Support for the Victorian early childhood workforce

The transition from studying to securing a role and becoming proficient on the job is a critical time for teachers and educators to consolidate their professional identity and practice. It can be a challenging period and involves significant dedication from new graduates and those that support them.

Expanding the supply of new graduates needs to be matched with support for early career professionals in the workforce, which is why the department continues to invest in mentoring support, grants and professional development to assist early career ECTs to progress to full teacher registration.

Beginning Teacher Conferences

Audience: Diploma qualified educators, ECTs

These fully funded 1-day conferences offer a valuable opportunity for networking and professional development to ECTs in their first year of teaching, educators receiving coaching support through the End-to-End Career Supports Program and early childhood teaching students that are already working in a kindergarten funded service and will graduate in the next 12 months.

The conferences are held throughout the year, both virtually and in person, and cover a broad range of topics, including how best to support children with additional needs and how to support your wellbeing as you begin your teaching career.

To find out more and register visit: Supports for early career early childhood professionals

End-to-End Career Supports Program

Audience: Diploma qualified educators, ECTs

The End-to-End Career Supports Program is for ECTs and Diploma-qualified educators and includes:

fully funded, individualised one-on-one coaching for those in their first 2 years of practice

Communities of Practice for those in the 2nd to 5th years of their careers

an Alumni Conference for those that participated in the coaching, Communities of Practice and/or Beginning Teacher Conferences.

The program provides opportunities to develop your practical knowledge, explore areas of interest and connect with peers. It also recognises the significant growth, and important milestones early childhood professionals accomplish during their initial years in the sector.

To find out more visit: Supports for early career early childhood professionals

Provisionally Registered Teacher (PRT) Grants Program

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders, ECTs

Provides additional funding to approved providers to assist them to support early childhood provisionally registered teachers (PRTs) to move to full registration with the VIT.

To find out more visit: Early Childhood Provisionally Registered Teacher (PRT) Grants Program

Help to find a mentor

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders, ECTs

If you are a PRT unable to find an appropriate mentor, a list of helpful suggestions is available, along with a ‘Mentor Map’ showing the locations of trained mentors across Victoria that may be able to support you through your VIT inquiry process.

To find out more visit: How to find an early childhood education mentor

Early Childhood Provisionally Registered Teacher (PRT) Mentor Program

Audience: ECTs

Delivered in partnership with Gowrie Victoria, this program provides free mentor support during specific intake periods each year to PRTs unable to find an appropriate mentor. Priority access is given to PRTs located regionally that have been provisionally registered for more than 2 years.

To find out more visit: How to find an early childhood education mentor

PRT Seminars

Audience: ECTs

To assist PRTs to understand the process of moving to full teacher registration, the VIT host a range of PRT seminars.

To find out more and register visit: https://www.vit.vic.edu.au/news/events

Early Childhood Tertiary Partnerships

Audience: Certificate III-qualified educators, Diploma-qualified educators

Tailored courses that offer a range of financial and non-financial supports are available for new students and educators looking to become an ECT in 2025 through the Early Childhood Tertiary Partnerships program. You can choose from a range of university courses that offer opportunities to study online or locally. This includes courses especially designed for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

To find out more visit: Early Childhood Tertiary Partnerships program

Hear from early childhood professionals that studied with VICSEG New Futures through the Early Childhood Tertiary Partnerships program:

Through the Best Start, Best Life consultation process, the department heard that access to professional learning and opportunities to network and share knowledge with other teachers and educators is highly valued, but it can be difficult to find the time or the backfill.

Well-targeted career supports, wellbeing initiatives and professional development opportunities support the delivery of quality kindergarten programs, bolster confidence and job satisfaction and contribute to retention. The department is committed to working with the sector to provide these supports for the workforce as it grows and assist services to implement local solutions to improve retention.

Coach and Mentor Training Program

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders, ECTs

This program assists experienced teachers and educators to develop their coaching and mentoring skills through a series of face-to-face workshops and online modules.

