13 FebEmpowering educators: VECTEA professional development days
Under the VECTEA 2020 agreement, professional development (PD) days play a crucial role in teachers’ and educators’ professional and pedagogical learning.
Employers must allocate two child-free professional development days (in addition to the three common organisational days) during the kindergarten year. In the context of this agreement, a “day” is defined as 7.6 hours in duration, adjusted pro-rata for part-time employees.
During professional development days, educators and teachers are released from normal teaching/contact time and other routine duties, aiming to provide opportunities for professional development through a mix of formal and informal activities to achieve specific outcomes.
It is advisable to schedule these PD days well in advance each year for effective planning and convenience. This allows parents to make suitable arrangements and encourages employers to coordinate activities with other early childhood services, fostering cooperative professional development and planning.
Employers also have the option to further support teachers and educators by reimbursing or covering part or all of the costs associated with approved professional development activities (clause 41.4).
Professional development days vs. organisational days
Professional development days, 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 at the beginning and end of each school year. These days are typically used for setting up, planning at an organisational level, and packing away the program for the year.
