A session on how schools can use the Department for Education's new good level of development (GLD) data tools is part of the latest set of reception quality webinars listed on GOV.UK. The page's update log shows that the 'Autumn 2026 series' section was added on 11 November 2026. The webinars belong to DfE's regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) programme. They are free for leaders in schools, trusts and local authorities.
According to DfE, the series is meant to help those leaders improve reception practice and raise the number of pupils who reach a GLD by the end of their first school year.
Data tools as a recurring theme
The GLD measure appears in each of the three series on the page. The page dates the opening webinar of the autumn 2025 series to September 2025. In that session Amy Finch, Head of Reception Policy, presented a new GLD tool hosted on the View your education data (VYED) platform. DfE says the tool helps schools and responsible bodies analyse reception outcomes and pick out priorities for improvement. Narinder Gill, a DfE RISE advisor, spoke in the same session about how leaders could use the tool to prompt meaningful conversations, recognise strengths and direct support where it is needed. A panel in the summer 2026 series also looked at how leaders can draw on GLD reports to shape practice.
The new autumn 2026 data session is chaired by Heather Scott, a Senior Strategy Advisor in DfE's reception improvement team. Its speakers are Jessica Watson of DfE and Donna Kane and Sarah Alderson of Owlcotes Multi-Academy Trust. The page says the session deals with interpreting GLD findings against each individual school's context. It also covers drawing on data to inform professional dialogue and flag areas for further inquiry, and turning those insights into focused improvement work. DfE adds that it offers practical examples of using GLD data to examine and improve reception provision, and to support continuity as children move into Year 1.
Learning environments
Heather Scott also chairs the other autumn 2026 webinar, 'Creating effective environments in reception'. Sue Robb and Professor Sam Wass, Director of the Institute for the Science of Early Years, take part. They are joined by Emma Whelam-Tate, Strategic Lead for the RISE Reception Network, and two assistant headteachers: Debbie Holmes of Benedict Biscop C.E. Academy and Laura Emery of Whitkirk Primary School. According to DfE, the session explores the science of effective reception settings. It also shows how Benedict Biscop C.E. Academy uses outdoor space to build gross motor skills, and how purposeful indoor provision at Whitkirk Primary School supports fine motor development. All speakers take part in a closing question-and-answer session.
Assessment and transition
The summer 2026 series was added to the page on 6 July 2026 and had three sessions. Amy Finch and Emma Woodshaw, Head of Reception Assessment, Accountability and Data at DfE, led one on the early years foundation stage (EYFS) profile assessment. That session stressed best-fit professional judgement over checklists and paid particular attention to writing and borderline pupils. A panel with Sue Robb, Sir Kevan Collins and Tim Coulson discussed how to prepare for high-quality reception teaching for September 2026. A third session, on moving into reception, drew on DfE's getting children ready for reception guidance. That guidance has 3 key principles: working closely with families, schools and early years providers forming strong partnerships, and early identification of need.
Six webinars made up the autumn 2025 series. Its contributors included the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Ofsted and English Hubs. Besides the data session, that series covered strategic leadership of the early years, findings from Ofsted's Strong foundations research, language-rich classrooms and early writing, attendance routines, and early maths.