To find out more and register visit: Coach and Mentor Training Program

Effective Mentoring Program

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders, ECTs

Professional learning is available for experienced teachers that want to enhance their mentoring skills to specifically support graduate and returning teachers progress from provisional to full teacher registration with the VIT.

To find out more and register visit: Effective Mentoring Program

See how Ali from Moreland Community Child Care used the skills she gained from completing Effective Mentoring Program training to support a PRT to move to full registration:

Early Years Learning Networks

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders, ECTs

All ECTs and Educational Leaders working in funded Victorian kindergarten programs are invited to attend their local network meeting each term. Networks meetings are collaborative and focus on professional practice.

To find out more and register visit: Early Years Learning Networks for early childhood teachers

Mentors of Pre-Service Teachers Program

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders, ECTs

Experienced teachers are often called upon to mentor pre-service teachers during their placements. The VIT run a professional learning seminar to support those new to mentoring pre-service teachers and to enhance the skills of experienced mentors.

To find out more and register visit: https://www.vit.vic.edu.au/news/events 

Museums Victoria Professional Learning

Audience: ECTs

These free programs, offered by Museums Victoria in partnership with the department, are designed to build educator and ECT capacity in delivering kindergarten programs that align with the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) and incorporate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

To find out more and register visit: https://museumsvictoria.com.au/learning/early-childhood-education/professional-learning-for-early-childhood-teachers/

Three-Year-Old Kindergarten Teaching Toolkit

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders, ECTs

The toolkit was designed to help teams deliver high-quality educational programs that align with the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) and meet the learning and development needs of children participating in funded Three-Year-Old Kindergarten programs, in both single and multi-aged groups. Exemplar videos, reflective questions and helpful links and resources are included in the toolkit to support the delivery of high quality Three-Year-Old Kindergarten in Victoria.

To find out more visit: Three-Year-Old Kindergarten teaching toolkit

Be You educator wellbeing program from Beyond Blue

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders, ECTs, Diploma-qualified educators, Certificate III-qualified educators

Beyond Blue’s Be You program recognises that ECT and educator wellbeing is at the heart of caring for children and has close links to children’s wellbeing and educational outcomes.

The program provides ECTs and educators with easy access to useful resources to support their wellbeing, such as the Be You educator wellbeing guide, fact sheets, planning tools and videos. Each resource was designed to help individuals and learning communities build and maintain educator wellbeing.

To find out more visit: https://beyou.edu.au/resources/educator-wellbeing

Coaching for Returning Teachers and Educators Program

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders, ECTs, Diploma-qualified educators, Certificate III-qualified educators

A free coaching service available for experienced teachers and educators returning to or joining the Victorian early childhood education sector. The wraparound support includes up to 20 hours of individualised coaching, delivered flexibly with face-to-face and online coaching sessions.

To find out more and register visit: https://gowrievictoria.org.au/coaching-for-returning-teachers-and-educators

Both new and experienced early childhood professionals need to be able to trust the capability of the leadership of their service in facilitating their work in educating young children and building relationships with families.

Effective leaders are central to building quality kindergarten programs, supporting teachers and educators, and improving services. This is why the department continues to work in partnership with the sector to lift leadership capabilities, facilitate the sharing of knowledge and best practice, and to plan ahead.

Early Learning Leadership Forums

Audience: Service Leaders

Early Learning Leadership Forums are delivered twice a year in each of the department’s 17 learning areas. These forums bring together early childhood leaders to network and connect, engage with the department, and build shared understanding of early childhood reforms.

To find out more and register visit: Events for service and organisational leaders

Best Start, Best Life Evening Leadership Series

Audience: Service Leaders

The Best Start, Best Life Evening Leadership Series are hybrid events designed to provide up to date information and insights on the Victorian early childhood sector reforms.

They feature a fresh, accessible program delivered by highly regarded guest speakers, including leaders in early childhood education, researchers and leadership experts.

To find out more and register visit: Events for service and organisational leaders

Victorian Educational Leadership Program (VELP)

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders

Professional learning is available for new and experienced Educational Leaders to develop their pedagogical leadership and change management skills to support the delivery of high-quality kindergarten programs.

