Early Childhood Update - February 2025

Dear colleagues

Welcome to 2025!

I hope you all had a happy, refreshing festive season, and that you were able to enjoy a more relaxed pace over summer. I also hope that the 2025 kinder year, which kicked off last week, has started well, and you, your colleagues and the children and families at your services are all feeling positive about the year ahead.

There’s a lot to take in during the start-of-kinder rush, but it’s worth pointing out some important context about where we start this year.

In 2025, more than 145,000 children and families will be benefiting from attending free Three and Four-Year-Old Kindergarten programs. That’s the equivalent of filling up one-and-a-half MCGs!

We’ve now formally started our Pre-Prep roll-out in the local government areas of Ararat, Gannawarra, Hindmarsh, Murrindindi, Northern Grampians and Yarriambiack. This means Four-Year-Old Kindergarten programs in these areas are now offering up to 30 hours of play-based learning to local families each week. I’d like to congratulate services in these areas on this achievement, and to pass on my sincere thanks to everyone who has worked so diligently to bring this reform into reality. We know this is a change that will mean more time for children to get to know teachers and educators, more time to develop social and emotional skills, and deeper learning opportunities.

A big focus for us at the department this year will be to support services to prepare ahead of the next phase of this reform, with Pre-Prep being rolled out to priority families across the state, as well as to a further 12 local government areas (LGAs) in 2026. Those who will be able to access Pre-Prep in 2026 include Aboriginal families, families from a refugee or asylum seeker background and families known to child protection. Families in these LGAs will also be able to access Pre-Prep next year:

• Benalla Rural City
• Buloke Shire
• Corangamite Shire
• East Gippsland Shire
• Horsham Rural City
• Loddon Shire
• Mansfield Shire
• Mitchell Shire
• Pyrenees Shire
• Strathbogie Shire
• Wangaratta Rural City
• Wodonga Rural City.

In the lead-up to enrolments opening in the coming months, we’ll be concentrating on bringing you the resources and support to help you get in the best possible place to deliver these changes.

The Three-Year-Old Kindergarten roll-out also continues this year, and it builds on last year’s incredible achievement of more than 80 per cent of funded kindergarten services delivering 10 to 15 hours of play-based learning each week.

Twenty new kindergartens will open at government schools this year, providing more than 2,600 new kindergarten places for Victorian children.

Across the state, we've also helped deliver another 45 new or expanded kindergartens, which will open this year on council sites and at non-government schools.

We also welcome the first 4 Early Learning Victoria centres, which have just opened in Murtoa, Sunshine, Fawkner and Eaglehawk. These are the first of the Victorian Government’s 50 early learning and childcare centres, and we’ll have more news to share on this front as the year progresses.

To help you and your teams develop and expand on your skills in the coming year, we'll have a range of professional development opportunities available, some of which you can read more about in this edition.

There’s the Victorian Educational Leadership Program, the Best Start, Best Life Leadership Conference in March, coaching courses for both early career and experienced professionals, along with the important Beyond Blue Be You initiative to support your mental health and wellbeing.

I’m especially looking forward to next month’s conference, and to hearing from you and your colleagues about how we can support you. I greatly value the feedback we get, whether through sector events or through your regular engagement with our Early Childhood Improvement Branches.

Finally, I’d be very grateful if you could share Early Childhood Update with your colleagues at all levels, and, even better, encourage them to sign up themselves.

Wishing you all the best for the year ahead.

Bronwen FitzGerald
Deputy Secretary
Early Childhood Education

A new kindergarten year is an exciting time for families, children and early childhood education staff.

Learn more about what the year has in store and find resources to help you welcome families and share information with your community.

Please share this article with early childhood teachers and educators in your service/s.

Snapshot for 2025

• New in 2025: Pre-Prep roll-out commences in the first 6 local government areas – Ararat, Gannawarra, Hindmarsh, Murrindindi, Northern Grampians and Yarriambiack – giving children more access to more hours of learning.
• Free Kinder continues, benefiting up to 145,000 children and their families.
• The Three-Year-Old Kindergarten roll-out continues, with hours continuing to increase across the state.
• Kinder Kits are back again for 2025 and are available for every eligible child enrolled in Three-Year-Old Kindergarten. For more information, refer to Kinder Kits.
• Services prepare for the launch of Pre-Prep statewide in 2026 for children prioritised for early access. A further 12 local government areas will also prepare to launch Pre-Prep in 2026.
• New in 2025: Early Learning Victoria centres have opened in Murtoa, Sunshine, Fawkner and Eaglehawk, the first 4 of the 50 government-run early learning and childcare centres.
• Services begin to transition from the Kindergarten Information Management System (KIMS) to Arrival.

