Sep 25, 2025
On Wednesday 23 July, the Centre launched its first training product, Effective Mentoring for Early Childhood Education and Care at TAFE SA’s Adelaide Campus. The launch was successfully opened by the Honourable Blair Boyer, Minister for Education, Training and Skills.
This initiative, designed to build leadership capability through mentoring, is being piloted across seven demonstrator sites in urban and regional South Australia. The participating centres are:
Developed in close consultation with early childhood professionals, the goal of the program is to strengthen and upskill the early childhood workforce by upskilling experienced educators to become mentors.
Mentors participating in the pilot will complete four online workshops and three reflection sessions, designed to give them the tools and confidence to support their colleagues. Mentors will then apply their skills in practice by working closely with the mentees they’ve been paired with in the program.
Alongside the demonstrator sites we’ve also established control sites to support robust evaluation of our initiatives.
Centre of Excellence Director Nick Howie highlighted the importance for the Centre of Excellence to be involved in creating non-accredited training opportunities for the sector:
“Before the Centre was even established, we were hearing a strong message from the sector that developing leaders and strengthening mentoring skills is vital for the sustainability. Initiatives like this allow us to respond quickly through non-accredited training, giving educators practical tools they can use straight away” he said.
"By combining formal learning with relationship building, reflection and support, the Centre of Excellence can help to build a stronger, more confident workforce.”
We look forward on updating you on the outcomes of the pilot after the evaluation later this year.
We acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which TAFE SA stands.
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