Written question asked by Maria Miller (Conservative) on Wednesday, 21 January 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 January 2009. It was answered by Baroness Hughes of Stretford (Labour) on Tuesday, 27 January 2009 on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Languages: Pre-School Education

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether children are able to meet the assessment areas in the early years foundation stage in a language other than English.

Answer: The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile sums up and describes each child's development and learning achievements at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It is based on ongoing observation and assessment in six areas of learning."Personal, social and emotional development""Communications, language and literacy""Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy""Knowledge and understanding of the world""Physical development""Creative development"All of the assessment scales in each area of learning can be assessed in the home language, for those learning English as an additional language. However, scale points 4-9 of the communication, language and literacy scales should be assessed in English.

Secondary information