The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) is a learning framework for children's learning and development from birth to 8yrs old.
Similar to the EYLF, it is guided by principles - that the framework calls practice principles - and learning outcomes.
VEYLDF Practice Principles
The practice principles under the VEYLDF are based on contemporary international evidence about supporting children's learning and development.
They help to promote personal and collective acknowledgement of each child's identity, culture and spirit, as well as supporting professionals to act in the best interests of the child. They also guide early childhood professionals as they respond sensitively and positively to each child.
Reflective practice
Reflection is a core part of an educator's work, maintaining a culture of learning and continuous improvement in an early learning setting.
The Early Years Planning Cycle outlines the process of questioning, analysing, acting and reflecting on evidence educators have collected. This process:
Strengthens the decisions they make about what is important to children, families and communities
Increases educators' awareness of bias and inequities, and supports them to uphold the rights of all children to become successful learners
May validate existing practices or challenge and drive improvements to less effective practices
Helps individuals and teams identify 'next steps' in improvement
Improves other context by identifying, transferring or extending positive aspects of practice and skills
Reflective practice occurs when educators:
Gather information, including the views and perspectives of each child, and use it to inform, review and enrich decision-making
Draw on expertise beyond the team to gain clear and shared understandings and to inform new directions
Reflect with children and families as collaborators to create more inclusive environments to advance each child's learning and development
Collaborate with professionals in other disciplines to provide, receive and consider multiple perspectives, encouraging every person's contribution
Use sound evidence to inform planning for children's progress in learning and development
Apply evidence-based practices to advance children's learning and development
Embrace professional learning and skill development that aligns with priorities for setting, service or network improvement
Review and evaluate to inform ongoing improvement
Challenge and change some practices to incorporate new understandings into practice
Partnerships with families
Families are the primary influence on a child's learning and development, and have valuable information on their child's strengths, abilities, interests and challenges.
Building relationships with families requires educators to persist in establishing and strengthening partnerships with family members. Just like each family, each partnerships is unique, and educators should work in partnership with all families to build links between home and early childhood settings. The helps to provide greater consistency and complementarity for the child.
To build effective partnerships with families, educators should:
Show respect in their relationships with families, adopting an open, non-judgemental and honest approach that is responsive to a family's situation
Understand that consensus with families is not always possible or desirable
Create a welcoming and inclusive environment where all families are encouraged to participate in and contribute to experiences that enhance children's learning and development
Listen to each family's understanding, priorities and perspectives about their child with genuine interest to inform shared decision-making and promote each child's learning and development
Actively engage families and children in planning for ongoing learning and development in the service, at home and in the local community
Establish partnerships where information sharing supports families' confidence, identifies what families do well, and recognises the family's critical importance in their child's life
High expectations for every child
High expectations are linked to children's agency and sense of capability. From educators and/or families, high expectations means being open to possibilities about children's capabilities and avoiding being locked in to ideas about what children are capable of at a certain age or stage.
The expectation of success is a powerful motivator for children, promoting resilience, regulating behaviour, and establishing goals. Building on children's strengths and having high expectations for success can help educators reach a unity of purpose around the child and family.
To achieve this, educators should:
Commit to having high expectations for every child's learning and development
Show sensitivity to the messages they convey about the child's and family's unique abilities
Notice and actively avoid the negative effects of low expectations, prejudice and low levels of attention to any child's learning and development
Value children's strengths and differences and communicate high expectations to them
Ensure that every child experiences success and is motivated to accept new challenges through which to learn and grow
Recognise that every child learns from birth, but some children require different opportunities, spaces and specific supports, in order to learn effectively and thrive
Work with all families, in particular those experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage, to promote the importance of having high expectations for their children
Expect and ensure that children express their views and contribute to decisions that affect them, including children who are not able to communicate with words.
Respectful relationships and responsive engagement
Warm and respectful relationships with familiar adults build and strengthen secure attachments that are fundamental to a child's learning and development. These relationships nurture, regulate and provide protective factors to support children's wellbeing, resilience and learning capabilities.
