Preschool Outcomes Measure

The Preschool Outcomes Measure (POM) is a key reform of the Preschool Reform Agreement being jointly progressed by the Australian state and territory governments.

The purpose of the POM is to support high-quality practice by equipping teachers and educators to measure children's progress against the national learning progressions using an evidence-based and validated assessment tool.

The POM is used to inform children's learning and development in the year before full-time school and is voluntary to use.

The tool used differs depending on the state or territory. In South Australia, we are using the Early Years Assessment and Learning Tool (EYALT).

Early Years Assessment and Learning Tool (EYALT)

The Office for Early Childhood Development (OECD) is trialling the EYALT in South Australia across a range of preschool settings. The EYALT is a validated observational tool for use with 3- and 4-year-old children and focuses on 8 domains of a child's development.

The EYALT helps teachers and educators plan for children's learning by enhancing how they gather evidence and monitor a child's strengths and capabilities. it is designed to support both new and experienced early childhood teachers to:

• document interations to understand each child better
• show how children progress in their learning over time
• support transition and continuity of learning discussions with other educators and families
• improve observations and assessments for intentional teaching.

In Term 3 2025, around 180 teachers across government and non-government preschool sites in South Australia took part in a trial of the EYALT.

What we heard from the trial

The aim of the trial was to understand how the EYALT could work in South Australian preschool settings.

Findings from the trial show that participants found the EYALT helpful for understanding children's learning progress, planning learning strategies and facilitating reflective practice.

The trial also found the EYALT worked well for both individual and group reports and aligned with quality improvement planning (QIP) processes.

The findings of the trial will inform next steps for further rollout of the EYALT.

Next steps

Work is underway to prepare a further trial of the EYALT in the second half of 2026 and 2027.

This trial will focus on using the EYALT in South Australia and give participants an opportunity to undertake multiple assessments using the tool. It will also consider how the EYALT can support teaching and planning practices aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework.

We're excited to trial the EYALT across different preschool settings to help support high-quality practices.

More information about the trial will be shared later this year.