By Himal Randeniya · Updated 9 September 2026
For educators and leaders working with children preschool age and under in Australian NQF services.
A useful planning cycle lets another educator follow the connection between what a child did, what the team understood, what it chose to do next and what it learned from that response. When one connection is missing, the next step is to examine the evidence and the teaching decision.
ACECQA's guidance for Element 1.3.1 connects assessment with an ongoing process of planning, action and review. The educational leader supports educators to make that process meaningful for each child. ACECQA: assessment and planning cycle.
This guide uses one small example to make those connections visible. Use it to start a team conversation, adapting the questions to the children and context of your service.
Within the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), the planning cycle connects observing, analysing, planning, acting and reflecting. The example below follows those connections. The review questions also help the team consider the child's and family's perspectives.
What needs to be documented?
For children preschool age and under, Regulation 74 covers documented assessments or evaluations of the child's needs, interests, experiences, participation and progress. ACECQA explains that the National Law and Regulations do not prescribe a universal amount or method of documentation. Your service needs a purposeful approach appropriate to the children and how the records will be used. ACECQA: documentation for approved providers.
The five stages in ACECQA's planning-cycle explanation offer a way to understand the process. They are not a requirement to put five boxes on every individual note. Reflection runs through the cycle, and the format should fit the service. ACECQA: documenting the planning cycle.
A worked example: investigating ramps
This is a fictional teaching example created for discussion. Sam, the events and the dialogue are invented. It is not a customer case study, an assessment template or evidence of a child's actual learning.
Start with what was observed
During outdoor play, Sam places a toy vehicle at the top of a short ramp. It stops before the end. Sam raises the ramp on another block, tries again and says, “That made it go further.” A nearby child suggests changing the vehicle. Sam keeps the ramp in place and tries a different vehicle.
A useful note preserves those details. “Sam enjoyed a science activity” would leave the next educator guessing about what Sam investigated. Even a brief account can identify the action, the change and the child's explanation.
Make the interpretation visible
The educator's provisional interpretation is that Sam is exploring how changes affect the vehicle's movement. Keeping the ramp steady while trying another vehicle may suggest an emerging interest in comparing conditions. One episode is not enough to conclude that Sam understands why the vehicles move differently.
The team considers a next question: will Sam describe a prediction before another trial, and what explanation will Sam offer afterwards? The interpretation stays open to revision. It is supported by the observation without presenting a possible meaning as a settled fact.
Choose a teaching response
The educator plans to make the ramp materials available again and invite Sam to choose something to investigate. The intended teaching move is to pause for Sam's ideas, ask an open question and help Sam revisit what happened.
This makes the educator's role clear. “Provide more ramps” names a resource; the fuller plan explains how the resource could support the learning the team has noticed. The plan also leaves room for Sam to take the exploration in another direction.
Record what actually happened
At a later session, Sam chooses a different surface for the ramp. The educator asks what Sam thinks might happen. Sam predicts that the vehicle will stop sooner, tests it and returns to the original surface to compare. Another child joins, and their attention shifts to building a longer route together.
The record distinguishes this event from the earlier plan. It notes the prediction and comparison, and it acknowledges the change in direction. The planned invitation happened; the children's response also created a new possibility for teaching.
Evaluate and decide what follows
The educator can now identify a later instance of predicting and comparing. The evidence does not show that every explanation is accurate or that the learning will appear in every setting.
For the next response, the team might give Sam a chance to revisit the two observations and explain what changed. It might also explore the shared building interest that emerged. The choice should follow what the team now knows and what Sam wants to pursue.
How an educational leader can use the example
Choose one existing planning thread with the educator who knows the child. As a suggested review method, ask:
- Which detail supports the interpretation of learning?
- What did the educator intend to support, and how?
- Which part of the record shows what happened after the plan?
- How have the child's and family's perspectives informed the response?
- What remains uncertain?
- What is one useful response to that uncertainty?
A missing later observation could mean the planned opportunity did not happen, the child's interest changed, or the follow-up happened but cannot be located. Those situations call for different responses. Ask before deciding that the educator simply needs to write more.
The discussion can also reveal something the process does well. Perhaps the educator's short note makes their reasoning clear, or a colleague's contribution helps connect two moments that had been considered separately. Keep those useful practices visible when agreeing what to change.
Common questions
Does every note need to contain the whole cycle?
Use the related records to explain the ongoing process. A note about a first observation cannot honestly contain the outcome of teaching that has not happened. Keep plans and later evidence connected without inventing the missing event.
Is a longer evaluation necessarily better?
Ask whether it explains what the educator learned about the teaching response and the child's engagement. Several paragraphs can still leave that unclear. A concise explanation can give the next educator a useful starting point.
Where does the learning framework fit?
Connect the interpretation to the applicable framework with professional judgement. Explain the learning in language colleagues and families can understand. An activity label or an outcome code on its own does not explain the reasoning.
For further examples, explore Mana's Australian planning-cycle resources. To discuss how Mana could support your team's process, book a demonstration and bring a question about one planning connection you want to improve.