Resources available

There are resources available to help services mark the start of the year, welcome families and communicate about 2025 programs.

These include the:

• Communicating about your kindergarten  webpage – information and digital materials you can share on your social media channels, websites and newsletters to promote your kindergarten programs and the benefits of 2 years of kindergarten
• newly released Kindergarten Sector Guide – key information about the Best Start, Best Life reforms, and initiatives such as Pre-Prep and Free Kinder. The guide also has information about the support available for children to access and take part in kindergarten programs, such as Early Start Kindergarten
• 2025 Start-of-Year Communications Pack – sample newsletter content and social media posts to mark the start of the new year, talking points for conversations with families and links to further information
• Information about kindergarten in your language webpage – information about kindergarten in Victoria in 30 languages
• Tips for starting kindergarten webpage – tips designed for families to help them prepare for commencing kindergarten
• A new year of learning webpage – information and resources for parents and carers to help their children unlock their potential for a new year of learning in 2025
• Kindergarten for Aboriginal children: Koorie Kids Shine program – resources designed by and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families.

There are also a range of free resources services can order through the Victorian Kindergarten Resources Portal, such as the Kinder Tick signage and free printed information materials.

Find out more

For more information, refer to A new year of learning webpage.

Early Learning Victoria has officially opened the first 4 government-run early learning and childcare centres in Sunshine, Fawkner, Eaglehawk North and Murtoa.

These centres are part of the Victorian Government’s Best Start, Best Life reforms to improve access to early education and care, including the commitment to establish 50 early learning and childcare centres by 2032.

Early Learning Victoria has been established to operate the centres, which will provide high-quality early childhood education and care in areas where it is needed most.

A further 14 centres will open in 2026, and by 2028 a total of 30 centres will be operating across the state. By 2032, all 50 centres will be operating.

Each centre will be located, where possible, at or alongside a government school, making drop-off more convenient for parents.

The centres are inclusive, integrated and connected to the local community. Many centres will also include space for other services such as Maternal and Child Health, as well as playgroups and other community groups.

Each centre is known by an Aboriginal name provided by Traditional Owners. The first 4 centres’ names are:

• Early Learning Victoria Muyan (located at Sunshine Primary School)
• Early Learning Victoria Wimbi (located at Moomba Park Primary School)
• Early Learning Victoria Nyernilang Lar (located at Eaglehawk North Primary School)
• Early Learning Victoria Bani Walup (located at Murtoa College).

Early Learning Victoria is committed to high-quality early childhood education that provides rich learning opportunities in which children learn through play, connect with nature and enjoy positive relationships with educators and teachers.

Enrolment and employment opportunities

There are enrolment and employment opportunities available across the new centres.

To learn more about the centres and how the application and enrolment process works, visit the Early Learning Victoria website.

Early Learning Victoria is currently hiring Certificate III and Diploma-qualified educators and Bachelor-qualified teachers, with positions available for commencement from Term 1, 2025.

Employees will experience a supportive and enriching work environment that offers a range of benefits and opportunities for professional growth and development, and benefit from:

• competitive wages and benefits: receive wages and benefits in line with industry benchmarks and Victorian public sector standards
• growth and development: access to coaching, mentoring and top-quality training to support your professional journey
• inspiring new facilities: work in purpose-built spaces designed for play-based learning and team collaboration.

Find out more

If you have any questions about the centres, contact Early Learning Victoria:

• phone: 03 9057 4444
• email: elv.workforce@education.vic.gov.au

For enrolment information and employment opportunities, visit the Early Learning Victoria website.

Our contracted Kinder Kits supplier, Bao&Co, is contacting services to confirm and deliver Kinder Kit orders throughout Term 1, 2025. Please look out for an email from them.

This year, Kinder Kits are packed into a high-quality backpack made with recycled materials. The backpacks have adjustable padded straps and an easy-to-use zip that opens to reveal a felt board on which children can create a story using the provided felt stickers.

Along with the Kinder Kits, your delivery will include information about:

• what a Kinder Kit is
• who is eligible to receive a kit
• how to access additional translated printed materials.

Promoting Kinder Kits

You can promote the Kinder Kits using the resources and materials available at Communicating about kindergarten with your community.

