Promoting continuity of learning
and development
Overview
This presentation explores how teachers promote
continuity and includes a focus on:
• the Continua of learning and development
• documentation to support transitions.
Promoting continuity
Teachers promote continuity by:
• using the Continua of learning and development to
make judgments about individual children’s learning
progress
• sharing information about children’s learning progress
with partners:
− throughout the year
− when summarising learning to support transition into
the Prep Year (transition statement).
Promoting continuity
Teachers promote continuity by:
• explicitly promoting the understandings, skills and
dispositions that help children to make smooth
transitions
• helping children to gradually understand expectations,
interactions, routines and practices associated with
new social and physical learning environments
• identifying different pathways and approaches to
transitions that best suit diverse children and families
• identifying starting points for learning that build on
children’s identified strengths, talents, motivations,
interests and learning needs.
Promoting continuity
Promoting continuity:
• is part of a teacher’s ongoing professional decision
making and reflection throughout the year
• requires early years educators working in different
settings to communicate and collaborate (e.g. across
pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and Prep settings)
• requires support from leaders, including the time and
space to:
– reflect on children’s learning
– engage in meaningful conversations with colleagues
and parents about children’s learning
– support individual children to reflect on their learning.
The continua
Purpose:
The continua supports teachers to make informed
judgments about a child’s learning and
development based on a collection of evidence of
learning.
Note:
At the end of the Kindergarten Year, individual
children may demonstrate learning described in
any of the phases on the continua.
The continua
One continuum is provided for
each of the learning and
development areas:
• Identity
One continuum is provided
• Connectedness
for each key focus in the
• Wellbeing
learning and development
• Active learning.
area Communicating:
• language
• early literacy
• early numeracy.
A continuum of learning and development
Learning and development area
Key focuses
The continua
The continua
Snapshot
The continua
Making a more-like judgment
The continua
For each continuum, a “collection of descriptions” of
observable behaviours is provided to help teachers
make consistent judgments.
The continua
To make consistent judgments, teachers:
• refer to the teacher-contributed descriptions
• use the descriptions as a “whole” collection
Note:
• the descriptions are not for use as a checklist
• the descriptions do not represent the full richness or
range of ways children demonstrate learning
• teachers may add their own descriptions.
Using the continua
Sharing information
Sharing information
Teachers share information to support children’s
learning:
• on entry
• through ongoing conversations with partners
(informal and formal)
• through focused discussions from time to time,
e.g. mid year and towards the end of year
• by creating a transition statement to summarise
a child’s learning.
Sharing information
Teachers share information to support children to
transition smoothly into early schooling.
This involves:
• discussion with partner
• summarising a child’s learning (transition
statement).
This helps parents support their child and helps
schools to be ready for the child.
Transition statements
The transition statement focuses on the child as an
active, competent learner.
The transition statement:
• is a summary of a child’s learning
• is collaboratively created.
Transition statements (continued)
Sample: Teacher information
Transition statements (continued)
Example:
Parent/family
information
Example:
Child-provided
information
Transition statements (continued)
The transition statement summarises a child’s
learning, recognising that children’s learning is fluid,
particularly as they transition to a new setting.
It is not helpful to summarise a child’s learning as
being in a single phase within each learning and
development area.
Transition statements (continued)
Developing a transition statement:
• requires that strong, trusting relationships have
been established
• involves working with children, parents, carers,
teachers, relevant support personnel and/or other
partners
• requires time, which needs to be planned for as part
of the teacher’s professional role and responsibilities.
Transition statements (continued)
Some points to note:
• A printed copy is provided to parents for their own
records.
• Parents may choose to share/provide a copy of the
transition statement on entry into the Preparatory Year.
• The transition statement is not provided to the
school/Prep teacher directly (as per privacy legislation).
Transition statements (continued)
A transition statement:
• focuses on communicating about children’s
motivations, strengths and higher-order skills,
understandings and learning dispositions
• is recognised as a “snapshot in time”, given that
children’s learning is fluid at this age
• includes information contributed by and documented
with children, parents, carers and educators
• is based on information gathered throughout the year
in informal and formal ways and in a variety of learning
contexts through normal day-to-day activities,
conversations and interactions.
Transition statements (continued)
A transition statement also needs to:
•
•
•
•
•
include information about the child’s learning in each
of the learning and development areas
be written using positive plain language that parents
and carers can easily understand
describe the level of support the child requires in
particular areas of learning
include information about the kindergarten service,
teacher and contact information
include information about the child’s attendance
history and relevant family information.
Focus questions
What challenges and possibilities do the continua
of learning and development present to you?
What are the strengths and weakness of your
current practices, related to sharing information
to promote continuity?