ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I examine the impact of the EYFS Profile and the related discourses that operate in Reception classrooms. I set out how the EYFS Profile provides a model of ‘good learning’ that involves neoliberal values, including rational choices, flexibility and submission. The second section considers how the EYFS Profile reinforces the idea of objective ‘teacher knowledge’ and how this works to allow teachers to dismiss evidence that does not cohere with their ‘knowledge’ of a child. Finally in this chapter, I examine alternative discourses of success in the Reception classrooms, including the idea of authentic learning, and how these are deployed in relation to assessing children's status as learners.