Protective factors help children to feel safe and confident enough to try new things and learn new skills and concepts.
Educators can build respectful relationships and responsive engagement by:
Demonstrate sensitivity and initiate warm, trusting and reciprocal relationships with children and their families
Support families' choices and decision making ensure that children experience safe and stimulating learning environments
Help children to establish secure attachments and develop self-regulation
Develop learning programs that are responsive to each child and build on their culture, strengths, interests and knowledge
Support sustained shared thinking
Listen to, hear and take into account the views and feelings of each child
Recognise when a child learns something significant and apply this knowledge to strengthen learning relationships
Recognise and deepen their understandings about other people and how values and beliefs influence their own world view
Demonstrate respect for and understanding of the views of other professionals and families when communicating and interacting across cultures
Equity and diversity
All children have the capacity to succeed, regardless of their circumstances and abilities. They feel welcome and learn well when educators respect and acknowledge their unique identity.
When children experience acknowledgement of and respect for diversity, their sense of identity becomes stronger.
To achieve this, educators should:
Promote cultural awareness in all children, including greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and being
Nurture children's evolving capacity to learn from birth, regardless of circumstance or ability
Support all children to develop a sense of place, identity and a connection to the land and the natural world
Engage in sustained shared conversations with children to explore equity and diversity, to promote each child's sense of identity
Ensure that the interests, abilities and culture of every child and their family are understood and valued
Ensure that all children have equitable access to resources and opportunities to demonstrate their learning
Maximise opportunities for all children to do well and learn from others, including opportunities to experience diversity and difference in ways that nurture positive attitudes, and care and respect for others
Identify and implement the type and level of support or intervention that is required to demonstrate and improve children's learning and development
Recognise multilingualism as an asset and support children to maintain their first language, learn English as an additional language, and learn languages other than English
Are committed to equity and avoid practices that directly or indirectly contribute to gender inequality, prejudice and discrimination.
Assessment for learning and development
Assessment of children's knowledge, understandings, skills and capabilities is essential for planning and promoting learning and development. It is designed to discover what children know, understand and can do.
All children benefit when assessment reflects a whole-child approach that includes health and wellbeing, reveals strengths, and shows what might next be learnt.
Educators should assess children in ways that:
Are authentic and responsive to how all children can best demonstrate their learning and development
Are receptive to and include children's views of their own learning
Include information from a wide range of sources to help them assess and plan effectively
Reveal each child's specific strengths and capabilities and any gaps in achievement that may benefit from additional early intervention
Include the perspectives, knowledge, experiences and expectations of families
Provide families with information and ideas to support the child's learning at home and in other services
Value the culturally specific knowledge about children and their identity, wellbeing, learning and development that is embedded in their communities
Are transparent, giving all adults close to the child access to best 'next steps' in promoting a child's learning and development.
Integrated teaching and learning approaches
Integrated teaching and learning approaches involve adults drawing on and moving between 3 approaches in an interweaving way:
Adult-led learning: when adults introduce an experience or idea, and direct the learning, giving instructions, setting rules, asking questions and providing structure.
Children-directed play and learning: when children lead learning through exploring, imagining, experimenting, investigating and being creative in way that they control.
Guide play and learning: when aduilts and involved in children's play and learning, following their interests and responding to spontaneous learning opportunities.
Educators use integrated teaching and learning approaches to:
Encourage all children from birth to explore, solve problems, communicate, think, create and construct ideas and understandings
Create environments that provide children with socially mediated learning opportunities with a range of adults and peers
Promote each child's capacity for establishing friendships and encourage children to learn from and with each other
Share strategies with families and other adults to support learning in the home and other settings
Make decisions about what concepts to introduce to children and when, what is important for them to know and understand, and how to go about building on children's existing knowledge
Use intentional teaching strategies that are always purposeful and may be pre-planned or spontaneous, to support achievement of well considered and identified goals
Reflect carefully on whether, when and how to intervene in children's learning, making purposeful and deliberate choices about when to observe rather than participate
Teach children explicit subject matter (e.g. mathematical, literary, musical, scientific, artistic) and associated skills to deepen and extend their knowledge, understanding and values
Create physical and social environments that expose children to learning experiences and physical activity, both indoors and outdoors in the natural world.
