Victoria · Term 4 2026
Every funded kindergarten in Victoria has to complete a TLDS for each child starting school, by the end of Term 4. The online tool tells you which boxes to fill. It cannot tell you what to write. This guide covers what each section asks for, with example wording you can adapt from what you have already seen this year.
Start with what actually happened: one action, quote, attempt, change, or question. A polished observation is never required.
StoryLoop drafts and checks. The educator reviews, edits, decides what is true, and chooses whether anything is shared.
Reviewed 13 October 2026 · Written by Leo, who builds StoryLoop, in Ōtautahi Christchurch
What StoryLoop does with a note
A real note an educator typed, and the start of the draft StoryLoop wrote from it, unedited, with the EYLF V2.0 links, learning and next steps to follow.
Jack sorted the bear counters by colour into the cups. Then lined up the red ones and counted 8. Put 2 blue ones on the end and said 'now it's ten'.
Sorting and making ten
Jack sorted the bear counters by colour into the cups. After sorting, he lined up the red bears and counted them. Jack counted 8 red bears, then added 2 blue bears to the end of the line and said, “now it's ten”.
What learning we noticed
Jack used sorting, counting and adding in one clear sequence. He noticed the colours, organised the bears into groups, counted the red bears, and then changed the set by adding two more. When Jack said, “now it's ten”, he showed that he was thinking about the total, not just naming the colours or counting by rote.
Type what you saw today. StoryLoop writes the draft here, with EYLF V2.0 links, and shows you exactly what it is built on.
No signup for your first try. Use a first name or initial only.
Your draft appears here, with EYLF V2.0 links that only claim what your note shows, usually in under a minute.
Tip: what the child did, one thing they said, and what happened next. Three lines is plenty.
Want to keep it? Start free: 3 stories a month, no card. You check every word before anything is shared.
For each of the five VEYLDF outcomes, select at least one descriptor (the department suggests two to five) and write at least one intentional teaching strategy. The strategies are what a Foundation teacher can act on in week one.
Section 2 is the child's, completed with an adult's help. Section 3 is the family's. Section 1.2 is for children with diverse learning needs, including disability or developmental delay, and the professionals supporting them.
That is the department's own phrase. Describe how this child learns best and what helps them, using moments you actually saw. Leave out comparisons, labels you are not qualified to give and anything you could not point to in your documentation.
A Foundation teacher may have twenty-five statements to read before the first day. They are looking for three things: how this child settles, what this child loves, and what the teacher should do differently for them in the first weeks. Everything else is background.
That is why the intentional teaching strategies matter more than the descriptors. Descriptors tell the teacher where a child is. Strategies tell them what to do about it, written by the person who knows the child best.
These are written for an imagined child, Mia, to show the shape. Yours should come from your own observations of the real child.
Identity: Mia settles best when she knows what is coming next. A photo of the classroom and her teacher's name before the first day, and a familiar job in week one, will help her feel she belongs.
Community: Mia joins group games when an adult gives her a role. Pair her with one buddy for the first fortnight rather than asking her to find a group.
Wellbeing: When Mia is upset she goes quiet rather than crying. Check in with her by name after transitions such as lining up and eating time, and give her a minute before expecting an answer.
Learning: Mia stays with a construction problem for thirty minutes or more. Give her open materials and time, and ask "What will you try next?" rather than showing her.
Communication: Mia writes the M in her name and copies words she sees around the room. Give her real reasons to write, such as labels and signs, and name the letters in words that matter to her.
A statement written from memory in Term 4 drifts towards the generic: happy, friendly, loves outdoor play. A statement written from your documentation can say what actually happened. Before you open the tool, pull together two or three dated moments for each outcome, the child's own words, and anything the family has told you.
For Section 2, ask the child simple questions in a calm moment and write their answers exactly: what they like doing at kinder, what they are looking forward to at big school, what they might need help with. Short and in their words is exactly right.
For Section 3, give families the information sheet early and enough time to write. Some will want to talk it through instead, and that is worth the ten minutes.
Leave out comparisons with other children, diagnosis-style words you are not qualified to use, deficit language ("cannot", "struggles with") without the strategy that helps, and family circumstances the family has not agreed to share. If you could not point to where you saw it, it does not belong in the statement.
If a child has extra needs, Section 1.2 is the place to record the other professionals supporting them and any reports that will help the school plan, with the family's agreement.
Official references
These sources inform this guide. StoryLoop is independent and does not claim endorsement.
FAQ
Funded kindergarten providers must complete a TLDS for every enrolled child going to primary school in 2027, by the end of Term 4, 2026. The online TLDS tool, hosted on the Insight Assessment Platform, reopened on Monday 20 July 2026.
Identity, Community, Wellbeing, Learning and Communication. Section 1.1 describes the child's learning and development against these outcomes and the Victorian Curriculum F to 10, and includes intentional teaching strategies.
At least one for each of the five outcomes. Write each as something a teacher can do, for example: give Mia a job in the first week, such as handing out the fruit, so she has a reason to talk to children she does not know yet.
Yes. The family must always be given the secure link to the completed statement and the chance to opt out of it being shared with the school. If they do not opt out, it is shared through the online tool, by secure email if the school is not listed, or printed for the family to pass on.
Yes. In 2026 the department pays $9 per enrolled child to release early childhood teachers to write TLDS. It is paid automatically and should be spent by the end of Term 4.
Not by putting a child's details into a public chatbot: Australia's privacy regulator recommends, as best practice, not entering personal information into publicly available generative AI tools. The judgement in a TLDS has to be yours. What helps is having the evidence in one place, which is what StoryLoop's transition pack does: it gathers a child's stories, their words and their family's comments onto one page to write from.
No. StoryLoop supports drafting and structure, while educators remain responsible for observation, interpretation, reflection, final editing, and sign-off.
Yes. Stories are editable after generation and saved in history, so educators can add context, adjust wording, copy, export, or regenerate from the original observation.
StoryLoop is designed to avoid generic, poetic AI wording. It asks for real observations, keeps claims evidence-based, and links curriculum only when the observation supports it.
The free plan includes 3 learning stories per month. Upgrade prompts are dismissible, and existing history remains available even if the free limit is reached.