Delivered on behalf of the Victorian Department of Education.

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

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

This is a five-week program delivered one day per week, where students will have the opportunity to observe early childhood teachers and educators in practice at either Gowrie‘s Minindee Rd Kindergarten in Manor Lakes, the Broadmeadows Valley service in Broadmeadows or The Harbour service in Docklands. They will gain valuable insight into daily rhythms, responsibilities and experiences of kindergarten teachers and educators. Students will spend increasing lengths of guided and supervised time with children in outdoor and indoor programs and will be supported to design and deliver several learning experiences themselves. They will hear ‘a day in the life of’ many early childhood guest speakers. The program includes a career expo where students can discuss a range of career pathway options with Headstart, university, RTO, talent recruiters and other workforce pathway representatives.

Details

Group A

Location: Gowrie Broadmeadows Valley, 30 Johnstone Street, Broadmeadows
Dates: Mondays, 17 August – 14 September inclusive
Time: 9:30am – 3:30pm

Group B: 

Location: Gowrie Minindee Road Kindergarten, 52 Minindee Road, Manor Lakes
Dates: Tuesdays, 18 August – 15 September
Time: 9:30am – 3:30pm

Group C: 

Location: Gowrie at The Harbour, Level 1, 1 Seafarer Lane, Docklands
Dates: Fridays, 21 August – 18 September
Time: 9:30am – 3:30pm

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

Webinars:

For more information, attend one of our webinars on:

  • Wednesday, 22 July at 1:00pm, or
  • Thursday, 23 July at 6:00pm

Registration for the webinars coming soon!

What students will learn: 

  • A taste of what teaching and working in early childhood could look and feel like 
  • The foundations of communicating respectfully and attentively with young children
  • The importance of play-based learning for under-fives 
  • ECEC career pathway options

Week 1

Introduction to ECEC

Guided observations of children and educators; Guided tour of the service; Introduction to Child safety, WHS, service policies and regulations and professionalism; Meeting ECEC educators and professionals.

Week 2

Communicating with children

Child led tours of the service; Learning the fundamentals and practicing communicating with children; Spending time in indoor and outdoor programs with children.

Week 3

Play-based Learning

Introduction to fundamentals of play based learning, standards, curriculum, and reflection; Making educational resources from recycled materials; Observing, participating in and reflecting on outdoor and indoor programs with children.

Weeks 4 & 5

Implementing learning experiences & career expo

Design and deliver several learning environments and experiences for small groups of 3-5 year old children.
ECEC career and pathway options with department, Headstart, University & RTO representatives and Gowrie talent recruiter.

Who can enrol: 

Why Gowrie? 

The Introduction to Early Childhood Education and Care Phase 2 Pilot 2026 is funded by the Victorian Government’s Early Childhood Tertiary Partnerships program. Gowrie are specialists in training educators and providing professional learning to the Early Childhood workforce. Our early learning services are rated very highly and so students will be immersed in high quality early learning environments. 

How to enrol 

For enrolment enquiries please consult the School to Work portal School to Work Home

Find out more 

For more information email enquiries@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.

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.

Teagan Ziemer

Trainer

Teagan is an experienced and passionate Early Childhood Educator. She has 15 years experience in the early years sector in varied age groups and dynamics. For the last 9 Teagan has been at Gowrie Broadmeadows, as a Leadership Support, Room Leader and now a Practice Coach. She holds relationships with children and families at the core of what she does and ensures children’s sense of agency and voice is heard. In her current role she coaches and mentors the team to best understand pedagogy, inquiry-based learning and education using a trauma informed lens.