Resources include the:

• Kinder Kits toolkit – check out the toolkit for social media posts, website copy and a poster
• Kinder Kits video – watch this short video to see what’s in the 2025 kits
• translated resources – this page provides links to the Kinder Kit resources in multiple languages
• Kinder Kits webpage – refer to this page for videos, Auslan translations on the books and links to translated materials to help more families get the most out of their Kinder Kits.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Kinder Kit in 2025, a child must be starting either:

• funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten
• their first year of Early Start Kindergarten
• their first year of Access to Early Learning.

Please provide Kinder Kits only to children who have turned 3 years of age. Children who begin Three-Year-Old Kindergarten at 2 years old should be given a kit when they turn 3.

Three-year-olds who attend long day care but not a funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten program and 4-year-olds in kindergarten or long day care programs are not eligible to receive a Kinder Kit.

Find out more

For further enquiries, contact our Kinder Kits team by email: kinder.kits@education.vic.gov.au

Arrival, the new system replacing the Kindergarten Information Management System (KIMS) for mandatory kindergarten reporting, is now live.

In addition to increased reporting capability, Arrival offers functionality to help sessional services collect and report attendance data. This will help drive our collective efforts to support kindergarten attendance, so that Victorian children receive their full learning and developmental benefits.

How to access Arrival

Throughout February 2025, KIMS service provider administrators will receive emails from donotreply@arrival.educationapps.vic.gov.au inviting them to log in to Arrival.

On initial login, service provider administrators must validate their access to Arrival by verifying their identity by text message, personal email or an authenticator app.

Annual confirmation

Once Arrival users have access to the system, all program, teacher and educator and enrolment data can be entered in preparation for annual confirmation.

Service providers will be able to commence annual confirmation once they are onboarded to Arrival. We encourage providers to prioritise completing this step so they can receive their full and correct 2025 funding entitlements as soon as possible.

The department will provide service providers in the coming weeks with further details on how to complete annual confirmation.

Attendance data collection

There will be a staged approach to the commencement of attendance data reporting for sessional services, which will start from Term 2, 2025. We will provide further information to sessional services about this process ahead of this time.

Guidance and support

Instructions on Arrival, including how to complete registrations or validate access and add or update users, are available at Arrival: Guidance and resources.

Guidance and support for all other activities are available through the ‘Help’ link in Arrival.

Find out more

For more information, refer to the Arrival homepage(opens in a new window).

For further enquiries, contact the department’s Arrival Implementation team by email: arrival.implementation@education.vic.gov.au

With the introduction of Pre-Prep, there will be some changes at your service, whether you work within a large provider with multiple services, or a standalone kindergarten with a parent-run committee of management.

We've released a change management toolkit to support services to undertake change management activities to deliver 15 hours of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and increased hours of Pre-Prep.

The toolkit follows the release of the Three-Year-Old Kindergarten and Pre-Prep operational policy settings, which will apply from 2026.

The toolkit is primarily for service leaders and centre managers or directors in sessional kindergarten services and long day care centres but may also be useful for teachers and educators.

What’s included

The toolkit has information and tools about:

• how to work closely with your team, and use their knowledge and expertise
• leading change, including 3 core change management principles you can use that are based on research with leaders in early childhood services
• program modelling options, including multi-age groups, rotational models, teaching longer days and team teaching
• retaining and valuing your skilled teachers and educators
• engaging and communicating with families about Pre-Prep
• supporting families and children from priority cohorts with early access to Pre-Prep in 2026.

The way your service makes changes to deliver more hours will depend on what is right for your team and community.

Your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch can provide you with change management support, tailored to your service.

Find out more

For further enquiries or suggestions about the toolkit, contact our Change Management team by email: bsbl.change.management@education.vic.gov.au

The department is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from all school and school-council run early childhood education and care (ECEC) services wanting to form a new or vary an existing foreign arrangement in 2025.

This is in line with Australia’s foreign policy objectives under the Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Act 2020.

This requirement does not apply to services not run by a school or school council.

Under the Act, all school and school-council run ECEC services must submit their proposed arrangements or variations to existing arrangements to the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the department.

To do this, please contact the department’s Stakeholder Engagement team in the first instance, before negotiating or entering into arrangements with foreign entities.

This ensures that arrangements between state and territory government departments and international counterparts are aligned to Australia’s foreign policy objectives.

Arrangements that need approval

The legislation extends to any written arrangements, agreements or contracts between school and school-council run ECEC services, and foreign entities, including overseas governments, universities and other schools.

