Laura Pearce is an early childhood teacher at Robina Scott Kindergarten in Williamstown. Always keen to learn, she saw the Victorian Educational Leadership Program (VELP) as a great way to build her skills.
‘VELP gave me the opportunity to connect with other leaders in diverse services and learn about the varied ways to approach leading in early childhood,’ Laura said.
‘Leadership can be isolating, as you are very busy and often focused on your work and your service.’
About the program
VELP includes 2 micro-credential course options for all educational leaders in Victorian government-funded kindergarten services.
The free courses support educational leaders to:
- strengthen leadership skills and facilitate team teaching
- understand, identify, drive and implement quality practice
- use data and evidence to support practice change
- understand and implement strategies to support children’s continuity of early learning.
Gaining skills and knowledge
The program had a positive impact on Laura’s approach to leadership.
‘My learning during the course helped me to identify my leadership styles as well as the need to be flexible and adaptive to the needs of each staff member and family,’ she said.
Since completing the course, Laura has started an action research project at her service. Each group now completes an annual project for their classroom. The projects identify the interests and learning needs of the children, staff and families in their community.
‘Through these I’ve observed greater collaboration, tailored approaches and increased intentional teaching opportunities,’ Laura said.
Laura plans on focusing on her relational leadership approaches this year.
‘I’m aiming to spend more time with each group to develop greater understanding of what each teaching team needs to grow and flourish,’ she said.
Valuable opportunity
Laura encourages anybody thinking of taking part in the program to ‘go for it’.
‘Plan carefully for how you will participate during the 10 weeks. Ensure you allocate time to do the readings and work,’ she said.
‘It can be a lot to add to your already busy schedule. However, if you can commit, you can get a lot out of it.’
Each VELP course is delivered online and takes 50 hours to complete over 10 weeks. Educational leaders will only complete one of the 2 courses.
Find out more
For more information or to express interest in the program, refer to Victorian Educational Leadership Program(opens in a new window). Expressions of interest for the Term 2 program close at midnight on Sunday 22 February 2026.
For further enquiries about the program, contact the VELP team by email: velp@qut.edu.au
Updated