The Victorian Early Years Awards (VEYA) are a possibility for the very best and brightest of the Victorian early childhood sector, and people in allied professions, to be recognised for the distinctive contributions they make to the early childhood schooling and care (ECEC) sector.
Finalists had been introduced on Early Childhood Educators Day, 6 September, with the winners to be introduced on the 2023 VEYA ceremony on 9 November 2023.
Now of their 18th 12 months, the awards are a possibility to showcase the distinctive work being achieved within the Victorian ECEC sector, with finalists exemplifying the very important work occurring within the ECEC sector.
To make sure the finalists are all equally represented The Sector has elected to run a sequence of tales showcasing every finalist.
The piece beneath highlights the finalists for the Bettering Entry and Participation in Early Studying, and Supporting Mother and father to Construct their Capability and Confidence classes.
Bettering Entry and Participation in Early Studying
Finalist: Quick-tracking 15 hours of kindergarten for youngsters in danger – Northern Colleges Early Years Cluster Inc.
As a part of a dedication to enhancing entry and participation, the Northern Colleges Early Years Cluster Inc. is already delivering 15-hours of free kindergarten for three-year-olds throughout every of its 15 kindergarten providers. Many of the providers are in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, in areas predominantly populated by susceptible households with language backgrounds aside from English.
Delivered in partnership with Dallas Brooks Major College, Meadows Major College, Glenroy Central Major College, Glenroy West Major College, Belle Vue Park Major College, Broadmeadows Major College, Fawkner Major College, Bethal Major College, Willowbank Major College, North Melbourne Major College, Holy Baby Major College and Merri-bek Major College, native councils and the VSBA, this system addresses three key areas:
Infrastructure
Workforce
Program improvement.
By way of strategic forward-planning, innovation, and dedication, they undertook complete facility upgrades, recruited 51 extra educators and assist workers, and upskilled their present workforce to ship mixed-age programming.
This initiative has led to extra kids in Broadmeadows and the encompassing suburbs accessing three-year-old kindergarten. Educators report that the extra hours are having a constructive impression on kids commencing four-year-old kindergarten by enhancing their social abilities and higher getting ready them to proceed their studying.
Finalist: Rangeview Major College Basis Group – Rangeview Major College
In 2022, the Basis Group at Rangeview Major College in Mitcham started a journey to plot a studying mannequin that develops kids’s reasoning, problem-solving abilities, flexibility, creativity and resilience.
Knowledgeable by evidence-based approaches in early years structured inquiry, this new mannequin supplies a bespoke experiential studying setting the place college students examine ideas in science, expertise, literacy, arithmetic, geography and artwork. The lecturers labored collaboratively with the college’s management workforce to supply skilled studying supplies and assets to develop the mannequin, and set up new studying areas wherein it might be utilised.
After 4 months, lecturers famous enhancements in studying and engagement. Knowledge confirmed a 132 per cent enhance in letter recognition by the cohort of roughly 90 college students. The much less directive and extra experiential studying setting had elevated the extent of engagement of scholars from susceptible/deprived backgrounds.
Supporting Mother and father to Construct their Capability and Confidence
Finalist: Creativeness Magic – Melton Metropolis Council
Creativeness Magic is a month-to-month performing arts and literacy program for infants, toddlers and pre-school kids, together with their mother and father and caregivers. Melton Metropolis Council developed this program to assist susceptible members of the group, predominantly consisting of culturally and linguistically various residents, with many experiencing excessive ranges of drawback.
For the reason that first efficiency was held in 2008, practically 17,000 kids and households have been supported by Creativeness Magic. This free program helps the language improvement of kids by way of a artistic, stimulating expertise stuffed with music and motion, together with multicultural and indigenous performances. Participation in this system additionally builds the arrogance and functionality of oldsters to speak successfully and thrive of their function as their kids’s first educators and advocates.
This system additionally supplies professionals with a possibility to refer susceptible households to acceptable providers. By way of these partnerships, the initiative builds the capability of organisations to assist constructive outcomes for youngsters.
Finalist: The HoPES workforce strengthening the Early Years – Tweddle Baby & Household Well being Service
The Dwelling Parenting Training and Help Program (HoPES), developed by Tweddle Baby & Household Well being Service in 2017, revolutionised in-home packages for folks by offering shorter, extra intense house visiting interventions to assist households with a number of vulnerabilities.
By way of HoPES, workers supply assist, teaching, play/interactive remedy, and modelling with a main concentrate on the connection between the toddler and their main caregiver. The revolutionary and adaptable nature of this program reduces the chance of households disengaging from the service.
Continuous analysis and high quality enchancment initiatives have resulted in a novel and efficient program that centres on helps and interventions across the wellbeing of every toddler. Whereas being culturally responsive and catering for parental studying and literacy types, the HoPES program focuses on enhancing parenting abilities, eliminating abusive behaviours, and addressing danger elements for baby maltreatment.
Finalist: Mother and father Studying Collectively on the Multicultural Hub – Residing Studying Pakenham Inc.
Delivered in partnership with Finest Begin Cardinia, Chisholm Expertise & Jobs Centre and Mission Australia Household, Mother and father Studying Collectively is a supported playgroup delivered by the grownup studying centre and multicultural hub at Residing Studying Pakenham.
This system works in partnership with every household, who’re predominately from refugee backgrounds, and focuses on the function of the mother and father to assist the expansion and improvement of their kids.
By taking a holistic strategy, the playgroup helps mother and father to construct confidence, abilities and capability to reinforce the house studying setting for his or her kids. This revolutionary playgroup mannequin additionally supplies a culturally secure and wealthy play setting the place the kids thrive on actions that assist their cognitive, social and emotional improvement.
The response to this system has been extraordinarily constructive with excessive weekly participation charges resulting in all individuals registering their kids for Early Begin Kindergarten and finishing maternal and baby well being service visits. Moreover, 80 per cent of the mother and father additionally take part in co-located packages and providers, comparable to English language courses.
$15,000 in prize cash for skilled improvement funding
Award finalists had been chosen by a panel of judges following an intensive software and shortlisting course of.
Winners obtain grants of $15,000 in direction of skilled improvement or to additional develop their program or initiative.
A separate Minister’s Award winner might be chosen by the Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep Ingrid Stitt from finalists throughout all classes as a particular commendation.
For extra data on the awards, discuss with the Victorian Early Years Awards web site.