Common examples of foreign arrangements requiring Australian Government approval include:

• partnerships with foreign ECEC providers or services
• agreements
• written arrangements
• contracts
• memoranda of understanding (MoU)
• teacher exchange programs.

Arrangements may be in any form, and do not need to be signed or legally binding to fall within the scope of the Act.

How to submit an EOI

The department’s EOI process for new or existing foreign arrangements happens twice a year ‒ in Term 1, and in June.

If you are considering varying or entering into a new foreign arrangement between now and June 2025, please contact the department by Friday 14 March 2025 with a:

• Foreign Arrangement form for schools/ECEC services 
• draft MoU or updated foreign arrangement.

Please send these documents to the department’s Stakeholder Engagement team.

Find out more

For further enquiries, contact the department by email: ied.stakeholder.engagement@education.vic.gov.au

As outlined in our December 2024 edition of Early Childhood Update, applications for the Victorian Government’s 2024–25 skilled visa nomination program are open.

Early childhood teachers (ECTs) are on the skilled occupation list and are eligible to apply for a skilled visa nomination.

The program can help ECTs currently on temporary visas to stay in Victoria and take up a pathway to permanent residency. Eligible ECTs living in Victoria and overseas can submit a registration of interest on the Live in Melbourne website.

The Victorian Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, in collaboration with the Department of Education, will hold a webinar about the program on Tuesday 18 February 2025 for people on temporary visas who hold ECT qualifications.

Please share information about the program, and the upcoming webinar, with early childhood teachers employed in your service who hold temporary visa status.

About the webinar

The one-hour session will include information about:

• the Commonwealth Government’s
  • Migration Strategy updates
  • skilled visa pathways
  • migrant worker reforms
  • My VEVO app
• Victoria's Skilled Visa Nomination Program 2024-25
  • Victoria's subclass 190 and subclass 491 visa nomination program
  • application process
• Department of Education
  • professional development support for early childhood teachers in Victoria
  • job opportunities and location incentives
• other useful resources.

Event details

Date: Tuesday 18 February 2025

Time: 2 pm to 3 pm

Platform: online

Cost: free.

To register for the webinar, refer to Skilled migration pathways for early childhood teachers.

Find out more

For more information, refer to the Live in Melbourne website.

For further enquiries, contact the Department of Education by email: early.childhood.jobs@education.vic.gov.au

The Early Childhood Wellbeing Support Program (ECWSP) is part of the Victorian Government’s commitment to provide free counselling for early childhood teachers and educators.

The program, delivered by TELUS Health, provides up to 4 counselling sessions each year to eligible staff. Sessions are free and confidential and can provide professional and personal support. Counselling is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Translation services are available.

TELUS Health has a team of psychologists, counsellors and social workers who offer expertise and support across a range of professional and personal areas, including:

• developing strategies to manage stress
• creating a better work-life balance
• managing and implementing strategies to support your mental health
• managing community and cultural conflicts of interest
• managing and implementing strategies to support you with family issues or conflict
• drug and alcohol related issues.

A dedicated support line is available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. For an appointment call 1800 816 152.

Eligibility

Staff directly employed by a service under the Victorian Early Childhood Teachers and Educators Agreement 2020 are eligible, including:

• early childhood teachers delivering a funded kindergarten program
• educators, activity group leaders, advisors and casual relief teachers helping to deliver a funded kindergarten program.

How to access support

Eligible staff can access free counselling sessions through a range of platforms – phone, in-person and live chat.

For an appointment call 1300 360 364 or to start an SMS conversation with a clinician, send a text message to 0480 032 310.

Additional services available

The program also provides support to teachers and educators through mediation and access to critical incident support.

Mediation support can help community-based kindergarten services experiencing workplace disputes or conflicts to achieve positive outcomes.

A critical response service is available to all funded kindergarten services who experience a sudden or serious emergency or trauma within their community.

If you would like to request mediation or critical incident response, contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch.

Find out more

For more information, look for the TELUS Health brochures at your service or ask your service provider for the TELUS Health contact details so that you can access all of the supports available.

For further enquiries, contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch.

Be You is a national mental health in education initiative that equips teachers and educators with knowledge, tools and resources to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in Australia.

Delivered by Beyond Blue, in collaboration with Early Childhood Australia and headspace, this free initiative also supports early learning services to work towards a whole learning community approach to mental health.

