The Effective Mentoring Program (EMP) is designed to enhance the mentoring knowledge and skills of experienced teachers so they can support graduate and returning teachers to achieve full registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT), and act as the VIT-trained mentor on workplace recommendations .
The program is delivered as a partnership between the Department of Education (DE) and the VIT.
Availability
The program is designed for experienced teachers who are mentoring provisionally registered teachers (PRTs) in:
- government, Catholic and independent schools
- early childhood and education care settings
- non-school education centres (e.g., hospitals and zoos).
EMP seminars 2023
The EMP seminars will be delivered face-to-face, with a limited number of virtual seminars available to participants who are unable to access a face-to-face seminar.
To successfully complete the EMP and achieve certification to be a VIT trained mentor on the workplace recommendation panels, participants who register for the program are required to attend day 1 and day 2 of the program and complete the pre and post online modules.
Experienced mentor teachers who have completed the program in the past 3 years are eligible to attend a refresher 1 day program to update their knowledge and skills.
The program is offered at no cost to early childhood services or participants.
Apply for the program
Registrations are now open for 2023.
Register for the face-to-face:
- Full two-day
- Refresher – Limited virtual seminar dates are available from late February. Please contact EMP@camb-ed.com.au for further information about eligibility.
Download the Effective Mentoring Program flyer
Skills developed
After completing the program you will have the mentoring skills to support graduate early childhood teachers through ongoing professional learning embedded in day-to-day practice. This will build the professional practice of the PRT.
Mentoring practices and skills are explored in the context of guiding and supporting a provisionally registered teacher, from provisional through to full VIT registration.
Activities within the program allow you to explore mentoring with practiced examples and key readings to develop your skills.
See what mentoring looks like at Windsor Community Children's Centre - Vimeo (opens in new
Program overview
The program will:
Day one
- identify the purpose and benefits of mentoring, and discuss how to build a strong mentoring culture
- develop mentoring skills focused on teacher professional growth
- unpack the role of regulation and the standards in teacher development
- identify indicators that PRTs are ready for full registration
- walk through the VIT registration process.
Day two
- build practical mentoring knowledge and skills
- understand the role of mentoring in developing leadership capacity
- explore professional responsibilities and professional expectations, including how to discuss this with PRTs
- unpack guidance materials and case studies.
Time is provided for reflective conversations with other mentors to share and extend ideas and understandings.
Refresher course
The EMP Refresher is available for experienced mentor teachers who have completed the program in the past 3 years. The program will:
- strengthen experienced mentors’ understanding of the purpose and benefits of mentoring
- develop mentoring skills focused on teacher professional growth, including how to build a mentoring culture
- unpack the role of regulation and the standards in teacher development
- share the insights and experiences of established VIT mentors, and discuss updates to the application process and teacher readiness
- delve more deeply into the role of mentoring in developing leadership capacity.
Mentor self-assessment tool (MSAT)
The Mentor’s Self-Assessment Tool (MSAT) has been developed for participants of the EMP. The MSAT will identify participants’ knowledge and understanding of mentoring, and support reflection on growth throughout the program.
Participants will complete the MSAT at the commencement and completion of the EMP.
Mentoring Capability Framework
A key component of the EMP is the Mentoring Capability Framework (MCF), which provides a comprehensive guide to mentoring new teachers in Victorian early year childhood settings.
The purpose of the MCF is to create coherent and consistent mentoring experiences. It describes the expectations and behaviours of mentors and mentees in successful professional learning relationships in 6 domains.
The MCF is focused on guiding the development of mentoring relationships and aligns with the expectations of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework and the National Quality Framework.
To support this collective responsibility, the MCF describes expectations and behaviours of mentors and mentees and the cultural and structural elements in service settings that create an enabling context for the effective mentoring of beginning teachers.
Mentoring capability framework (DOCX,
See what mentoring looks like at Moreland Community Childcare - Vimeo (opens in new
More information
For further information about the requirements for provisionally registered teachers to become fully registered, visit the Victorian Institute of .
For more information for Schools visit Mentor training for experienced teachers .
Reviewed 16 March 2023