Compare your good level of development (GLD) data
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-27)

How to use the good level of development (GLD) data tool to access the Compare your GLD data report.

Updated ‘Compare Your GLD’ data reports are now available on View your education data (VYED) (https://viewyourdata.education.gov.uk/), which includes data for the 2024 to 2025 early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP).

The Compare your good level of development (GLD) data report

The GLD data report:
- is available for schools and responsible bodies through the VYED platform (https://viewyourdata.education.gov.uk/)
- gives you data and insight into your early years foundation stage profile (EYFSP) data, compared to the local, regional and national average
The data in the report is based on early years foundation stage (EYFS) assessments completed by teachers at the end of the academic year in which a child turns 5. The early learning goals in the EYFS statutory framework (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2) are used to assess whether children have a good level of development.

The first part of the report, ‘Your good level of development (GLD) data’, focuses on 2024 to 2025 EYFSP data. The second part of the report, ‘Your contextual good level of development (GLD) score’, includes the most recent 3 years of data – 2022 to 2023, 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 – where available.

Only schools that meet all the criteria below will receive a report:
- state-funded primary and secondary school with 2024 to 2025 EYFSP data for more than 5 pupils
- schools that were in the January 2025 census and did not close or change unique reference number (URN) before the 2024 to 2025 EYFSP return
- schools that, for each variable feeding into the GLD model, have at least one pupil who is not missing data for that field
Schools that meet any of the following criteria will not receive a report:
- state-funded nursery school, special school, alternative provision or independent school
- schools with fewer than 6 children in their reception class for 2024 to 2025
- newly opened schools or recently academised schools
- schools missing 100% of data for any field
Data not included in your report

For some schools, data for certain pupil groups or years may be missing from your report – for example, for pupils with special educational needs (SEN). This is likely because there are too few pupils in that group at that school, so the data has been suppressed.

What you can use the report for

You can use the report to view and compare:
- the overall percentage of children achieving a good level of development
- the overall percentage of pupils reaching each early learning goal
- GLD results for different pupil groups
- your contextual GLD data – a school’s contextual GLD score shows the overall GLD percentage we would expect a school to achieve with their context taken into account
The tool can also help you identify areas of strength and opportunities to improve early years practice in your school, including:
- specific areas of child development that need further attention
- specific groups of pupils that are developing well or less well
- devising strategies to address areas that need further attention
We have also produced a new area-based report for local authorities that covers all schools, both LA-maintained and academies, within each LA’s geographical boundary. We have provided this area-based report to give LAs a complete picture of performance in their area to support with the development of their Best Start local plans to raise GLD levels by 2028.

How to interpret the data

Take care when interpreting the data. You should:
- use it as a starting point – triangulate this with observations of and conversations with teachers and children
- consider the early years expertise of your senior leaders and whether upskilling or professional development is needed
How to access your report

The tool is available on the View your education data (VYED) (https://viewyourdata.education.gov.uk/) platform.

DfE sign-in account

To access the VYED platform you will need a DfE Sign-in (https://services.signin.education.gov.uk/) account.

Create a DfE Sign-in account (https://edd-help.signin.education.gov.uk/contact/create-account) if you do not already have one.

The GLD data tool

Once you have access to the VYED platform, you will need to request permission to access the ‘Monitor your child development data’ sub-service to view your GLD data report.

Log in to DfE Sign-in.

Go to ‘Add services to my account’, then check your organisation is correct. Then, on ‘Select a service’, choose ‘View your education data (VYED)’. Select the ‘Monitor your child development data’ sub-service.

Request access to your organisation. This is your school, trust or local authority. To do this, go to ‘Organisations’. If your organisation is not listed, select ‘Request access to an organisation’ and follow the instructions.

Your organisation’s approver will receive an email. They will need to approve your request before you can get access to your GLD data. You should receive an email within 5 days from xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx) confirming approval.

Once your request for access has been approved, you can log in to the VYED platform (https://viewyourdata.education.gov.uk/) to access your report.

Go to the section ‘Monitor your child development data’ to view the dashboard and reports. You will have the option to download your ‘Compare your GLD’ report.

This report is specific to your school, local authority or academy trust.

If you are linked to multiple organisations, you will need to repeat these steps for each organisation.

Your organisation’s approver

You can check who your approver is by going to ‘organisations’ and selecting your organisation from the list, then ‘show approvers’.

If there are no approvers for your organisation, your request will be sent to the DfE Sign-in team to be approved.

You can check the status of a request under the ‘Requests’ section of your DfE Sign-in account.

Get help

If you have any problems accessing or downloading your data, contact us using the DfE customer help portal (https://customerhelpportal.education.gov.uk/). If your data looks wrong, use the portal to provide us with your school’s URN, a description of what looks incorrect and for which year of data. The GLD webinar recording (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kSCFuhGF84&list=PLW0D-hEq1jVTkIYVbyEsbVVTCAvjSIPWv&index=3) may be helpful.