registering early childhood teachers information seminars may/june 2015

Registering Early Childhood Teachers

Information seminars MAY/JUNE 2015

Early Childhood Teacher RegistrationSeptember 2014

Welcome to the profession

Why do early childhood teachers need to be registered?

•Recognition as teaching professionals

•Support for early childhood teachers new to the profession

•Provides protection to the public and the profession

•Reduction of the regulatory burden


Welcome to the profession

What benefits does registration provide for early childhood teachers?

Recognition as a teaching professional who is:

•Qualified

•Suitable to teach (including a clear criminal record)

•Maintains current practice


Information session: program

1. The Victorian Institute of Teaching – what does it do?

2. What does the register look like?

3. Who is eligible for registration?

4. Who has to be registered?

5. What are the requirements to register?

6. Timeline

7. Other information

8. Questions


What is the Institute?

• Regulates the Victorian teaching profession in the public interest

• Independent government statutory authority

• Reports to the Victorian Parliament through the Minister for Education

• Self-funded


Governance structure

Council of the Institute of Teaching

12 members with relevant skills, experience and qualifications

11 appointed by the Governor in Council

•from which the Minister nominates a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson

A nominee of the Secretary of the DET

Majority registered teachers and the Chairperson must be a registered teacher


What does the Institute do?

Regulates the profession by:

• Registering teachers (and from 30 September, early childhood teachers) in Victoria

• Establishing and maintaining standards of professional practice and a professional learning framework

• Developing codes of ethics and conduct

• Investigating the conduct, competence and fitness to teach of registered teachers

• Approving initial teacher education programs (except for early childhood teachers)


What the Institute isn’t

• An employer of teachers or employer authority

• An assessor/accreditor of early childhood education and care services

• A member organisation

• A professional development provider or industrial organisation for teachers


The teacher register

VICTORIAN INSTITUTE OF TEACHING REGISTER

EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER DIVISION(Confined to employment in EC services) ACECQA approved qualification:•3 year ECT qualification•4 year ECT qual•4 year ECT/Primary qual •Postgraduate ECT qualification•Postgraduate ECT/Primary qualification

TEACHER DIVISION

(School teaching)

LIMITED AUTHORITY TO TEACHDIVISION(school teaching)

Provisionally registered early childhood teacher

Registered early childhood teacher

Non-practising early childhood teacher

Provisionally registered teacher

Registered teacher

Non-practising teacher

Permission to Teach(up to 3 years)

DE&T – Secretary’s temporary approval

to work as an EC teacher

REGISTRATION IN TWO DIVISIONS - EC teachers with qualifications recognised in

both the EC teacher and teacher divisions of the register


Registering early childhood teachers

Who is eligible for registration?Any person with:

•an approved early childhood teaching qualification;

•who is suitable to teach; and

•pays the required fees.



What is an approved early childhood teaching qualification?

•An early childhood teacher qualification approved or recognised by ACECQA

•Assessed as equivalent to an ACECQA approved ECT qualification

The qualifications checker on the ACECQA website guides you through a series of questions to determine if you are qualified.

It also identifies the evidence required to demonstrate you are qualified.

http://www.acecqa.gov.au/qualifications-checker



Who needs to be registered?

All qualified early childhood teachers who are employed or engaged in the role of an early childhood teacher in a Victorian education and care service or children’s service.


Transitional arrangements

What are the transitional arrangements?

The arrangements made to bring current early childhood teachers onto the Teacher Register with the minimum requirements

What does this mean?•Payment of annual registration fee only (no application or national police history check fees for first registration)

•Early childhood registration (no provisional registration period)

•No English language competence requirements


Transitional arrangements

Who’s eligible for the transitional arrangements?

Qualified early childhood teachers employed or engaged in the role of an early childhood teacher for at least one day in the previous 2 years (1 Oct 2013 – 30 Sept 2015)

Required evidence:•Statement of service from an EC service or other workplace

•Letter of engagement on letterhead (see a sample in our FAQs)

•Other evidence (not a statutory declaration)



When do teachers have to be registered?

From 30 September 2015 all people working in the role of an early childhood teacher in a Victorian:

• early childhood education and care service, or

• children’s centre, or • school... … must be registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching.



Application process

1.Establishment of individual teacher portal

2.Completion of online application for ECT registration

•Transitional provisions (EC teaching experience)

•Usual process

3.Payment of fees (annual fee only for current EC teachers)

4.Submission of certified documents

Not available until July 2015



Required documents and information:

•Evidence of early childhood teaching experience (transitional arrangements)

•Evidence of ACECQA approved/equivalent qualification (evidence of completion of a qualification and/or evidence as described by the ACECQA qualifications checker)

•Proof of Identity – category 1 (passport, birth certificate etc)

category 2 (drivers licence, student card etc)

evidence of any name changes

residential addresses in the previous 5 years

•Credit or debit card details


Further documentation that may be required

Evidence of English language competence (not required if registering under the transitional arrangements)

An overseas police history checkIf you have resided in any country other than Australia for a continuous period of 12 months or more within the last 10 years, and were 18 years of age or older at that time, you must provide certified copies of the original criminal record checks from each country in which you resided.

Note: If you have been granted Australian permanent residency or citizenship since living overseas, you will not be required to provide an overseas criminal record check.



KEY DATES – EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER REGISTRATION

When What

July 2015 Invitation to currently employed or engaged EC teachers to apply for registration

New EC graduates can apply for registration

30 September 2015 Registered EC teachers ‘live’ on the Teacher Register

1 October 2015 Commencement of registration period for EC teachers

31 March 2016 Last day teachers can register under transitional provisions

30 September 2016 First renewal of registration for EC teachers


Registration cards

Colours will define the registration type

A teacher may hold one or two registration cards in separate divisions of the Teacher Register

Registration cards issued for the following registration categories:

School teacher Early childhood teacher

Registered teacher

Registered early childhood teacher

Provisionally registered teacher

Provisionally registered early childhood teacher

Non-practising

Non-practising early childhood

Permission to teach

Council presentationJune 2013

The registration ‘cycle’ for early childhood teachers

21

An early childhood teaching qualification approved or recognised by ACECQA

Provisional registration

Provisional Registration

Full Registration

Renewed regularly

(annual process)

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers underpin all registration requirements

Meets Graduate Teacher Standards

Meets Proficient Teacher

Standards

Maintains Proficient Teacher Standards


What happens after I’m registered?

To maintain your registration, you will need to renew it on an annual basis. This is an online process where you confirm that you have met standards of professional practice and continue to be suitable to teach.

Maintenance of professional practice:•20 days teaching, educational leadership or equivalent practice•20 hours of standards referenced professional development activities that update knowledge about pedagogy, content and/or practice

And continued suitability to be a teacher •A current and satisfactory National Police History Check•Declarations about any charges, findings of guilt or convictions for indictable offences



Need to know more?

For information via a monthly circular subscribe to the circular via the Institute’s website: www.vit.vic.edu.au

Further information about earlychildhood teacher registration(including FAQs) is on theInstitute’s website.

http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/

Victorian Institute of Teaching

www.vit.vic.edu.au

Level 9, 628 Bourke Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000

PO Box 531 Collins Street West, Victoria 8007



registering early childhood teachers information seminars may/june 2015

Documents

early childhood teachers

registered teacher slide

employer of teachers

victorian teaching profession

current practice slide

regulatory burden slide

education selffunded

profession reduction