Statutory guidance

2026 reception baseline assessment: administration guidance

Updated 1 June 2026

This guidance is for schools administering the reception baseline assessment (RBA). The information expands on the ‘Assessment administration’ section in the 2026 RBA assessment and reporting arrangements (ARA).

The statutory requirements in this document are indicated by the use of the word ‘must’. Additionally, providers must take into account other provisions in this document and should not deviate from them unless there is good reason for doing so. These provisions are indicated by the use of the word ‘should’.

Headteachers are responsible for the assessment administration arrangements within their school. Failure to adhere to this guidance could lead to a maladministration investigation.

1. Important dates

1.1 Important dates for 2026

Date	Action
From Monday 1 June	Practitioners should complete training, familiarise themselves with the assessment content and check their devices can pair and connect.
Monday 20 July	The ‘RBA 2025’ activity closes. Schools should ensure they have downloaded pupils’ narrative statements.
Monday 24 August	The ‘RBA 2026’ activity opens.
From the start of the autumn term	Schools must upload pupil data and provide a status for pupils who are not participating in the assessment.
From the start of the autumn term	Schools must administer the assessment within the first 6 weeks of a pupil starting reception.
From Monday 21 September	Narrative statements for pupils who have completed both assessment components are available for practitioners to view and download.
Friday 6 November	Deadline for headteachers to submit the headteacher’s declaration form (HDF).

1.2 Important dates for 2027

Date	Action
Friday 23 July	The ‘RBA 2026’ activity closes for the academic year. Schools should ensure they have downloaded pupils’ narrative statements.

2. The assessment services 

Schools will be required to use 2 online services to prepare for and administer the RBA.

Schools will need to access both services using DfE Sign-in to complete the following actions:

Service	Action
Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments	Register pupils, record reasons for pupils not taking the assessment, complete the HDF, and view and download narrative statements.
Assessment service: start an assessment	Complete training, familiarise yourself with assessment questions, check your devices can pair and connect, manage accessibility settings and administer the assessment.

‘Assessment service: start an assessment’ contains assessment content and must only be accessed by staff who are involved in administering the assessment.

2.1 Activities for each academic year

The ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’ and ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’ include activities for each academic year.

We recommend practitioners use the ‘RBA 2025’ activity to complete early preparation activity before the ‘RBA 2026’ activity opens in the autumn term. This includes:

• completing training topics
• familiarising themselves with the assessment content and checking their devices can pair and connect
• viewing accessibility settings

The ‘RBA 2025’ activity will close at the end of the academic year 2025 to 2026.

The ‘RBA 2026’ activity will open at the start of the autumn term for schools to:

• continue preparing for the RBA
• upload their new reception cohort
• administer assessments

2.2 New DfE Sign-in users

If you do not have a DfE Sign-in account yet:

1. Create a DfE Sign-in account.
2. Sign in to DfE Sign-in.
3. Select ‘Request access to an organisation’ and enter the unique reference number (URN) or name of your school.
4. A DfE Sign-in approver within your school will need to approve your organisation request.
5. Once your organisation request is approved, add the assessment services relevant to your role. If you are requesting both services, you must add them separately.
6. A DfE Sign-in approver within your school will need to approve your service requests.

2.3 New RBA assessment service users

Schools must ensure they have access to the:

• Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments
• Assessment service: start an assessment

If you have not used them before, you will need to add the assessment services relevant to your role to your DfE Sign-in account. If you need access to both services, you will need to add them separately.

To add these services:

1. Sign in to DfE Sign-in.
2. Go to ‘Services’.
3. Select ‘Add services to my account’.
4. Select the service you would like to add and ‘Continue’.
5. Review the request details.
6. Select ‘Request service’.
7. A DfE Sign-in approver within your school will need to approve each request.

2.4 Multi-factor authentication

DfE Sign-in uses multi-factor authentication (MFA). When signing in, users will automatically receive an authentication code by email. Users will receive a separate code for each device they sign in to.

You can find more information in the DfE Sign-in account security updates guidance.

2.5 DfE Sign-in support

If you need help accessing the RBA services, you can watch our video which demonstrates how to do this:

YouTube video: Accessing the RBA assessment services

DfE Sign-in users can also select DfE Sign-in ‘Help’ after signing in to their account. If you are unable to find the answer to your question, you can contact DfE Sign-in for further support.

3. Digital devices 

Schools will need a minimum of 2 digital devices to administer the RBA.

The RBA IT guidance sets out the device requirements and recommended actions for practitioners and IT staff to ensure both devices are prepared and can access the assessment.

