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Additional Hours

‘Additional Hours’ covers staff hours outside of their regular contracted hours, to engage with and implement programs and supports under School Readiness Funding.

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Program details

  • Priority area: Communication, wellbeing (social and emotional), access and inclusion
  • Primary audience: Educators
  • Delivery mode: Not applicable
  • Strength of evidence: Not applicable
  • AEDC sub-domains:
    • Language and cognitive development – basic literacy
    • Language and cognitive development – advanced literacy
    • Communication skills and general knowledge
    • Emotional maturity – anxious and fearful behaviour
    • Emotional maturity – aggressive behaviour
    • Emotional maturity – hyperactivity and inattentive behaviour
    • Social competence – responsibility and respect
    • Physical health and wellbeing – physical independence
  • Item cost: Moderate ($200–$2,000 per person/item)

Program description

The ‘Additional Hours’ item should be used when existing staff work extra hours outside of their regular contracted hours, to engage with and implement programs and supports under School Readiness Funding. This may include, for example, to participate in professional development or coaching, overtime to conduct family support meetings or attend consultation sessions with allied health providers outside regular working hours.

‘Additional Hours’ may also include the use of existing staff to expand kindergarten program hours or to decrease teacher/educator to child ratios to address the impacts of educational disadvantage.

Services must ensure that planned use of Additional Hours is captured accurately in the SRF plan. If the ‘Additional Hours’ item is being used to support activity that is a flexible funding activity, the cost/value of the additional hours must be included in ‘flexible funding’ costs which cannot exceed 25% of a service’s total SRF allocation

Note: If a service plans to engage new staff to resource additional hours to extend the length of the kindergarten program or reduce educator-to-child ratios this should be recorded under the ‘Additional Educators’ item.

Detailed cost

Costs are based on hours and type of employment (full-time, part-time or casual) and relevant industrial awards. Kindergarten services should work with their approved provider to determine Additional Hours costs.

As a guide, the average cost for a:

  • degree-qualified educator is $421 per day (including GST)
  • diploma-qualified educator is $320 per day (including GST)
  • Certificate III-qualified educator is $286 per day (including GST)

Implementation considerations

  • Target population: early childhood teachers and educators; children enrolled in a kindergarten program and their families.
  • Staffing: the practice of all staff at the service must align with the VEYLDF. Services must confirm existing staff availability and willingness to undertake additional hours prior to inclusion on the SRF plan, as ‘Additional Hours’ should not be drawn from recruitment of new staff or through an agency. Services are responsible for ensuring that any additional hours are in line with any industrial award requirements.

VEYLDF alignment

Item uses these practice principles

  • Reflective practice
  • Partnerships with families
  • High expectations for every child
  • Respectful relationships and responsive engagement
  • Equity and diversity
  • Assessment for learning and development
  • Integrated teaching and learning approaches
  • Partnerships with professionals.

Item responds to these sub-outcomes

Not applicable.

Education

Updated

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