Early childhood teachers and educators

Educator wellbeing is at the heart of caring for children and young people.

There are a range of professional learning modules and tools available through the initiative to help early childhood teachers and educators develop their mental health skills and knowledge. These include tools to help you reflect on stressors, encourage help-seeking behaviour, and plan how to support your wellbeing.

To register as an individual, visit the Be You registration page on the Beyond Blue website.

For more information and resources, visit Educator wellbeing.

Early learning services

Be You also offers an effective model for implementing a whole-learning community approach to mental health and wellbeing.

A Be You Learning Community is a school or early childhood education and care service that has committed to a whole-learning community approach to mental health and wellbeing. It has strong support from leadership, with an action team leader and team ready to drive change.

This approach makes a powerful statement to the wider community about your commitment to promoting mental health and wellbeing.

To help you lead, create and sustain positive change, you'll have access to a variety of Be You supports, tools and resources.

For the list of available tools, visit Educator wellbeing tools.

To register to become a Be You Learning Community or find out more, visit Become a Be You Learning Community.

Find out more

For further enquiries about the initiative, contact the Be You team at Beyond Blue.

Registrations are open for experienced teachers looking to support provisionally registered teachers (PRTs) achieve full registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).

A partnership between the department and the VIT, the Effective Mentoring Program(opens in a new window) (EMP) is designed for experienced teachers who are mentoring provisionally registered teachers in schools and early childhood settings.

By the end of the free program, participants will:

• have mentoring skills to support all teaching colleagues, in line with the Mentoring Capability Framework(opens in a new window)
• qualify to be the VIT-trained mentor on workplace recommendation panels
• achieve certification (including professional learning hours toward VIT registration)
• have completed activities that support applied learning between program days
• have learnt about current research and practice in mentoring.

Backfill

Approved providers of a Victorian government-funded kindergarten service may be eligible to claim a contribution of up to 2 days of backfill for early childhood teachers participating in the EMP.

Visit Effective Mentoring Program for further information on eligibility and how to apply.

Eligibility

The EMP is for experienced teachers who hold a current VIT registration and are mentoring PRTs in:

• government, Catholic and independent schools
• early childhood and education care settings
• non-school education centres (for example, hospitals and zoos).

Program requirements

To complete the EMP, participants must attend both day 1 and day 2 of the program and complete the pre- and post-event online modules.

The 2-day program will be delivered face-to-face from Term 1 to Term 3 in 2025, with a limited number of online seminars available to participants who are unable to access a face-to-face seminar.

A one-day refresher program is also available for participants who have previously completed the EMP.

How to register

Registrations are now open for 2025, with limited places.

To register and for more information regarding dates, refer to the full 2-day program or one-day refresher program(opens in a new window).

Find out more

For more information, including how to access backfill, refer to the Effective Mentoring Program(opens in a new window).

For further enquiries, contact the department by email: ec.mentoring@education.vic.gov.au

We offer a range of professional development programs for early childhood educators and teachers, no matter their career stage.

Please share these coaching opportunities, designed to help build strong and long-lasting careers, with all early childhood teachers and educators at your services.

Early career teachers and educators

The End-to-End Career Supports Coaching Program is a great option for early career teachers and diploma-qualified educators in their first 2 years of practice. This program enables participants to receive up to 9.5 hours of tailored coaching from experienced early childhood coaches.

The independent coaches are seasoned professionals with more than 5 years of experience in the teaching profession. They’ll bring a wealth of practical knowledge and actionable strategies to support you in your professional journey.

Additionally, diploma-qualified educators who are undertaking coaching will be eligible to access Beginning Teacher Conferences in 2025, as well as an End-to-End Alumni Conference at the end of the year.

Service leaders supporting this program will benefit from:

• improved staff retention and job satisfaction (NQS 4)
• enhanced staff expertise and confidence in leading kindergarten programs, leading to better child learning outcomes (NQS 1)
• cultivation of a learning culture within the workplace, fostering continuous development (NQS 4)
• increased organisational credibility, establishing the service as a leader in delivering high-quality education (NQS 7).

Find out more

To register your interest, refer to About the End-to-End Career Supports Coaching Program webpage.

Experienced teachers and educators

A coaching service, fully funded by the Victorian Government, is available for experienced teachers and educators returning to or joining the Victorian early childhood education sector.

The Coaching for Returning Teachers and Educators Program, delivered in partnership with Gowrie Victoria, is designed to support experienced early childhood teachers and educators who are:

• joining the Victorian early childhood sector from interstate or overseas
• returning to the sector after extended leave
• transitioning from working in schools.

