01 FebWelcome to 2024
Happy new year to all ELAA members and stakeholders across the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector. 2024 is going to present opportunities for growth, innovation, and collaboration, and the team at ELAA is excited for the year ahead. The first week of Term 1 is always special with children, families and staff commencing or recommencing their early education journeys. In this update I want to share with you what ELAA will be doing in 2024 to support the sector.
I will be hitting the road regularly over the next two months and look forward to visiting metropolitan and regional ECEC centres operated by ELAA’s members. I will be keen to hear about your services, your views re the sector and what you need from ELAA. The insights and feedback I gather will be invaluable to informing ELAA’s work in 2024, and to ensure ELAA continues to seek new and improved ways to support you.
In the coming months, the team at ELAA will be increasing its focus on advocating for our members in navigating the substantial Victorian Best Start, Best Life reforms and the Commonwealth Government initiated inquiries that are expected to drive additional change for our sector.
ELAA has improvement projects underway to make it easier for ELAA members to access information and support, including a new website and new digital tools. I recognise that ELAA’s member organisations are comprised of busy people, and I look forward to ELAA providing greater levels of support, time-saving functionality, and easier to find resources. To ensure this work is targeted to what ELAA’s members want, please consider participating in one of the focus groups to be convened shortly.
ELAA will be convening a full day, in person, event in May for our members and stakeholders at Melbourne Connect. This year’s event brings the sector together to not just survive but ‘THRIVE’ during a time of transformational change. The event will profile ECEC research, workforce sustainability, pre-Prep rollout, and achieving excellence in Early Childhood Education and Care. Our ‘THRIVE’ event will explore strategies, innovations, and best practices that go above and beyond national standards. Stay tuned for more information about the event program and registrations.
In Term 1, you will also hear from ELAA about the following initiatives:
- the launch of the Skilling an Adaptable Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce (SAEW) Project. SAEW will make available 12 E-Learning training modules tailor-made for new and experienced ECEC educators
- the commencement of bargaining for the VECTEA 2024. My thanks to the ELAA members who have informed the preparatory work through the VECTEA Working Group. It’s really positive to see the continued strong numbers of ECEC services engaged in this process
- phase two of the redevelopment of ELAA’s Early Childhood Management Manual (ECMM) which is forecast to be released in Term 2.
Wishing you all the best for an exciting and rewarding year ahead. Please do not hesitate to contact myself or a member of the ELAA team if we can be of assistance over the weeks and months ahead.
Andrew Cameron
CEO ELAA
