Career Start

Policy

This policy supports implementation of the Career Start program.

Summary

Career Start supports first-year graduate teachers to successfully transition into the classroom. This includes:

• a reduction in face-to-face teaching
• time with a dedicated mentor to accelerate the development of their teaching practice
• networking opportunities with other graduates via a local learning alliance
• professional learning designed to develop their professional identity, wellbeing and orientation.

Career Start mentor teachers are also supported via:

• time release to engage in extended practice-focused mentoring with their graduates – schools can refer to the guidance chapter on Time release for graduate and mentor teachers for further details
• one-on-one support from learning alliance leaders to build their mentoring skills.

Details

Career Start is a structured program for graduate teachers which aims to improve their experience as they are inducted into the profession. Career Start provides time release, mentoring, professional development opportunities and a range of additional supports to graduate teachers and their mentors to accelerate the development of graduate teachers’ professional practice and support their wellbeing.

Following a successful 3-year pilot in primary and special schools in 3 areas, Career Start will expand in 2024 to support eligible graduate teachers in every Victorian government school (including secondary schools) in:

• inner Gippsland
• north eastern Melbourne
• outer eastern Melbourne
• southern Melbourne
• western Melbourne.

In 2025, Career Start will expand to an additional 8 areas – Hume Merri-bek, Brimbank Melton, Goulburn, Ovens-Murray, Mallee, Outer Gippsland, Barwon, and Central Highlands.

Eligibility

The department will utilise eduPay data to identify eligible graduate teachers.

Graduate teachers will participate in the Career Start program in 2024 if they:

• commenced their first period of employment within the Victorian government school system on or after 1 July 2023
• are employed at the classification of Classroom Teacher Range 1-1 (CT1-1) at a Victorian government school within the participating areas, as outlined above.

Related policies

• Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives

Contact

For further information on the Career Start program, please email: graduate.induction@education.vic.gov.au