During May, the Presiding Member of the Board, Dr Jane Lomax-Smith, was called as a witness at the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care. Prior to this, the Board provided a written submission and a discussion paper sharing the history of registration of early childhood teachers in South Australia.

The Royal Commission is looking into the importance of the first 1 000 days of a child’s life and the opportunities to offer three-year old kindergarten for all children.

Early childhood teachers in South Australia have been registered since 1976 with the inclusion on the register of long day care early childhood teachers since 2014.

Only South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia register early childhood teachers that are not teaching in a school setting.

The early childhood sector is multi-regulated.  As well as teacher registration requirements, early childhood providers abide with regulations from ACECQA, the Education Standards Board and the National Quality Framework and Standards.

Teachers in South Australia are all registered as teachers, no matter the school sector they work in, the age of the children and young people they teach, or the subject specialisation of the teacher. This means that all teachers aim for the same proficiency levels of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, which may not always seem achievable in different settings. This does mean though that all teachers in South Australia have the same professional standing.

In consideration of the additional workforce requirement, the Commission raised questions of the Presiding Member about options for the recognition of a birth-five years of age higher education qualification.  This option is not currently offered by any university in South Australia.

The Regulations set out the minimum four-year qualification or equivalent requirements. A birth-five years of age qualification would need to meet the initial teacher education accreditation requirements and the minimum four-year duration for teacher registration in South Australia. The Royal Commission will provide its final report in August.

A link to the public submission can be found at: J-Lomax-Smith-Submission-to-the-Royal-Commission.pdf (royalcommissionecec.sa.gov.au)