The Sustained Shared Thing and Emotional Well-being (SSTEW) Scale considers practice that supports children aged between 2 and 5 years of age in developing skills in sustained shared thinking and emotional well-being as well as developing strong relationships, effective communication and aspects of self-regulation.

SSTEW has five sub-scales.  The first two sub-scales assess the quality of provision for children's autonomy and socio-emotional development. Carefully graded indicators within each item allow a clear analytic lens to be focused on daily practices that support the development of trust in young children and the capacity to deal positively with distress or conflict.

The following three sub-scales focus on practices that support the development of 'executive' skills in children such as task focus, emotional regulation, and setting and achieving goals. Sustained shared thinking refers to the capacity to work with others in coherent and sustained ways towards a goal or resolution. The three sub-scales on sustained shared thinking assess practice that enables children to interact in collaboration with others as they solve problems or express themselves.