Delivered on behalf of the Victorian Department of Education.

Free introduction to early childhood education and care for Year 10-12 government school students October 2025. 

Introduction to Early Childhood Education and Care for School is a short program for Year 10-12 students from government schools to explore the possibilities of a fulfilling career in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector.  

Delivered one day a week over four to five weeks, the program is designed to minimise disruption to school learning. Students will have the opportunity to observe early childhood educators in practice at Gowrie @ the Harbour, gaining valuable insight into the daily responsibilities and experiences in early childhood education and care. These guided observations will help students reflect on whether a career in ECEC aligns with their interests and whether it could be a good fit for them. In the fourth week students will receive tailored support to explore further education and career pathways.

Details

Group A Date: Thursdays 9, 16, 23, 30 October

Group B Date: Fridays 10, 17, 24, 31 October

Time: 9:30am – 3:30pm 

Location: Gowrie @ The Harbour, 1 Seafarer Lane, Docklands 

Cost: Free 

Working With Children’s Check (WWCC): Students 18+ years will need a voluntary WWCC to be eligible to enrol.

Enrolments close: Friday, 12 September 2025

Webinars:

For more information, attend one of our webinars on:

  • Wednesday, 3 September at 1:00pm, or
  • Thursday, 4 September at 6:00pm
Join the webinar here

What students will learn: 

  • A taste of what working in early childhood could look like 
  • The importance of play-based learning for under-fives 
  • What do they need to know before enrolling in a Certificate course

Week 1

Introduction to early childhood education and care (ECEC)

Week 2

Working with babies and toddlers 

Week 3

Play is learning 

Week 4

Becoming an early childhood educator 

Who can enrol: 

Why Gowrie? 

We’re specialists in training educators and providing professional learning to the Early Childhood workforce. Our classes are based at our early learning service in Docklands (not far from Southern Cross station) where students will be immersed in high quality early learning and observation. 

This program is supported by the Victorian Department of Education to enable more secondary school students to explore a career in early childhood education and care.

How to enrol 

For enrolment enquiries please email wendydalkiran@cityllen.org.au OR louisesmith@cityllen.org.au

Find out more 

For information about Gowrie, class schedules or our team of trainers email nancyp@gowrievictoria.org.au

Meet the team

Sue Plowright

Program Manager

Sue has over 35 years’ experience as an educator and educational manager, with at least 20 years focused on adult learning and teacher education in the community, VET, TAFE and university sectors. Sue joined Gowrie in March 2025 to manage new and existing adult learning programs, bringing a wealth of experience in, and knowledge of, curriculum development, educational and pedagogical theory, learning and assessment design and educational research.

Nancy Polykandritis

Program Officer

Nancy is an experienced program and operations manager with over eight years of experience in the not-for-profit sector. She brings a strong foundation in education, having worked closely with government school educators to support high-potential VCE students facing financial hardship. Nancy’s expertise spans program management, stakeholder engagement, and event management, with a proven ability to lead initiatives that drive meaningful impact.

Nancy is supporting the delivery of various programs, including Early Years Learning Networks, School Readiness Funding, Traineeships and Professional Learning initiatives.

Janet Heaney

Trainer

Janet has over 30 years of experience working in the field of early childhood education and family support. She has worked in a range of settings, including kindergarten, LDC, family support services, the justice system and local government organisations.

Currently Janet is an Area Manager for an Early Years Management organisation and supports 8 kindergartens to provide best practice education.

Louise Pititto

Trainer

Louise has been an Educational Leader and Nominated Supervisor and is currently an Area Manager for a for purpose Early Years Management organisation. Whilst working in both Health and Education professions Louise has maintained a Vocational Education career. Louise has been working in adult education since 2001. Over this period Louise has worked as a Trainer and Assessor, Assessment Specialist, Training Manager and work placement coordinator for various Tertiary and Higher Education providers, teaching and mentoring Health, Community and Early childhood education and care students.

Ning Chen

Trainer

Ning is a passionate and committed Early Childhood Leader in the ECEC sector since 2014. She has a broad range of skills and knowledge that have been developed in the sector as an Early Childhood Teacher, VIT Mentor, Educational Leader and through Service Management.

Karen Newton

Trainer

Karen has extensive experience in the Early Childhood sector which includes 35 years of teaching in sessional kindergarten, teaching in both 3 and 4 year old programs. During her career Karen has held numerous leadership and director roles including Nominated Supervisor and Educational Leader. In conjunction to her mentoring role Karen also does occasional CRT work in sessional kindergartens.

Michelle O’Meara

Trainer

Michelle has over 12 years experience in the early childhood education sector, devotedly caring for and educating children. She has worked in a variety of roles including kinder teacher, educational leadership and mentor. She understands the complexities of leading a kinder program in a long day care centre.

Whilst she still enjoys teaching, she has a strong passion or coaching and mentoring. To coach and mentor effectively she believes in forming authentic connections with early childhood stakeholders, including teachers, educators and the management team. For the past 5 years Michelle has been a VIT mentor to teachers across Victoria; from regional areas in the Macedon Ranges to metropolitan Melbourne.