Partnerships with professionals
Early childhood professionals have diverse disciplinary background, training and experience. Effective partnerships with other professionals require leadership, common goals and communication across disciplines and roles to build a sense of shared endeavour.
By developing and refining their expertise, respecting colleagues, caring for the wellbeing of themselves and others, and drawing on expertise of peers, professionals can work in partnership to improve the quality of children's learning experiences and advance learning and development.
Educators work in partnership to:
Research, share information and plan together to ensure holistic approaches to children's learning and development
Respect each others' practice, skills and expertise collate and use the evidence of children's prior and current learning and development to build continuity in learning and development
Continue to learn and deepen their expertise in order to best support children's learning and development
Acknowledge the significance of transitions in early childhood services and schools, and work in partnership to ensure that families and children have an active role in transition processes
Work to improve the continuity of practice between settings, including the daily transitions for children and their families
Foster engagement in early years learning communities, where individuals mentor, coach and learn from each other
Develop and promote collaborative partnerships in early years networks
Provide accountable leadership for learning and development outcomes and support research-based practice in learning networks.
VEYLDF Learning and Development Outcomes
The VEYLDF identifies 5 outcomes for all Victorian children from birth to 8yrs old.
IDENTITY: Children have a strong sense of identity
The 4 elements of this learning and development outcome are:
Children feel safe, supported and secure
This is evident, for example, when children:
build secure attachment with one and then more familiar educators
use effective routines to help make predicted transitions smoothly
sense and respond to a feeling of belonging
communicate their needs for comfort and assistance
establish and maintain respectful, trusting relationships with other children and educators
openly express their feelings and ideas in their interactions with others
respond to ideas and suggestions from others
initiate interactions and conversations with trusted educators
confidently explore and engage with social and physical environments through relationships and play
initiate and join in play
explore aspects of identity through role-play
Children develop their emerging autonomy, inter-dependence, resilience and sense of agency
This is evident, for example, when children:
demonstrate increasing awareness of the needs and rights of others
are open to new challenges and make new discoveries
increasingly cooperate and work collaboratively with others
take considered risks in their decision-making and cope with the unexpected
recognise their individual achievements and the achievements of others
demonstrate an increasing capacity for self-regulation
approach new safe situations with confidence
begin to initiate negotiating and sharing behaviours
persist when faced with challenges and when first attempts are not successful.
Children develop knowledgeable and confident self-identities
This is evident, for example, when children:
feel recognised and respected for who they are
explore different identities and points of view in dramatic play
share aspects of their culture with other children and educators
use their home language to construct meaning
develop strong foundations in both the culture and language/s of their family and the broader community without compromising their cultural identities
develop their social and cultural heritage through engagement with Elders and community members
reach out and communicate for comfort, assistance and companionship
celebrate and share their contributions and achievements with others.
Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect
This is evident, for example, when children:
show interest in other children and being part of a group
engage in and contribute to shared play experiences
express a wide range of emotions, thoughts and views constructively
empathise with and express concern for others
display awareness of and respect for others' perspectives
reflect on their actions and consider consequences for others.
Community: Children are connected with and contribute to their world
The 4 elements of this learning and development outcome are:
Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active civic participation
This is evident, for example, when children:
begin to recognise that they have a right to belong to many communities
cooperate with others and negotiate roles and relationships in play episodes and group experiences
take action to assist other children to participate in social groups
broaden their understanding of the world in which they live
express an opinion in matters that affect them
build on their own social experiences to explore other ways of being
participate in reciprocal relationships
gradually learn to 'read' the behaviours of others and respond appropriately
understand different ways of contributing through play and projects
demonstrate a sense of belonging and comfort in their environments
are playful and respond positively to others, reaching out for company and friendship
contribute to democratic decision-making about matters that affect them.
