The early childhood sector in England, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), has been a site of intense policy intervention over the last decade, including the introduction of a statutory assessment of children's development at age five, conducted by teachers. National results from this assessment, the EYFS Profile, show continued and significant disparities in attainment by children's socio-economic status, gender and ethnic group. Using data from ethnographic studies of ECE settings where the assessment is conducted, this article argues that the relationship between assessment and issues of inequality is complex in ECE, and there is great potential for low expectations of some pupils to result in low attainment, which can set the child on a trajectory of educational failure.