Educational leaders in Victoria working in a publicly funded preschool program are invited to participate in a powerful learning opportunity in 2025 through the Victorian Educational Leadership Program (VELP).
Through the Reforms to Best Start, Best Life (BSBL).the Victorian Department of Education has engaged Queensland University of Technology (QUT), in partnership with the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA), to deliver the VELP. Following a successful inaugural delivery to a cohort of 200 education leaders in 2024, expressions of interest for the second cohort in term 2 2025 are now open.
2 micro-credentials are offered:
- VELP Foundations – designed for new educational leaders with 1-2 years of experience.
This qualification focuses on the basics of how to be an educational leader, including leadership skills, change management theory, facilitating team teaching, and observation and assessment.
- VELP Advanced – designed for experienced educational leaders with more than 2 years of experience.
This qualification focuses on advanced leadership models, which promote effective team teaching and encourage reflective practices in teams.
Each of the micro-credentials aligns with the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework and the National Quality Standard and will support education leaders to:
- Understand, identify, drive and implement quality practices
- Use data and evidence to support practice change
- Understand and implement strategies to support the continuity of children’s early learning
The ten-week program will run again in term 3 of 2025 and registrations for that intake will open in March 2025.
“VELP is a huge opportunity for education leaders in Victoria,” said VELP project leader Associate Professor Megan Gibson.
“Through VELP, we bring theory and practice together and strive to empower VELP education leaders to apply their thinking and learning in their own unique contexts.”
“For those who have completed the programme, the inclusion of an Action Research project has helped them translate their learning into practice and embed this into the pedagogical approaches of their service,” she added.
Each member of the VELP education team is made up of experienced early childhood educators with contemporary sector experience as educational leaders (most of whom also hold a PhD), adding a unique dimension to the program that Associate Professor Gibson has been pursuing.
Lectures, online group discussions, and individual workbooks used throughout the course allow students to deeply engage and connect with key ideas to challenge and shape their approach as educational leaders.
The course provides participants with a strong opportunity for authentic networking with fellow education leaders and building a sense of belonging, in the role and more broadly in the profession.
VELP participants are supported to participate through a top-up contribution from the Victorian Government to the approved provider (valued at $766 excluding GST).
Want to learn more about this government-funded and free learning opportunity?
Visit the website for more information about eligibility, important dates and to complete the exam Expression of interest form.
If you have any questions, please contact (email protected)