Children respond to diversity with respect
This is evident, for example, when children:
begin to show concern for others
explore the diversity of culture, heritage, background and tradition and that diversity presents opportunities for choices and new understandings
become aware of connections, similarities and differences between people
listen to others' ideas and respect different ways of being and doing
practise inclusive ways of achieving coexistence
notice and react in positive ways to similarities and differences among people.
Children become aware of fairness
This is evident, for example, when children:
discover and explore some connections amongst people
become aware of ways in which people are included or excluded from physical and social environments
develop the ability to recognise unfairness and bias and the capacity to act with compassion and kindness
are empowered to make choices and problem-solve to meet their needs in particular contexts
begin to think critically about fair and unfair behaviour
begin to understand and evaluate ways in which texts construct identities and create stereotypes.
Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment
This is evident, for example, when children:
use play to investigate, project and explore new ideas
participate with others to solve problems and contribute to group outcomes
demonstrate an increasing knowledge of and respect for natural and constructed environments
explore, infer, predict and hypothesise in order to develop an increased understanding of the interdependence between land, people, plants and animals
show growing appreciation and care for natural and constructed environments
explore relationships with other living and non-living things and observe, notice and respond to change
develop an awareness of the impact of human activity on environments and the interdependence of living things.
Wellbeing: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
The 2 elements of this learning and development outcome are:
Children become strong in their social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing
This is evident, for example, when children:
demonstrate trust and confidence
remain accessible to others at times of distress, confusion and frustration
share humour, happiness and satisfaction
seek out and accept new challenges, make new discoveries, and celebrate their own efforts and achievements and those of others
increasingly cooperate and work collaboratively with others
enjoy moments of solitude
recognise their individual achievements
make choices, accept challenges, take considered risks, manage change and cope with frustrations and the unexpected
show an increasing capacity to understand, self-regulate and manage their emotions in ways that reflect the feelings and needs of others
experience and share personal successes in learning and initiate opportunities for new learning in their home languages or Standard Australian English
acknowledge and accept affirmation
assert their capabilities and independence while demonstrating increasing awareness of the needs and rights of others
recognise the contributions they make to shared projects and experiences.
Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing
This is evident, for example, when children:
recognise and communicate their bodily needs (for example thirst, hunger, rest, comfort, physical activity)
are happy, healthy, safe and are connected to others
engage in increasingly complex sensory-motor skills and movement patterns
combine gross and fine motor movement and balance to achieve increasingly complex patterns of activity, including dance, creative movement and drama
use their sensory capabilities and dispositions with increasing integration, skill and purpose to explore and respond to their world
demonstrate spatial awareness and orient themselves, moving around and through their environments confidently and safely
manipulate equipment and manage tools with increasing competence and skill
respond through movement to traditional and contemporary music, dance and storytelling of their own and others' cultures
show an increasing awareness of healthy lifestyles and good nutrition
show increasing independence and competence in personal hygiene, care and safety for themselves and others
show enthusiasm for participating in physical play and negotiate play spaces to ensure the safety and wellbeing of themselves and others.
Learning: Children are confident and involved learners
The 4 elements of this learning and development outcome are:
Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity
This is evident, for example, when children:
express wonder and interest in their environments
are curious and enthusiastic participants in their learning
use play to investigate, imagine and explore ideas
follow and extend their own interests with enthusiasm, energy and concentration
initiate and contribute to play experiences emerging from their own ideas
participate in a variety of rich and meaningful inquiry-based experiences
persevere and experience the satisfaction of achievement
persist even when they find a task difficult.
Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, inquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating
This is evident, for example, when children:
apply a wide variety of thinking strategies to engage with situations and solve problems, and adapt these strategies to new situations
create and use representation to organise, record and communicate mathematical ideas and concepts
make predictions and generalisations about their daily activities, aspects of the natural world and environments, using patterns they generate or identify, and communicate these using mathematical language and symbols
explore their environment
manipulate objects and experiment with cause and effect, trial and error, and motion
contribute constructively to mathematical discussions and arguments
use reflective thinking to consider why things happen and what can be learnt from these experiences.
