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
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