13 DecEmpowering growth: VECTEA professional development days
Under the VECTEA 2020 agreement, Professional Development (PD) days are a valuable aspect of educators’ growth and enhancement. Each year, employers allocate two child-free days, agreed upon collaboratively with employees, during which educators are released from the normal teaching/contact time and other regular duties. These designated days aim to provide opportunities for professional development, encompassing both formal and informal activities to achieve specific outcomes beneficial to the educators and the service.
To ensure effective planning and convenience for educators, it is recommended that these PD days be scheduled well in advance each year. This allows parents to make suitable arrangements while encouraging employers to coordinate activities with other early childhood services. Such coordination fosters cooperative professional development and planning, maximizing the efficient use of available resources within the sector.
Employers have the option to support educators further by reimbursing or covering part or all of the costs associated with approved professional development activities.
In the context of this agreement, a “day” is defined as 7.6 hours in duration, adjusted pro-rata for part-time employees, ensuring fair and equitable treatment across the workforce.
‘Professional development days’ versus ‘organisational days’
‘Professional development days’, as detailed in Clause 41, are dedicated to individual and collaborative learning. In contrast, ‘Organisational days’, outlined in Clause 34, are allocated as child free days and are utilised at the beginning and end of each school year. These days are typically utilised for the set up and packing away of the program for the year.