Children transfer and adapt what they have learnt from one context to another
This is evident, for example, when children:
engage with and co-construct learning
develop an ability to mirror, repeat and practise the actions of others, either immediately or later
make connections between experiences, concepts and processes
use the processes of play, reflection and investigation to problem-solve
apply generalisations from one situation to another
try out strategies that were effective to solve problems in one situation in a new context
transfer knowledge from one setting to another.
Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials
This is evident, for example, when children:
engage in learning relationships
use their senses to explore natural and built environments
experience the benefits and pleasures of shared learning exploration
explore the purpose and function of a range of tools, media, sounds and graphics
manipulate resources to investigate, take apart, assemble, invent and construct
experiment with different technologies
use information and communications technologies (ICT) to investigate and problem-solve
explore ideas and theories using imagination, creativity and play
use feedback from themselves and others to revise and build on an idea.
Communication: Children are effective communicators
The 5 elements of this learning and development outcome are:
Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes
This is evident, for example, when children:
engage in enjoyable reciprocal interactions using verbal and non-verbal language
respond verbally and non-verbally to what they see, hear, touch, feel and taste
use language and representations from play, music and art to share and project meaning
contribute their ideas and experiences in play and small and large group discussion
attend and give cultural cues that they are listening to and understanding what is said to them
are independent communicators who initiate Standard Australian English and home language conversations, and demonstrate the ability to meet the listener's needs
interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, clarify and challenge thinking, negotiate and share new understandings
convey and construct messages with purpose and confidence, building on literacies of home and/or family and the broader community
exchange ideas, feelings and understandings using language and representations in play
demonstrate an increasing understanding of measurement and number using vocabulary to describe size, length, volume, capacity and names of numbers
express ideas and feelings and understand and respect the perspectives of others
use language to communicate thinking about quantities to describe attributes of objects and collections, and to explain mathematical ideas
show increasing knowledge, understanding and skill in conveying meaning.
Children engage with a range of texts and get meaning from these texts
This is evident, for example, when children:
listen and respond to sounds and patterns in speech, stories and rhymes in context
view and listen to printed, visual and multimedia texts and respond with relevant gestures, actions, comments and/or questions
sing chant rhymes, jingles and songs
take on roles of literacy and numeracy users in their play
begin to understand key literacy and numeracy concepts and processes, such as the sounds of language, letter–sound relationships, concepts of print and the ways that texts are structured
explore texts from a range of different perspectives and begin to analyse the meanings
actively use, engage with and share the enjoyment of language and texts in a range of ways
recognise and engage with written and oral culturally constructed texts.
Children express ideas and make meaning using a range of media
This is evident, for example, when children:
use language and engage in symbolic play to imagine and create roles, scripts and ideas
share the stories and symbols of their own cultures and re-enact well-known stories
use the creative arts, such as drawing, painting, sculpture, drama, dance, movement, music and story-telling, to express ideas and make meaning
experiment with ways of expressing ideas and meaning using a range of media
begin to use images and approximations of letters and words to convey meaning.
Children begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work
This is evident, for example, when children:
use symbols in play to represent and make meaning
begin to make connections between, and see patterns in, their feelings, ideas, words and actions, and those of others
notice and predict the patterns of regular routines and the passing of time
develop an understanding that symbols are a powerful means of communication and that ideas, thoughts and concepts can be represented through them
begin to be aware of the relationships between oral, written and visual representations
begin to recognise patterns and relationships and the connections between them
begin to sort, categorise, order and compare collections and events and attributes of objects and materials in their social and natural worlds
listen and respond to sounds and patterns in speech, stories and rhyme
draw on memory of a sequence to complete a task
draw on their experiences in constructing meaning using symbols.
Children use information and communication technologies to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking
This is evident, for example, when children:
identify the uses of technologies in everyday life and use real or imaginary technologies as props in their play
use information and communication technologies to access images and information, explore diverse perspectives and make sense of their world
use information and communications technologies as tools for designing, drawing, editing, reflecting and composing
engage with technology for fun and to make meaning.
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