What does the new Early Childhood training package mean for my service and our team?

The new training package is in full swing and brings new challenges to students and services.

Key changes in the training package are:

• 17 units in CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care

• 160 hours of practical placement is required for Certificate III

• 15 units in CHC50121 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

• 280 hours of practical placement is required for Diploma

• Certificate III is a pre-requisite to the Diploma. This means educators CAN NOT enrol directly into the Diploma without first completing either CHC30113 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care OR CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care

• All practical tasks must be observed in the workplace. This means RTOs must directly observe the student completing the task. Direct observation will vary from RTO to RTO; some may require students to submit video evidence of them directly completing tasks.

The biggest impact these changes are having is on educators with older qualifications; for example, educators with Certificate III in Children’s Services wanting to complete their Diploma will have to “upgrade” their Certificate III to the new CHC30121 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care. The majority of RTOs will offer an RPL pathway for these students. RPL is an assessment-only pathway and provides students with an opportunity to provide evidence of prior learning (for example, their Children’s Services qualification PLUS workplace experience and professional development). It is important to note that RPL is not an easier pathway than the traditional learning pathway and often comes with requirements for a large amount of evidence to be provided.

Not all educators will be eligible for RPL; in some instances, a combination of RPL and traditional learning pathways is the best option. The RTO you engage with should be able to guide you and your educators on the best pathway for them.

Most educators have been a student while working parttime or full-time at some stage in their careers. Balancing work, life and study is a challenge to which there is no one size fits all solution. Understanding the barriers and challenges your educators may face when they embark on their study journey is important. They may feel valued and supported and more inclined to share their journey with you. Some barriers educators may face when studying are:

• Time to study; balancing working full-time or part-time, having family or personal commitments

• Support and guidance; in the workplace to ask questions, complete practical tasks, or implement plans, getting help from a trainer/assessor

• Low language or literacy abilities; some educators struggle with understanding the coursework

We all feel there could be more hours in the day at times, and it takes considerable organisation and commitment to add study into this mix. Being prepared and setting ones self up for success from the beginning of the study journey can make all the difference to the success of the study journey. Some things educators can do to be successful in their study journey:

• Pre-plan their study time; set aside a set day/time each week allocated to study. This ensures that they are prepared for study and develop a habit of study

• Have an area set for study; setting a space with everything needed to study means students are not spending time looking for pens, notebooks, chargers etc

• Know what is expected in the assessment. Plan study time to work on a particular task or page of the assessment

• Set goals; small achievable goals for example: answer 5 questions each day/complete 1 page of assessment per day

• Set and know the due dates and, most importantly, stick to them

• Celebrate success

Some things you can do to be an active part of your educator’s study journey are:

• Have a copy of the educator’s training plan and due dates

• Ask for progress notes from the RTO

• Ask to be notified when the educator is not progressing (Most RTOs should do this)

• Complete any third-party reports or supervisor reports as requested

• Provide the RTO with feedback on their assessment practices

Some things the RTO can do to support you and your educators:

• More frequent visits

• More frequent contact

• Arrange visits at a time that is suitable for you and your team

• Send monthly progression reports

• Request feedback from services on delivery and assessment practices

Educators who have supportive employers progress much better in their studies as they feel supported and encouraged to complete them. After all, it is beneficial for the employer to have quality, qualified educators in their team.

Supporting your team doesn’t mean giving paid study time or time off the floor. Creating a supportive environment can be regular check-ins with your educators on how they are progressing, discussing key learning outcomes with your educators to embed their learning in everyday practice, discussing the topics and key learnings with the trainer and assessor and asking how you can embed the learning in the everyday activities of the service.

The educator, the workplace and the RTO need to be open, transparent, and flexible for the learner to succeed in their journey.