Who May Be Employed In Preschools In The Future

Media Release: Education

The Early Childhood Council supports the Minister of Education's recent clarification of who may be employed in Preschools in the future.

"The new qualifications requirement provides a much more practical approach to ensuring competent staff are working with our young children than was apparent in the Minister's previously announced plans," said Chief Executive, Sue Thorne.

Trevor Mallard has, in this case, listened to feedback from employers and managers who have expressed serious concerns about the effect of phasing out in-service training.

Many more early childhood teacher trainees choose the flexible delivery option of in-service training than the traditional form of pre-service teacher training. Early childhood teacher trainees are generally women, who often have family and financial commitments that rule out full time study. They quite simply must work and study simultaneously to support themselves through their training. If they can not train in this way, they can not train at all.

Employers have welcomed flexible training options which enable trainees to gain practical experience as they work alongside competent and trained teachers in a supervised situation. They have quickly seen the benefits of employing staff who are learning the theory and putting it immediately into practice in the workplace.

Trevor Mallard has signalled that he intends to protect this vital practice of training and employment, at the same time as encouraging more competent staff to be employed. Preschool managers are grateful for this refinement in policy.

ENDS

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