a standing position.
• Rolls from side to back.
• Rolls over from front to back.
• Sits propped up.
• Tries to sit up from lying on back when hands are held.

Feeding:

• Opens mouth for bottle when corner of mouth is touched.
• Sucking strong and rhythmic with coordinated swallow.
• Closes mouth around bottle teat to achieve seal.
• Feeds at regular intervals throughout the day.
• Puts hands on bottle when feeding.

Sleeping:

• Has predictable sleeping pattern.
• Sleeps for periods of two hours or more.
• Sleeps more at night than during the day.
• Has regular sleeps during the day.