EMPOWER Project case study

https://player.vimeo.com/video/962936897

Anna Moutzouris Monash Vale and Bridge Road Earley Learning Centre Director

We have two services, one in Clayton and one in Richmond, and we cater for 250 children, and over across both services, we employ 65 staff.

Staffing was a challenge that we faced from the beginning. What was happening in the sector really indicated that early childhood teachers were leaving the sector, within five years. We really needed to do something about it. That led to us applying for the innovation grant.

Karen Turner Pedagogical Leader

Shanika and myself and the leadership team applied for the innovation grant, saying what we’ve really, really like to create is this co constructed model, where the ECTs are feeding in to support each other.

Nick Moutzouris Monash Vale and Bridge Road Earley Learning Centre Nominated Supervisor

When we found out that we were successful in obtaining the grant, we convened all our ECTs together and we just put an open forum out and listened to what their pain points were and what they felt that they needed support in.

Larissa Hayes Early Childhood Teacher and project participant

At the start it was a survey to look at areas that we found challenging, especially we when we first started. And then it was really wonderful our network of teachers, we all met together, and we talked about the difference of experience because like I’ve been teaching for seven years and there were some teachers that were only been teaching for one year.

So you could kind of see the differences in terms of the challenges that they were facing. And we were able to share scenarios and experiences, things that we felt that had worked, and from there we were able to mine map a range of different areas that we wish we had of had support in, that we didn’t when we were starting out at the ECTs, or even the areas that the current ECTs who were in their first year or second year were finding challenging.

Karen Turner Pedagogical Leader

We created a toolkit and within that toolkit there is a website and that website has seven themes and seven different avatars working through a range of scenario based learning.

And the other aspect of our toolkit are provocation cards, which can be used at staff meetings or team meetings and simply work through seven themes and areas of need for ECTs in the workforce.

Shanika Dantanarayana Monash Vale Earley Learning Centre Coordinator and Education Leader

Creating the Avatars was trying to create a way for it to be relatable to ECTs and through our feedback and our work with our ECTs, that’s what was one of the really big positive things that make them see themselves in the characters.

Larissa Hayes Early Childhood Teacher and project participant

As educators, we are very time poor and we don’t have a lot of time sometimes to find that information. So if it’s a one place that can direct you to all different services, I think that would be very beneficial.

And as educators, we’re always looking at critical reflection,how we can develop, how we can improve our practice. So cards that we developed as well as an idea to support ETCs and educators and staff meetings and discussions to develop their practice and that they can learn from each other as well.

Shanika Dantanarayana Monash Vale Earley Learning Centre Coordinator and Education Leader

So ideally the provocation cards travel through all the different scenarios and with the avatars. And the idea is that you can use it to staff meetings, you could use them in team meeting even by yourself, just as a reflective practice. You can just think about in this situation, what could you do?

Nick Moutzouris Monash Vale and Bridge Road Earley Learning Centre Nominated Supervisor

I think the innovation grant has surpassed our expectations of what it has done not only for our organisation but what we think can really encourage the rest of the sector, and to have this resource that can really support early childhood teachers and keep them in the sector.

Anna Moutzouris Monash Vale and Bridge Road Earley Learning Centre Director

The more we can support retaining our early childhood teachers, the better programs we can offer.

Updated 1 July 2024

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EMPOWER Project case study

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