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Supporting our workforce through Best Start, Best Life reforms

Learn more about the range of professional learning supports available, including induction grants, mentoring support and training.

A kinder teacher sits with a group of children outside. She is reading a picture book to the children and they are all smiling.

The Best Start, Best Life Workforce Strategy is delivering a range of initiatives aimed at attracting, retaining and developing our early childhood workforce, and we’ll be letting you know the latest about these supports through future editions of Early Childhood Update.

Building and enhancing retention supports

In 2024, we’re building our current supports aimed at improving the retention of our kindergarten workforce by expanding:

  • the Provisionally Registered Teacher Mentor Program to mentor more than 230 provisionally registered teachers across the 2023–24 financial year to help them to gain full registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT)
  • the Innovation Grants Program to support more service providers to develop innovative, place-based solutions to improve the retention of early career early childhood professionals.

We are also developing a new state-wide Induction Supports Program to provide high-quality induction for new and returning teachers and educators to begin their careers.

Continuing existing retention supports

This year, we are also continuing to provide a range of existing supports. This includes grants to support provisionally registered teachers to progress to full teacher registration with the VIT, and Beginning Teacher Conferences for kindergarten teachers in the early stages of their careers.

We will also continue to offer the End to End Career supports program for kindergarten teachers in their first 5 years of teaching, including:

  • access to individual coaching for all first-year teachers
  • communities of practice for teachers with 2 to 5 years of experience
  • an alumni conference to help these teachers stay connected and share their expertise.

Support career development and workforce wellbeing

We’re improving the wellbeing of our workforce with a range of initiatives, including:

Contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch for details.

Support effective leadership

We’re supporting leadership this year through initiatives such as the Early Learning Leadership Forums.

These forums are delivered twice a year in each department area to bring together early childhood leaders to network and connect, engage with the department and build a shared understanding of early childhood reforms. Look out for your invitation to attend Leadership Forums in terms 2 and 3, 2024.

These forums are part of a range of initiatives to support leaders in the sector, which also include the Victorian Educational Leadership Program and the Best Start, Best Life Evening Leadership Series covered in this month’s edition of Early Childhood Update.

Find out more

For more information on the full range of supports available, refer to Early childhood education – information for professionals.

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