How it works

The wraparound support includes up to 20 hours of individualised coaching, delivered flexibly with both face-to-face and online coaching sessions available.

Gowrie Victoria’s experienced coaches help participants to:

• familiarise themselves with Victorian programs, reforms and frameworks (including the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework)
• connect with local networks and supports
• build their confidence and a stronger sense of professional identity.

Visit the Coaching for Returning Teachers and Educators Program webpage to view case study videos, learn more about the program and express your interest in accessing this free service.

Find out more

For more information, contact Gowrie Victoria on:

• phone: 03 8624 1077
• email: coaching@gowrievictoria.org.au

Feeling unchallenged and looking for new professional learning opportunities, Rachael McBrien, director and educational leader of Fawkner Kindergarten, applied to take part in the Victorian Educational Leadership Program (VELP) in October 2023.

The free program includes 2 micro-credentialed course options available to all educational leaders in Victorian government-funded kindergarten services. Applications for the Term 2, 2025, program close on Friday 28 February.

Rachael, who has been a teacher for 29 years, was hoping to strengthen her abilities as a pedagogical leader.

‘Pedagogy was a word that mystified me,’ Rachael said.

‘Pedagogy can be so broad in early childhood. I wanted to confidently be a pedagogical leader as part of my educational leader role.’

Inspiring her vision for the future

Taking part in VELP prompted Rachael to reflect on her leadership style. It gave her new tools to use in her role and developed her ability to source and use professional readings and resources.

Rachael also valued the opportunity to meet other leaders in the early childhood sector.

‘As a profession, early childhood is so diverse,' Rachael said.

‘Early childhood professionals all bring a variety of experience, knowledge and skills to their roles. As a community, we are so willing to share our experiences, knowledge and practices.’

Through VELP, Rachael developed an action-research project focused on embedding First Nations’ perspectives in kindergarten programs across her centre.

‘I am hoping that participation from educators will promote working as a team and give educators the confidence to embed First Nations’ perspectives and knowledges,’ Rachael said.

After completing the program, Rachael said she felt ‘energised’ and is confident her improved leadership skills will have a flow-on effect to her team and the children and families in her centre.

Rachael encourages educators considering applying for the program to ‘be brave and step outside your comfort zone’.

Registration timeline

VELP is running again in terms 2 and 3, 2025. Registrations for Term 2 are currently open, with expressions of interest closing on 6 pm Friday 28 February 2025.

Registrations for Term 3 will open in March 2025.

Keep an eye out for more information in future editions of Early Childhood Update.

Find out more

For more information, refer to the Victorian Educational Leadership Program.

Chisholm Institute has been working with TAFEs across Victoria to support trainees to work and study locally as part of Early Childhood Tertiary Partnerships program. The program supports a range of people including, young people entering the workforce, long-term unemployed, recent migrants and those changing careers.

All trainees undertaking a Certificate III or Diploma through the Chisholm program are invited to participate in the Gaining the Edge workshop. This partnership between Chisholm Institute and Foundation Learning Centre helps students to develop the skills they need to complete their early childhood education traineeship and thrive in employment.

Helping to achieve goals

Once linked to an early childhood education service through Chisholm Institute, trainees are invited to take part in a 2-day job readiness workshop with the Foundation Learning Centre.

The free workshop focuses on employability and resilience. The topics covered include time management, collaborative learning, employer expectations and common challenges in the workplace.

About 190 trainees have taken part in the Gaining the Edge program since it launched.

Recent participant Jessica Houston said she found the program hugely beneficial.

During her time on parental leave, Jessica became interested in a career change from administration to early childhood education. She completed the Gaining the Edge workshop in October 2024.

‘The program helped me to prepare to return to the workplace,’ Jessica said. ‘I found the workplace techniques taught very useful.’

Jessica said the program also prompted her to set goals for her future in the early childhood sector.

‘It got me thinking about my next steps and progressing in early childhood education,’ Jessica said.

‘I really enjoyed working with the children and getting to know them. It was a really good career change for me.’

Jessica is currently doing her Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.

The Gaining the Edge partnership between Chisholm Institute and The Foundation Learning Centre was a finalist in the 2024 Victorian Learn Local Awards.

Find out more

For more information about TAFE traineeships offered through the Early Childhood Tertiary Partnership program, including the Gaining the Edge program, refer to the Chisholm Institute webpage.