The progress check at age two is a one-page job that settings routinely turn into a two-day one. The EYFS statutory framework asks for exactly this: a short written summary of the child's development in the three prime areas, completed between ages two and three, highlighting strengths and anything progressing more slowly than expected, shared with parents. No form is prescribed, no length, no evidence file. Here is example wording for each prime area at all three levels (on track, emerging, concern), the integrated review explained, and a template that keeps the check to the single page it was always meant to be.
Noticed at two beats discovered at four. That is the entire point of the check.
What the check is, in five facts
- Statutory, for every child in your setting aged between 24 and 36 months.
- Prime areas only as the requirement: communication and language; physical development; personal, social and emotional development.
- Short. The framework's own word. A page covers it.
- Shared with parents, with their contribution invited, and written so they can use it, including showing it to the health visitor.
- An early-help tool. Its entire purpose is that slower progress is noticed at two, when support changes trajectories, not at four.
Timing within the window is yours. Most settings wait until the child has attended six to eight weeks (a settling child is not their real self) and, where possible, align with the health visitor review so the two pictures can meet.
The integrated review
In many areas, the progress check is designed to pair with the universal health and development review that health visiting services carry out at around age two, together forming the "integrated review". Where this works, parents bring your written summary to the health appointment, and the professionals see the child from both sides: your months of everyday observation, their developmental screening.
Practical implications for you: write the check in language a health professional can use (specific behaviours, not setting jargon), date it, and hand parents a copy rather than reading it to them. Where no local integration exists, the check still serves the same function; encourage parents to take it along to any two-year review.
Example wording by prime area
Three registers per area: securely on track, emerging (worth watching, normal range), and concern (slower than expected, support underway). Swap the bracketed details for your child's.
Communication and language
On track:
"Ava chats in three-to-five-word sentences and follows two-step instructions ('get your cup and sit down') reliably. She retells what happened at the weekend in sequence and is beginning to use 'because'. She understands far more than she says, and she says a lot."
Emerging:
"Theo communicates confidently with gestures, sounds and around 30 to 40 single words, and has just begun joining two words ('more nana', 'daddy gone'). He understands everyday instructions well. Two-word combinations typically grow quickly at this stage; we are modelling expanded phrases during play and will review together in eight weeks."
Concern:
"At 30 months, Milo uses around ten single words and communicates mainly by pointing and leading an adult by the hand. He understands familiar routines but finds novel instructions difficult without visual cues. We see slower progress in this area than expected. In the setting we are using short phrases, pausing for his response, and reducing background noise at group times. We recommend discussing this summary at Milo's two-year health review; early support for language makes a real difference, and we will gladly share our observations with the health visitor."
Physical development
On track:
"Nora runs, climbs the low frame and kicks a ball with either foot. She feeds herself with a spoon and fork, drinks from an open cup, and makes deliberate marks holding the crayon in a fist grip that is beginning to shift toward her fingers."
Emerging:
"Sami walks confidently and is beginning to run, though he still watches his feet on uneven ground and comes downstairs on his bottom. Fine motor play (posting, stacking) engages him for long stretches. We are offering more slope-and-step play in the garden and will review his confidence on stairs next term."
Concern:
"At 28 months, Lily walks with a wide, unsteady gait, tires quickly, and avoids climbing equipment she was keen on at home according to her parents. Alongside the strengths above, her gross motor progress is slower than we would expect. We have agreed with her parents to raise this at the two-year review, and in the meantime we are building short, playful movement sessions into her day."
Personal, social and emotional development
On track:
"Ben separates from his mum with a wave, checks in with his key person through the day, and has a firm friendship with Noah. He names 'happy', 'sad' and 'cross' in himself and others, and with a reminder he can wait for his turn at the slide, mostly."
Emerging:
"Zara plays alongside other children with growing interest and has begun offering toys as an opening move. Big feelings still arrive at full volume, which is entirely age-appropriate; she accepts comfort from her key person quickly. We are naming feelings as they happen and giving her words for 'my turn next'."
Concern:
"At 29 months, Adam has not yet formed a settled relationship with an adult in the setting after four months of attendance; he moves away from approaches and is most regulated when alone with vehicles. Transitions regularly overwhelm him. We have assigned a consistent key person, introduced a visual routine, and agreed weekly check-ins with his parents. We recommend sharing this summary at his health review so we can plan support together."
Notice the anatomy of every concern entry: strengths first, a specific description instead of a label, what the setting is already doing, and a concrete signpost. Never a diagnosis; "slower than expected" plus a route to the right professional is the whole job.
Sharing it with parents
- Conversation first, paper second. No parent should meet a concern for the first time in writing. Book ten minutes, talk it through, then hand over the summary.
- Invite their half. "What is he like at home?" belongs in the check: parents see skills you never will, and the framework expects their contribution. A short parents' box on the template does it.
- Give them the copy and say what it is for: "take this along to the two-year review."
- Agree the review date. Every "emerging" deserves a diarised second look, usually eight to twelve weeks out.
The template
PROGRESS CHECK AT AGE TWO · [Setting name]
Child: __________ DOB: ______ Age at check: ___ months
Key person: __________ Date: ______ Attends: ___ days/week
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE
Strengths and examples: ______________________________
Anything slower than expected + what we're doing: ____
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Strengths and examples: ______________________________
Anything slower than expected + what we're doing: ____
PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Strengths and examples: ______________________________
Anything slower than expected + what we're doing: ____
WHAT [CHILD] LOVES RIGHT NOW
______________________________________________________
PARENTS' VIEW (what you see at home)
______________________________________________________
NEXT STEPS agreed with parents (and review date)
______________________________________________________
Shared with parents on: ______ Copy given: yes / no
Suggested for the 2-year health review: yes / no
The two-day headache, cured
If writing a check takes hours, the hours are going into archaeology: digging through months of memory and scattered notes for evidence of three areas. The cure is upstream, in how observations are captured all year. Where every spoken observation already lands tagged to its developmental area against the right child, the two-year check assembles itself: open the child's record, read the prime-area columns, write one honest page. The skill you actually need, noticing children, is covered in our guides to EYFS observations and observation methods; the check is just the page where a year of noticing pays out.