A coach, not a co-author: Storypark Assist helps educators deliver high quality learning documentation through considered AI

How 300 educators and leaders came together with the Storypark team, to help Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services shape and strengthen high quality learning stories through a considered approach to AI. 

We talked to some of those involved:

"I really had no interest in it at all. I didn't think it was a good idea" shares Emma Blake, Head Teacher at Lollipops Early Childhood Centre, who discovered the chance to help shape Storypark AI during her non-contact time.

Rachel Black Frame, Director at Blue Gum Early Learning and Child Care Centre, found some of her educators shared that hesitation. "They were worried about technology taking away the personal aspect from the documentation that we provide."

Amongst the hesitation, there was also curiosity. "Sometimes we have a child here for three years, and educators might not think to reflect that far back when preparing a learning story" shared Amy Cosgrove, Educational Leader at Valla Community Preschool in New South Wales, who was intrigued about whether AI could support educators to identify patterns from a child's learning.

"We had a vision to better highlight progression of learning across stories, which some educators had found difficult to do consistently." agrees Hannah Quayle, Educational Leader at Daisies Early Education and Care Centre.

"Quality documentation and communication with families is really important to the team at Blue Gum," adds Rachel. "We're lucky to be able to operate beyond ratio requirements, which means we can really focus on the care we give and document that meaningfully for families."

But for some educators, writing stories takes quite a bit of time.

"We wanted to find ways to provide more time for teachers to do planning and spend more time on other things, as well as writing learning stories," adds Hannah. "For some, the challenge is simply having something to provoke that initial thought when sitting down to a blank page."

For Ben Popat, Product Manager at Storypark, working in partnership with early childhood educators and leaders was non-negotiable.

"Our considered approach to AI, and responsible AI commitments were born from collaborating with the sector. Continuing in that vein is really important to the team here at Storypark.”

“As we looked to evolve our AI product further, we knew we had to do it alongside the teams it was built to serve."

And so, the team started a 12-month project in conversation with the sector. Interviews and co-design sessions ran across dozens of services, from small independents to large multi-site networks. 

An outcome of the research was large-scale agreement on the relationship between educator ownership, AI support and where the line should sit. 

“Services needed a tool that would operate as a coach, not a co-author. A solution designed to support the thinking behind a learning story, without ever taking over.” shares Amanda Higgins, Lead Pegagogical Consultant at Storypark. 

An early access programme was essential to developing Storypark Assist in partnership with the sector, giving educators access to the tool so they could give feedback as it was shaped.

In April 2026, drafting and reviewing stories with AI became part of Storypark’s optional AI add-on, and renamed to Storypark Assist. It works by providing pedagogically aligned suggestions that help educators to capture what happened, reflect on why it mattered, explore what it may show about learning and consider next steps. 

"It still feels like I'm writing it," says Amanda Prior, Head Teacher at NatureSpace Early Learning. "As an experienced educator, you've been in it for so long, you know what you need to write, but getting that information out can be really hard. Before, the children may have got one story a month, because that's all we had time for, but now they might get an extra moment, because AI makes it so much easier."

Rachel agrees. "It speeds up what they're already doing. You don't always have the words, or you want something to sound better. Storypark Assist can help with that."

"Sometimes in a learning moment, the educator is focussed on something that was happening that was really rich and they don't notice something else that the AI then prompts you towards," adds Amy.

Amy loved that she could choose influences like Circle of Security, Reggio Emilia, Children's Schema or Anne Pelo's Thinking Lens for the AI to lean into. "It'll be really interesting to see how that supports our practice in the future."

"We hoped Storypark Assist would help surface progression and draw on information from previous learning stories to build continuity. It does that now — and I love it," adds Hannah.

Storypark Assist continues to include spelling, grammar, tone and translation tools that support the practical side of writing.

"Before, where the children shared the same experience, I may have corrected the same mistake across 90 different learning stories. Now the educators are fixing it at the source," shares Amy. "It's saving me time, improving their writing and helping their confidence too, I think."

"We have an educator whose first language isn't English. Storypark Assist has really helped fine-tune her stories. They don't need as much time and energy from myself or my 2IC as they used to," adds Rachel.

As for Emma, "I didn't think it was going to work, but it's become really helpful for me and my team." Emma has since shared her experiences with other centre managers across Evolve New Zealand's network of services. "They're all slowly starting to roll it out in their centres as well."

"It's been good to work with the team, and to see how Storypark Assist will grow next. It's so tailored to what we need as early childhood teachers, which is really great to see."

Find out more here or register for our upcoming webinar about Storypark Assist. 

Author:

Katie Dowle is the Chief Product Officer at Storypark and began her career in education before transitioning into tech over a decade ago. She joined Storypark in 2021, finding the perfect opportunity to blend her two passions: education and technology. Katie is deeply passionate about responsible AI to drive innovation and insights in the ECEC sector.