Back to VCAA Bulletin No. 50 - July 2019
New VCAA videos available: Early Years Twilight Seminar
If you missed the last Early Years Twilight Seminar in May, or would like to find out more about the literature review of tools to assess children as confident and involved learners, the highlight videos will be available on the VCAA website from Wednesday 24 July 2019.
The next Early Years Twilight Seminar will be held on Wednesday 14 August, at Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership, and network sites across Melbourne and Victoria. There will also be an opportunity to sign up for the Bastow YouTube link.
This seminar will feature Professor Susanne Garvis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Subscribe to the
Early Years Alert to receive registration details.
Early Childhood scholarships and incentives
The Department of Education and Training (DET) is funding early childhood scholarships and incentives to support the roll-out of subsidised kindergarten programs for all three-year-olds from 2020.
Early childhood teachers who will be relocating to teach in the following areas will be eligible to receive up to $9000:
- Buloke Shire
- Hindmarsh Shire
- Northern Grampians Shire
- South Gippsland Shire
- Strathbogie Shire
- Yarriambiack Shire.
Scholarships are available to those who want to become a teacher by studying a degree or postgraduate qualification ($18,000‑25,000). Early childhood Aboriginal pathway scholarships support becoming an educator or teacher in early childhood ($2500‑34,000).
Scholarship funding may be used for:
- course fees
- study-related expenses.
Funding is also available to support working in early childhood after graduation.
People of all backgrounds are encouraged to submit an application via the
DET website.
Important information about the Online Transition Learning and Development Statement
The Online Transition Learning and Development Statement (Online TLDS) will reopen in Term 3. Before the Online TLDS reopens, there are some important tasks that services need to complete to be ready.
Update service email details in the National Quality Agenda IT System (NQAITS)
A new username and password will be generated once the Online TLDS is reopened and sent to your service email listed in NQAITS. To make sure you receive this important information, please ensure that the service email listed in NQAITS is up to date. Services should expect to receive their updated login details to access the Online TLDS in Term 3.
Share transition resources with families
Before using the Online TLDS, it is important to consider your ongoing communication and relationships with children and families. To ensure consistent messaging for families, you should begin to chat to them about transition as early as possible. As part of your conversations, ensure that you provide families with the introduction to transition information sheet. The information sheet is available in many different languages and can be found on the
Department of Education and Training website.
Exciting opportunity to trial three new Early ABLES assessment tools
The Department of Education and Training, in partnership with the University of Melbourne, invites early childhood professionals to participate in a workshop to adapt and validate three new assessment tools (Movement, Thinking and Numeracy) that will become part of the Early ABLES suite.
Early ABLES is an online assessment-for-learning tool that supports educators in providing a more tailored learning experience for children aged two to five years with disabilities or developmental delay.
About the workshops
The trial consists of two components: a professional development session and the opportunity to trial the new tools for children with additional learning needs at your service.
The professional development session will teach early childhood professionals how to use each of the Numeracy, Movement and Thinking Skills assessments. Participants will also be provided with a detailed guide explaining the registration and assessment process.
How can I register?
If you are interested in participating, confirm with your management before registering. To register your attendance, email Dr Nives Nibali, Project Lead:
nives.nibali@unimelb.edu.au. Backfill will be provided to participants.