We describe the 2 devices schools will need to administer the assessment as the ‘practitioner device’ and the ‘pupil device’.

Device	Purpose
Practitioner device	The main device that will guide the practitioner throughout the assessment. The practitioner must follow the instructions on screen, then set up the pupil device when prompted.
Pupil device	A touchscreen device used by the pupil to respond to questions.

Practitioners may find it helpful to use a device that allows them to easily access their email account, as they will receive an MFA code by email when signing in to each device (see Multi-factor authentication).

Schools will need to ensure both devices have the latest operating system (OS) and browser installed, can connect to the services and pair with each other when administering the assessment (see Preview the assessment questions and check your devices can pair and connect).

Pairing the devices is important to ensure the assessment data is linked to the correct pupil. It also means practitioners can observe how the pupil interacts with their device and the assessment questions. 

4. Preparing for the assessment

4.1 Assessment practitioners

The assessment must be administered on a one-to-one basis, by a suitably qualified practitioner, for example:

• a reception teacher
• a reception teaching assistant
• an early years lead or special educational needs co-ordinator

The assessment cannot be administered by a parent, relative, carer or guardian of the pupil.

In addition, practitioners should be:

• familiar with this guidance
• familiar with the digital devices being used
• known to the pupils

Before administering the assessment with pupils, we recommend that practitioners prepare within the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’ by:

• completing the training topics 
• familiarising themselves with the assessment questions and checking the devices can pair and connect to the service

Practitioners will administer the assessment using 2 devices. They will read an instruction from their practitioner device aloud to the pupil, and the pupil will respond by either:

• interacting with their pupil device
• interacting with the toy bears for some of the mathematics questions 
• telling the practitioner their answer

4.2 Training topics 

We strongly recommend practitioners complete all 4 training topics within the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’:

1. Preparing devices 
2. Administering the RBA
3. Types of questions in the RBA
4. Accessibility and inclusion

Each topic will take approximately 6 to 8 minutes. 

The training topics will support practitioners to: 

• prepare the pupil and practitioner devices
• administer the assessment questions with pupils
• prepare pupils for the assessment
• navigate the assessment
• understand the different types of assessment questions
• mark specific questions in the literacy, communication and language (LCL) component
• understand how pupils with specific needs can access the assessment

4.3 Preview the assessment questions and check your devices can pair and connect

Practitioners can use the ‘Preview the assessment’ section within the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’ to:

• read the questions that will appear in each of the assessment components, without interacting with them
• familiarise themselves with the assessment format and interaction between the pupil and practitioner devices
• check both devices can connect to the service, pair with each other and maintain a stable connection throughout an assessment

Practitioners should carry out these checks under the same conditions they plan to administer the assessment – for example, in the same location and using the same devices and wifi connection.

Practitioners must not have a pupil present when previewing the assessment questions or familiarising themselves with the format of the assessment. 

4.4 Preparing for the assessment: video 

If you need help preparing for the assessment, you can watch our video which demonstrates how to do this:

YouTube video: Preparing for the RBA

5. Managing pupils

The ‘RBA 2026’ activity will be available for schools to upload their reception cohort from the start of the academic year.

Schools must register all reception pupils using the ‘Manage pupils’ section of the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’. This includes any pupils who will not participate in the assessment (see Pupil assessment statuses).

Schools must ensure that all pupils are registered within the first 6 weeks of starting reception. This also applies to pupils who start later in the academic year.

5.1 Register pupils

Schools should upload their full reception cohort, including each pupil’s:

• full name
• unique pupil number (UPN)
• date of birth
• sex

We recommend registering pupils by downloading a common transfer file (CTF) of pupil data from the school management information system (MIS) and uploading it to the assessment service. However, schools can also:

• register pupils individually
• register multiple pupils at once using a spreadsheet

Schools will be notified during the upload process if there are any errors in the pupil data they try to upload. Users should continue registering pupils with correct data first, and then navigate to the ‘Fix registration errors’ section within ‘Manage pupils’ to review the details of individual pupil errors and instructions on how to resolve them.

If you are unsure how to resolve pupil upload errors, you should contact the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013, selecting the option for RBA.

5.2 Pupil assessment statuses

If the headteacher decides a pupil should not take the assessment, they must provide a reason and ensure the pupil status is updated by selecting ‘Change pupil status’ within the ‘Manage pupils’ section of the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’.

