Assessment is for Learning in the Early Years: making learning visible

This seminar explores the links which exist between Assessment is for Learning and Stirling Council's Documentation approach to early learning.

The Documentation Approach to Early Learning is a process that helps us to engage and collaborate with children, other adults and communities in making children's learning processes visible, frequently in surprising and thought provoking ways, including:  respecting children as experts in their own lives, capable of developing ideas and views about their own and others' learning? making children central to their learning by encouraging participation, choice and the co-construction of theories? making adults self-aware, conscious of their practice as partners in learning and able to listen and respond? enabling children to be confident learners with high self-esteem and a sense of self-efficacy? sharing children's learning, involving families and making learning visible to others.

This session will share examples of thinking and practice around assessment for, as and of learning, exploring in depth how bringing record-keeping and assessment into the heart of children's learning is being taken forward through the documentation approach within Stirling Council's early years establishments.

Juliet Hancock is Early Childhood Link Officer at Stirling Council Children's Services. One of Juliet's key roles, together with the Early Childhood Link Officer Team, is to promote, develop and monitor quality and best practice in early childhood provision and to provide professional support to staff in the Stirling Council area, including taking forward the Documentation Approach to Children's Early Learning.

Juliet also has a lead role for Assessment is for Learning in the early years and works closely with a range of early years establishments to take this forward in line with Stirling Council's documentation approach.

Juliet has worked within further and higher education, at a national level for the Scottish Pre-school Play Association and for Learning and Teaching Scotland and is currently President of the Scottish Childminding Association. Juliet took forward national work on Birth to 3, pedagogy and listening to children in her role as Development Officer for Emerging Trends at Learning and Teaching Scotland and has presented at a range of national and international conferences, including the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) conference.

Annie Miller is Head of two Stirling Council nurseries, Croftamie and Arnprior. Annie has extensive experience as a Head and as a member Stirling's Early Childhood Link Officer Team. Annie has been involved in family centre work, led an urban aid project in Castlemilk, and been involved as an officer in registration and inspection.

Annie has helped to pioneer Stirling's documentation approach to early learning and continues to develop this approach at both nurseries, as a powerful means of enhancing young children's learning. Annie has presented at a range of national events, and contributes regularly to Children's Services in-house staff development programmes.