To find out more and register visit: Victorian Educational Leadership Program

Capability Assessment Guide

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders

This guide is designed to support the teachers and approved providers undertaking the Capability Assessment process, specified in the Victorian Early Childhood Teachers and Educators Agreement 2020 (VECTEA) and the Early Education Employees Agreement 2020 (EEEA), to facilitate eligible early childhood teachers to move from Level 2.5 to Level 3.1.

To find out more visit: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/professionals/profdev/VECTEA-EEEA-Capability-Assessment-Guide.pdf

Early Years Assessment and Learning Tool (EYALT)

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders

The EYALT is an online, observation-based assessment to help Victorian ECTs and educators support the learning and development of children in Three and Four-Year-Old kindergarten programs. It was developed by the department to support best practice in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYDLF) Practice Principle: Assessment for Learning and Development.

How the EYALT works

The EYALT contains 8 modules aligned with the VEYLDF and the Victorian Curriculum. Each module focuses on different aspects of a child's development.

In each module, educators respond to a series of questions which draw on the child’s existing knowledge. When modules have been completed, the EYALT can:

generate a Learning Report showcasing the child's strengths and interests

help educators plan what the child should learn about next and appropriate teaching strategies

provide key information for a child’s transitional learning and development statement.

To find out more visit: Early Years Assessment and Learning Tool (EYALT)

Change Management Toolkit and Retention Guide

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders, ECTs

Provides key information and tools to help service leaders work with their teams and families to plan and implement Pre-Prep and continue Three-Year-Old Kindergarten. It includes practical ‘how to’ information and examples about making program changes, such as using rotational models, multi-age groups, team teaching and teaching longer days.

The Early Childhood Workforce Retention Guide, included in the toolkit, highlights effective service-level strategies and practices to support workforce wellbeing and improve the retention of staff.

To find out more visit: Expanding your early childhood education programs - Change management toolkit

Early Childhood Scholarship Program

Audience: Diploma-qualified educators, Certificate III-qualified educators

Scholarships of up to $25,000 (before tax) are available for eligible people who are commencing study or are already studying an approved course to become a qualified ECT. This includes educators who are looking to upskill.

To find out more visit: Financial support to study and work in early childhood

Hear about Sahay’s experience as a scholarship recipient:

Financial incentives available to support ECTs and educators

Audience: Service Leaders/Educational Leaders, ECTs, Diploma-qualified educators, Certificate III-qualified educators

Financial incentives of between $9,000 and $50,000 are available for eligible ECTs and educators joining (and re-joining) the Victorian early childhood sector or taking up roles at priority services, such as those in hard-to-staff locations.

Relocation supplements are also available for eligible ECTs and educators moving more than 100km to take up their role.

To find out more visit: Financial support to study and work in early childhood

Certificate III Upskill Support Program (CUSP)

Audience: Certificate III-qualified educators

Financial support of up to $7,000 (before tax) is available to eligible educators who hold a current Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and wish to upskill to a Diploma of ECEC. Funds can be used to contribute towards cost-of-living expenses while working and studying.

To find out more visit: Financial support to study and work in early childhood

Early Childhood Aboriginal Pathways Scholarships Program

Audience: Certificate III-qualified educators, Diploma-qualified educators

Funding is available to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who want to become an ECT or educator, including those looking to upskill and those already studying. Eligible recipients could receive up to $34,000 (before tax) towards an approved early childhood teaching qualification.

To find out more visit: Financial support to study and work in early childhood

Professional development and paid practicum subsidies

Audience: Diploma-qualified educators

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers can apply for a subsidy from the Australian Government to help qualified staff complete training that adds to their skills or a subsidy to support ECTs and educators in training complete the practicum components of their degree.

Eligibility criteria, key dates and further information can be found via the following links to the Australian Government Department of Education’s webpage:

https://www.education.gov.au/early-childhood/workforce/support/professional-development-opportunities/paid-practicum-subsidy

https://www.education.gov.au/early-childhood/workforce/support/professional-development-opportunities/professional-development-subsidy