Schools will be able to assign one of the following statuses:

Status	Description
Pupil will take the standard version of the assessment	This status is automatically applied to all registered pupils initially.
Pupil will take the standard version of the assessment (delayed)	The pupil will take the assessment but is unable to complete the assessment within 6 weeks of starting reception – for example, due to a long period of illness – or the pupil will take the assessment but is starting reception later due to deferred entry identified after registering the pupil.
Pupil will take one component of the assessment (joined from another school)	The pupil has completed one assessment component at another school (see Pupils moving schools).
Pupil is unable to access the assessment	The pupil is unable to access both assessment components, even when making adaptations to the assessments (see Assessing pupils with additional needs).
Pupil has left the school	The pupil has left the school permanently without completing the assessment.
Pupil was uploaded in error	The pupil has been incorrectly uploaded – for example, the pupil did not join the school.

You can find more information in the ‘Assessment participation’ section of the RBA ARA.

5.3 Pupils moving schools

If a pupil moves school within the first 6 weeks of starting reception, schools should ensure the progress of the RBA is shared when transferring the pupil information.

If the RBA assessment has not been started when the pupil moves school, and the pupil is still within the 6 weeks of starting reception, the assessment should be administered by the receiving school. 

If the pupil has completed one component and then moves school, the remaining component should be administered by the receiving school. In the cases where a pupil moves school while the assessment is in progress:

• the old school should record the pupil with the status ‘Pupil has left the school’
• the receiving school should record the pupil as ‘Pupil will take one component of the assessment (joined from another school)’

The 6-week administration window for pupils who move schools should reflect the weeks the pupil has attended reception, removing any periods of absence that may have occurred between the pupil moving schools. 

5.4 Pupils with English as an additional language (EAL)

The RBA must be administered in English. The assessment has been designed to ensure that it is accessible to as many children as possible and some tasks will allow pupils to demonstrate their knowledge regardless of their proficiency in English.

Some features of the RBA can be used to support the assessment of children learning English as an additional language – for example, instructions can be repeated once and specific prompts can be used to support the pupil’s response. The pause function can also be used to ensure that these pupils are given breaks, as the demand on their memory is likely to be higher.

If a pupil’s limited ability to communicate in English means they are unable to access both assessment components, their pupil status must be updated to ‘Pupil is unable to access the assessment’.

If a pupil is unable to access the LCL component only, practitioners should continue to administer the mathematics component. They can do this by starting the LCL component, then selecting ‘Discontinue’ and selecting the reason ‘Pupil is unable to access this assessment component’ (see Discontinuing the assessment).

6. Assessing pupils with additional needs

The RBA modified administration guidance provides information on how to assess pupils with additional needs, including applying accessibility settings and other adaptations for pupils with a visual or hearing impairment.

7. Administering the assessment

The assessment is made up of 2 components assessing:

• LCL
• mathematics

Each practitioner must administer the assessment to one pupil at a time.

There is no time limit for the assessment, but it usually takes less than 20 minutes in total to complete both components for each pupil. Some administrations may be shorter or longer depending on the needs of the pupil. Routing of questions will also make administration shorter for some pupils (see Question routing).

The LCL and mathematics components should be split over a minimum of 2 administration sessions with a break in between, preferably on separate days. With some pupils it may be possible to administer the tasks across a number of shorter sessions.

The assessment components can be carried out in any order.

7.1 The 6-week administration window

Schools must administer the assessment within the first 6 weeks of a pupil starting reception.

Pupils who start reception later in the year and have not already completed the RBA must complete the assessment within their first 6 weeks.

The 6-week administration window should be calculated from the date the pupil starts reception.

Pupils unable to complete the assessment within the 6 weeks of starting reception should be assigned a delayed status (see Pupil assessment statuses).

7.2 Setting up for administration and preparing devices

Before administering an assessment, practitioners should ensure:

• they choose a quiet location without any distractions
• the toy bears are available for the mathematics component

Practitioners must ensure devices are ready to use to administer the assessment to pupils. 

Practitioners should check that both devices are prepared by completing the following setup checklist before administering the assessment:

• Check the internet connection is working and stable.
• Ensure both devices are switched on, fully charged and in good working order.
• Disable the auto lock, hibernate or sleep mode feature on both devices.
• Check that all devices have recently been updated with the latest OS and browser version, and that there are no scheduled or automatic updates on the day of the assessment.
• Close any unnecessary tabs on the browser and any other open applications on both devices.
• Ensure the browser is not in privacy or incognito mode, and that it has local storage access enabled.
• Ensure that cookies are enabled and any pop-up blocker software is disabled.

7.3 Starting the assessment

When the practitioner is ready to administer the assessment to pupils, they will need their DfE Sign-in username and password to sign in to the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’ on both the practitioner and pupil devices.

