This independent Stocktake of the implementation of the Foundation Phase, chaired by Professor Iram Siraj, was commissioned by Huw Lewis (Minister for Education and Skills) from September 2013 until March 2014. The Stocktake included four methods of gathering evidence and validating findings (see Table 2 on page 16). First, a Task and Finish Group which included experts and key stakeholders from across Wales; second, visits to good and excellent maintained schools and funded non-maintained settings (total 11, in the North and South of Wales); third, six focus groups (total attendees: 67 stakeholders, including practitioners from maintained schools and funded nonmaintained settings other than those visited); and finally a series of questionnaires distributed across the sector (total completed: 75). The aims of the Stocktake were agreed and laid out in the terms of reference: Understand how well the Foundation Phase is being implemented across Wales; Clarify how language development, literacy and numeracy skills are embedded across all Areas of Learning (AOLs) in both maintained and funded non-maintained settings across the whole age range; Gauge how well the Foundation Phase addresses raising the quality of learning for children subject to socio-economic deprivation; Establish how and when children enter the Foundation Phase and how progression, particularly from Flying Start to the Foundation Phase and then to Key Stage 2, is or can be demonstrated; Identify where there is variability in quality focussing on leadership, workforce and the experience of the child; Establish how well the Foundation Phase principles and requirements are embedded in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and on-going Continued Professional Development (CPD); Make recommendations for improvement. The Stocktake focussed on the implementation of the Foundation Phase across Wales and within different Foundation Phase providers looking closely at aspects that might inform future policy. We considered the detail of how the Foundation Phase supported individual children's learning, their families and communities as well as aspects of leadership, qualifications, training, standards and transitions. (author abstract)