Development Matters vs the EYFS statutory framework
The difference between the EYFS statutory framework and Development Matters — what is law and what is guidance, what each contains, and what you must do versus what you may choose.
3 min read
Two documents sit behind early years practice in England, and they are often confused for one another: the EYFS statutory framework and Development Matters. They do genuinely different jobs, and knowing which is which changes what you have to do and what you are free to decide for yourself.
The short version: the framework is the law; Development Matters is one of the guides that helps you meet it.
The EYFS statutory framework — the law
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework is mandatory for all early years providers in England. "Statutory" means exactly that: you must follow it. It sets out the requirements in two broad parts.
- The safeguarding and welfare requirements — the standards that keep children safe and well, including safeguarding, suitable people, staff-to-child ratios, health, and the physical environment.
- The learning and development requirements — the seven areas of learning, the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning, and the assessment requirements. These include the progress check at age two and the EYFS Profile completed at the end of reception, and they define the Early Learning Goals — the expected level of development at the end of the EYFS.
If a requirement is in the statutory framework, it is not optional.
Development Matters — guidance, not law
Development Matters is the Department for Education's non-statutory guidance to help you meet the learning and development requirements. It offers a way of understanding how children develop, and how to support them, across the same seven areas and three phases.
Because it is guidance, you are not required to use it. Most settings do, but you may use another approach — a common alternative is Birth to 5 Matters, produced by the early years sector — or your own, as long as it helps you meet the statutory requirements. Development Matters says as much: it "guides, but does not replace, professional judgement," and it "is not designed to be used as a tick list for generating lots of data."
Side by side
| EYFS statutory framework | Development Matters | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Statutory — you must follow it | Non-statutory guidance |
| Job | Sets the requirements | Helps you meet them |
| Contains | Safeguarding & welfare, learning & development, assessment, the Early Learning Goals | How children develop across the areas and phases, with observation checkpoints |
| Optional? | No | Yes — you may use another approach |
| Published by | Department for Education | Department for Education |
What this means in practice
- You must meet the statutory requirements: keep children safe, provide for the seven areas, and complete the progress check at two and the EYFS Profile.
- You may choose how you do the learning and development part — Development Matters is a well-trodden route, but the professional judgement is yours.
- The Early Learning Goals are not the curriculum. They describe where the EYFS is heading by the end of reception; they are assessed once, at the end, not tracked against all year.
Getting this distinction right is quietly important. Settings that treat Development Matters as a mandatory checklist create work the law never asked for — exactly the "lots of data" the guidance itself warns against.
Where to go next
For the guidance side in depth, see what Development Matters is, the seven areas of learning, and the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning. For the end-of-reception picture, see children in reception and the Early Learning Goals.
Quotations are from Development Matters (Department for Education, updated 4 September 2023), Open Government Licence v3.0. This guide is general information, not legal advice; always refer to the current statutory framework for the requirements that apply to your setting.
