Articles for Educators

Articles by Helen

School-based nurseries – our reflections on their rollout

Quick read The government has announced its first round of funding for 300 school-based nurseries to be opened by September 2025. But what do school-based nurseries bring to the sector? The addition of a school-based nursery in a school community is a chance to develop an enriching sequenced curriculum from...

Recording learning, not tracking progress (Part 3)

In Part 1 of this series, we considered methods of observation and assessment in the light of the revised EYFS and new Development Matters document. It’s clear from the guidance that we now have a great opportunity to reduce the number of observations and assessments we record for our children,...

Recording learning, not tracking progress (Part 2)

Narrative observations In Part 1 of this series, we looked at definitions and descriptions of narrative observations and how they can be used to describe the learning and development of children. There is often confusion around the nature of observations; how many to do, what they need to contain, how...

Recording learning, not tracking progress (Part 1)

‘By patient listening to the talk of even little children and watching what they do…we can wish their wishes, see their pictures and think their thoughts’ (Isaacs, 1971). Susan Isaacs believed that detailed knowledge about a child came from observation. She produced record cards for teachers to use in their classrooms,...

Assessment ticklists in the early years

I started teaching in 1990. The National Curriculum had just arrived, and as an NQT I had plenty of help in planning my curriculum from all those colourful folders. They told me what I needed to teach, not what I had to assess the children on. For all sorts of...

Assessment without levels (AWL) – how did we get here?

A summary of the AWL journey and Tapestry’s KS1 and 2 Tier Assessment System Where did Assessment Without Levels (AWL) come from? The National Curriculum review expert panel (DfE, 2011) considered that levels inhibited teachers and pupils and therefore recommended their removal. It was anticipated that removing levels would encourage...

Key Features of Recent Ofsted Reports

When a new inspection framework appears, settings can feel vulnerable; nobody wants to be inspected in the first few months, as inspectors get used to the new framework and Ofsted’s quality assurance, inspection monitoring, and subsequent inspector training settle in. Settings are naturally worried that a previous outstanding inspection might...

By subscribing to our newsletter, you’ll enjoy the following benefits every month:

Updates on new and existing Tapestry features
Carefully selected articles, podcasts, videos, and other resources on a wide range of educational topics
News about current events relevant to your sector

Signing up is quick and easy! Simply enter your email address below: