The Nursery Observation Toolkit 2026 : Making Observation & Assessment Work for You

Observation should tell you what a child needs next. Too often, though, it turns into ticking boxes, collecting notes and writing up paperwork after the children have gone home. In this third session of illumine's nursery toolkit series, following the Induction and Settling-In Toolkits, Early Years Leader and Education Strategist Lara Hudson looked at how to make observations meaningful: what to capture, how to structure it, what to avoid and how leaders can raise the quality across a team. The illumine team then showed how observations work in illumine. This is the written recap. The full recording is at the top of this page.

Key takeaways

Why we observe

Lara chose observation as the topic because it is a good time of year to reflect on it, and because settings often lose sight of why they observe at all. The point, she said, is to understand where children are, so you can make assessment judgments against developmental milestones and your curriculum.

That clarity matters more than ever. Lara noted that the UAE has changed its age cutoffs, so leaders need to be clear about what they are assessing against: age milestones, or what a class is expected to show because it carries the Foundation Stage 1 (FS1) label.

When you review your teachers' planning, Lara said, you should be able to see the observations and assessments behind it. If you cannot, ask: which observations led to this activity, and which children is it for? After an activity, every teacher should reflect on whether it worked, then start the cycle again. Sometimes that means observing new skills, and sometimes observing the same ones again because they were not seen the first time.

An opening poll asked how observations are recorded today. Lara said she sees a wide spectrum in nurseries, including one still using scrapbook-style learning journeys. The illumine team added that many settings still write observations on paper, which doubles the work for teachers who later have to find and rework those records.

What makes an observation meaningful?

Lara asked attendees which of these five statements rang true in their setting:

Many in the chat chose the fifth. Lara agreed that the early years have become rushed, and that children need time. She encouraged settings to build free play into the day, because that is when language, imagination, creativity and skills show most richly. She also reminded leaders that observing well is a skill built over time, not something practitioners leave their qualification already good at.

Build a picture of every child

Lara shared what she believes practitioners need observations to tell them. Together, these build a story of each child, and a class picture that leaders can use from the start of the year rather than the end:

Lara compared this to the class profile sheets many schools prepare for inspections, and suggested practitioners map these factors for their own class at the start of the year.

The five Cs of a strong observation

To make sure observations capture the right information, Lara offered a simple framework. You should be able to see all five in your practitioners' observations:

Lara suggested printing the five Cs on lanyard cards, so staff have a quick reference point while they observe until the habit sticks. The slides were shared with attendees after the session.

Choose the right type of observation

No single observation type suits every purpose, Lara said. As a practitioner, the skill is knowing which to use when. As a leader, it is deciding what you want to see when.

Not every observation has to be a formal assessment. Anecdotal observations that are not linked to a learning outcome or milestone can still complete the picture of a child.

Where the time goes

A poll asked what takes the most time in observation and assessment. Writing observations up came first, followed by linking them to areas of learning. The illumine team said teachers raise the writing time with them often.

Lara's answer to the writing time was to do each observation well once. In a system like illumine, strong observations can then feed progress reports, so teachers are not doing the same job several times. Teams should also agree how many observations, and how many photos, are expected each term. Observations should be concise and precise, not pages long.

On linking, Lara said it takes longer when practitioners' knowledge of child development is still growing. One option is to map milestones to your curriculum for each of the three terms, so teachers work with smaller, progressive sets of milestones. Children can still show other milestones; this simply gives teachers a manageable focus.

Keep, improve, delete: a staff meeting activity

Lara walked attendees through a quick activity she recommends for staff meetings. Bring in sample observations, or ask each staff member to submit one to share anonymously, and ask the group whether they would keep, improve or delete each one, and why. Attendees voted on three examples.

Maya in the construction area

The original said Maya built a tower, "demonstrated good physical development", showed communication and language skills and counted to 10. Most attendees voted to keep it. Lara would improve it, as one attendee also suggested, because it needs the child's voice. What was missing: how she built the tower, whether she counted independently or with support, which language she counted in, what problem solving and decisions she made and what interested her.

A stronger version: Maya chose a range of wooden blocks to build a tall tower. When it became unstable, she removed two blocks and said they were too big. She counted the blocks aloud as she rebuilt, then added another and checked whether it would balance. The links to areas of learning and milestones sit alongside it.

Amelia in the garden

The original described Amelia on a sunny morning picking up a leaf, turning it over, smiling and showing it to her friends. The vote was almost a tie. Lara would keep it but improve the reflection. It captures what happened without jumping to conclusions, which is a good start for a new practitioner. But it does not say what caught her attention, what she noticed, whether she communicated or whether this is an emerging interest.

A possible reflection to add: Amelia appears particularly interested in natural objects and is beginning to share her discoveries with her peers. Next, offer magnifying glasses, collections of natural materials and chances to investigate and compare objects.

Leo with the farm animals

The original said Leo "obviously knew" the animals' names and showed "excellent knowledge and understanding of the world". Votes were split across all three options. Lara would keep it but review the language, and talk with the practitioner about assumptions. What did Leo say or do that led to those conclusions?

A stronger version records what Leo actually said: he picked up the cow and called it the mother, chose a smaller animal as her baby, and said the cow belonged in the field because cows eat grass. That shows real prior knowledge to build on.

Lara called this a quality calibration activity, and said it is often missing in settings, where each teacher observes in their own style without ever sharing it. She suggested running it once or twice a term, especially with a new team or a new setting, and using it before supervision. It can open a useful conversation about language, assessment and links to planning, which can carry through to appraisal.

Ten habits to avoid

On interests, Lara described a child she works with who is fascinated by dropping liquid from a pipette. Changing the colors of the liquid and the sizes of the pipettes keeps him engaged, but that interest would be easy to miss without taking time to watch.

The illumine team added that they often see repeated observations, copied with only the child's name changed. Lara said that is a worry for any manager, because it becomes a tick box even when written as a comment. She recommends leaders sample observations and ask: can I see this child in front of me, what they can and cannot do? Sampling also shows where teachers need support. If little math is being observed, for example, ask why in supervision. Lara said math is often weaker because many practitioners had difficult experiences of it themselves.

How many observations are enough?

Lara encouraged leaders to set clear expectations so staff do not feel overwhelmed. In one setting, she worked it through like this: a 16-week first term, minus two settling-in weeks without formal observations, leaves 14 weeks. In that time, she would expect five to seven good, solid observations per child.

When a leader pointed out that the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) has seven areas of learning, Lara explained that observations should be holistic. A single well-written observation can show several areas of learning at once, rather than one observation per area.

One observation is a moment. Many over time show a child's progress.

Observations in illumine

The illumine team showed how teachers can record observations in illumine on a phone while they are with the children, or on the web under Learning and Assessment, then Observation. Using Maya's tower as the example:

Lara stressed that any system is only as good as the way it is set up. It will not do what you want automatically, so invest time in setting it up around your curriculum and your team, and refine it together. Learn more about illumine's assessment software.

Questions from the session

Can you show how to build a learning journal from these observations?

Lara suggested doing this one-to-one with the illumine team, because the right approach depends on your setup: whether you follow EYFS alone or EYFS with Montessori, and where your baselines sit. One attendee recommended the one-to-one session because their own teachers had not known what was available.

Should observations always be objective?

Yes, Lara said, but practitioners often struggle with it. She said she will sometimes overlook small lapses when the rest of an observation is high quality.

How do better observations help with parent meetings?

The illumine team noted that teachers who have not observed each child closely struggle to describe development in parent-teacher meetings. Lara recommended settling-in meetings around six to eight weeks into the term. By then, you may not know each child's progress yet, but you do know who they are, and sharing that shows parents how well you know their child. For more ideas, read our parent-teacher conference guide.

What topics should future sessions cover?

Lara said the next session was planned around assessment and planning, which follows on naturally from observation. Attendees also suggested a session on observing staff, and one asked about research. Lara mentioned the work of Dr. Sue Allingham on doing research with children.

Resources mentioned

• The observation toolkit and session slides, sent to attendees by email after the session.
• One-to-one refresher training on illumine's learning and assessment module, requested through the in-session poll or a QR code to book time with the illumine team.
• Earlier sessions in this series, recapped in The Nursery Settling-In Toolkit 2026 and The Nursery Induction Toolkit 2026.

What to do next

When we slow down to observe a child, we don't just see what they can do, but we discover who they're becoming.

For more on observation and assessment, read our 10 tips for writing meaningful observations, the guide to writing effective assessment reports or the recap of the burnout behind childcare assessments. To see how illumine supports nurseries, explore nursery management software or book a live demo.