Investment in the professional development of our staff and teams continues to be a top priority at ECMS, but how we plan and deliver our program is changing thanks to feedback we received in our 2014 Staff Survey. 

ECMS greatly values the contribution of each staff member in providing high quality early childhood services that deliver on our mission. For this reason, ECMS is investing in every person throughout the organisation. 

The new ECMS Professional Development program has been developed according to the following principles: 

• equitable access for all staff, 
• alignment with our strategic direction, 
• a planned and intentional approach that is evidence-based, 
• empowering managers and supervisors to make decisions, 
• transparent funding and reporting, 
• best value for money and return on our investment.
  

Combined with pre-planned professional development and group training, our educators will receive personalised training according to their needs and interests. This will ensure that the children and families in our services continue to receive high quality education and care programs. 

Later in 2015, ECMS will also be offering numerous scholarship opportunities in Diploma and Degree qualifications for successful applicants. Additionally, ECMS will introduce various international scholarships for staff to undertake research and publication. More details will follow soon. 

We are proud that our approach to Professional Development is best-practice in our sector and unique to ECMS. It’s aligned to the National Quality Standard (7.2.2.), the Early Years Learning Framework, the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, and importantly, our ECMS values.