Today I was pleased to launch an initiative to assist and support early childhood teachers in gaining further accreditation in their field.
This is as a part of the Liberal Government’s investment to develop our education workforce to ensure we have the best and brightest minds inspiring our learners.
The Teacher Development Initiative – Early Childhood Specialist is particularly important as it aligns with the Government commitment to invest more in the early years, where we know we can give the best start to our children, setting them up for the brightest future possible.
Ensuring we have appropriately qualified early childhood professionals across our schools is also a key component of our plans to provide earlier access to Prep and Kindergarten in Tasmania and meet the requirements set out in the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care (NQF).
The Teacher Development Initiative – Early Childhood Specialist program will support our teachers with access to free University courses, aimed at developing their skills, knowledge and teaching practices. This initiative is a part of the Developing Our Workforce Strategy, which is our plan to invest in developing the skills and support available to our education professionals, with a focus on driving school improvement and student learning.
It is also an integral part of the formal partnership between UTAS and the Tasmanian Government in establishing the Peter Underwood Centre for Educational Attainment, with a key part of its activity addressing training and professional development opportunities for staff in our Government schools.
The courses will be developed by the Department of Education in partnership with the Education Faculty at the University of Tasmania and funded through the Better Schools Tasmania Agreement (Gonski).
Participating teachers will be supported by the Department to undertake the study fee-free, including release from teaching duties to undertake the professional experience placements.
For additional information and for interested teachers to apply, please visit the Department’s Professional Learning Institute’s website at http://pli-prospectus.education.tas.gov.au
More Media Releases from Jeremy Rockliff
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