Victorian Educational Leadership Program

Through the $14 billion Best Start, Best Life (BSBL) reform, the Victorian Government is providing Educational Leaders with an opportunity to develop their pedagogical leadership and change management skills.

The Victorian Department of Education is working with the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia to deliver the Victorian Educational Leadership Program (VELP).

The VELP offers the following micro-credential courses:

1. VELP Foundations is for new Educational Leaders with 1-2 years’ experience. Learn about leadership, change management theory, team teaching, observation and assessment.
2. VELP Advanced is for experienced Educational Leaders with 2+ years’ experience. Learn about advanced leadership models, effective team teaching, and reflective practice in teams.

The courses will support Educational Leaders to:

• understand, identify, drive and implement quality practice
• utilise data and evidence to support practice change
• understand and implement strategies to support children’s continuity of early learning.

As both courses within the program follow the same model and are separated based on levels of experience, Educational Leaders will only complete one micro-credential course.

Each course aligns with the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework and the National Quality Standard.

Program summary

Duration

The course requires a time commitment of 50 hours over a 10-week period comprising:

• 1.5 hours of synchronous contact learning per week (15 hours total)
• 3.5 hours of independent learning per week (35 hours total)

Cost

This program is free. The Victorian Department of Education also provides 2 days of backfill contribution (valued $840 excluding GST) to Approved Providers. This is to support the release of their Educational Leaders to complete the program.

How to apply

1. Speak to your manager or Approved Provider to obtain their support to participate in the program. Ask them to sign the letter of support to attach to your EOI.
2. Complete the online Expression of Interest form and nominate Term 2 or Term 3 in 2026 to undertake the program.

Application dates

Class dates

* Foundations Workshop 4 offered on a Tuesday due to Public Holiday 8 June 2026.

Eligibility and prioritisation criteria

To be eligible for VELP, applicants must:

• be employed as an Educational Leader in a Victorian funded kindergarten program
• have the support of their manager or Approved Provider noting the course will take 50 hours to complete
• complete a 250 to 500 word response to the question in the online Expression of Interest Form: “Please outline your reasons for undertaking the course, the expected contributions your involvement will bring to your service, and how this aligns to your career aspirations.”

There are only 200 places available in 2026 - 100 places in VELP Foundations and 100 places in VELP Advanced.

If the program is oversubscribed, priority will be given to Educational Leaders that meet the following prioritisation criteria:

1. Up to 5% of available places will be prioritised for Educational Leaders who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
2. Priority will then be given to Educational Leaders who work in an early childhood service that is next in line to roll out the Best Start, Best Life reform, Pre-Prep roll-out schedule.
3. Priority will then be given to Educational Leaders who work in services in areas of high disadvantage and vulnerability.
4. Priority will then be given to Educational Leaders who work in services with low overall ratings against the National Quality Standard who are not participating in the Kindergarten Quality Improvement Program.
5. Priority will then be given to support a fair distribution of Educational Leaders who:
   • work in a service located in a rural, regional and metro location
   • hold a Certificate III or Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care, or a university-level teaching degree
   • work in for profit and not-for-profit service
   • identify as being culturally and linguistically diverse.

Course design and content

Both courses, VELP Foundations and VELP Advanced follow the same model. There are four learning modules per course. Each module has carefully calibrated content, teaching, and learning approaches. The modules include:

• Educational Leadership
• Leading learning through play and integrated teaching and learning approaches
• Leading teams in observation and assessment
• Leading reflective practice

Each course is informed by cutting-edge academic research and includes meaningful practical examples, including vignettes of practice and case studies. Each course caters for Educational Leaders in a range of early childhood service types and locations.

Course delivery

The course is delivered completely online via Zoom.

Each course has two core learning approaches:

• Lectures are 1.5 hours each fortnight with all Educational Leaders online.
• Small tutorial workshops are 1.5 hours and held each alternate fortnight in groups of 16-18 participants. These sessions enable exploration of lecture content and support with action research projects.

There is also independent guided learning (readings, online discussion forum, workbook). Participants will undertake 50 hours of learning in total across the course.

VELP includes:

• Action Research Project – Participants identify an action research question for inquiry that is meaningful in their role as Educational Leader.
• Showcase event – Participants present their action research project to peers at the end of the program. This forms part of your final assessment.

Certificate of Completion: Micro credential

At the completion of the course, and on submission of the two assessment tasks, you will receive a Certificate of Completion from QUT. VELP Foundations and VELP Advanced are accredited by QUT as micro-credentials, in accordance with the National Micro Credential Framework.

Alumni and champions program

VELP course graduates will belong to an Alumni program, sustaining engagement and learning. Course graduates will be invited to join one formal online network gathering meeting 6 months post course completion. In addition, graduates will be invited to future course showcase events.

Stakeholder promotional toolkit

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Contact us

You can contact us by email at VELP@qut.edu.au.