An MFA code will be required. This will be sent to the practitioner’s registered email address, so they should ensure they can easily access their email account before starting the assessment.

1. Sign in to the practitioner device first.
2. To support the pairing of devices, you will be prompted when signing in to select if the device is being used by a practitioner or a pupil.
3. If at least one pupil is registered, you will be able to select ‘Start assessment’ and follow the instructions on the practitioner and pupil devices.

7.4 Pairing your devices

Practitioners will be required to pair the practitioner and pupil devices before administering each assessment component to each pupil. The instructions on screen will guide them through this process.

7.5 Question routing

The RBA uses question routing, which means that some questions may not be presented to some pupils if their previous answers suggest they are unlikely to respond correctly.

7.6 Pausing the assessment

If the practitioner or pupil need a break during the assessment, select ‘Pause assessment and exit’. This will:

• save the pupil’s progress so far
• take the practitioner to the pupil selection screen, where the pupil’s assessment status will be recorded as incomplete

Practitioners can continue the assessment when they are ready by selecting the pupil’s name. They will then continue from where they paused the assessment. If an assessment is incorrectly exited before an assessment component has been completed, the assessment will be locked, and only the practitioner who began administering the assessment will be able to resume it.

7.7 Discontinuing the assessment

In exceptional circumstances, practitioners may discontinue an assessment component if they feel it would be inappropriate for the pupil to continue. To do this, the practitioner can select ‘Discontinue’ on the practitioner device during assessment administration.

Once the assessment component has been discontinued, this pupil will not be able to start again or finish the component.

Practitioners will need to select one of the following reasons for discontinuing the assessment:

• Pupil is unable to access this assessment component – for example, they are unable to access it even with appropriate adaptations, they do not have the necessary focus to complete the assessment, they have no or limited English, or they are refusing to participate
• The assessment component is too challenging – this should be used for pupils who are unable to continue because the question demand is beyond their current ability and practitioners think they will be unable to answer any further questions

Pupils who are discontinued from one component can still go on to complete the other component. Where one or both components are discontinued, pupils will still receive a narrative statement (see Narrative statements).

If, after starting and discontinuing one component, practitioners decide the pupil is unable to complete both components, they will need to start and discontinue the remaining component and provide a reason.

If practitioners are unsure if they should discontinue the assessment for a pupil, they should select ‘Pause assessment and exit’ on the practitioner device and contact us or call the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013, selecting the option for RBA.

7.8 Transitioning between assessments

When practitioners have completed the administration of a pupil’s assessment, they should select ‘Finish and exit’ on the pupil’s device. On the practitioner device, they should ‘Select another pupil’ or ‘Return to Start assessment homepage’.

If practitioners ‘Select another pupil’, they will be guided to pair devices again to start the next assessment, but they do not need to sign out of the assessment service.

8. Checking pupil completion

Schools must ensure all pupils have completed the assessment within the first 6 weeks of starting reception. If pupils are not able to participate, schools must record a reason within the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’ (see Pupil assessment statuses).

You can check how many pupils have completed each component by selecting ‘Start assessment’ within the ‘Assessment service: start an assessment’, which will provide a list of pupils and their progress. 

If a pupil is not visible, you can check their taking status within the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’.

For questions about pupil completion, please contact us or call the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013, selecting the option for RBA.

9. Narrative statements

Narrative statements provide a snapshot of a pupil’s performance when the assessment was completed.

These statements will be available to view and download in the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’, for pupils who have completed both assessment components, from Monday 21 September.

After this date, the statements will be available immediately after a pupil has completed both assessment components.

Narrative statements for the 2026 to 2027 academic year will be available for schools to download until Friday 23 July 2027.

10. Headteacher’s declaration form

Headteachers or someone with delegated authority must submit the HDF within the ‘Assessment service: manage your school’s assessments’ by Friday 6 November.

The HDF will confirm that the school has either:

• administered the assessment according to this guidance
• reported administration issues to the Standards and Testing Agency (STA)

Once submitted, the HDF cannot be amended. Headteachers or someone with delegated authority should report any mistakes to the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013, selecting the option for RBA.

11. Tell us about your experience 

Both assessment services contain a link to a feedback survey.

You can access this at any time, but you will also be reminded to complete it at important times when preparing for and administering the assessment.

Feedback is optional and we will use responses to help continuously improve the service.

12. Additional guidance and support

For help and support with the RBA, you can:

• refer to our full collection of RBA guidance
• watch our RBA videos
• visit our RBA help centre
• use our virtual assistant
• contact us directly

If you are still unable to find an answer to your question, you can contact the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013, selecting the option for RBA.