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Professional Development Ideas and Opportunities

The Department of Education and Training Teacher Aides' Certified Agreement 2011 , clause 28, provides that:

a) Teacher aides will be entitled to equitable access to the professional development allocations at the school level for learning and development;

b) Professional Development training for all school staff will be incorporated into the school professional development plan;

c) Individual professional development plans will be negotiated and agreed between teacher aides and their supervisors in accordance with the Developing Performance Framework to incorporate the following:

Employees will be provided with a minimum of two paid attendance days leave per year (or equivalent time) for the purpose of accessing approved professional development and training programs. Part-time employees will access this at a pro-rata rate. This two day entitlement may be inclusive of mandatory training if identified in the individual's professional development plan;
Adequate travel time will be given for employees in remote and isolated sites. Consideration will be given to delivering alternative modes of training; and
Professional development training opportunities will not be unreasonably withheld.

d) The Department will assist with the funding of up to a maximum of 2 [United Voice Queensland] professional development conferences per annum for the life of this Agreement;

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The Learning Place offers an increasing variety of courses online.

Some courses are available to Education Queensland employees at no cost. Others are priced according to the length, delivery mode and level of the course.

Check out the website or call (07) 3421 6656

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Teacher aides are able to individually access various units of competency through a number of training providers' websites, either for assessment or for personal professional development. If assessment is undertaken, a Statement of Attainment will be issued that can be recognised towards a qualification. If the unit is completed for interest only, no assessment is necessary and no Statement of Attainment will be issued. This may be useful for those who wish to gain some insight into a different area of work.

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The Professional Development Calendar is a regularly updated resource detailing upcoming professional development activities for all staff.

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The United Voice Queensland (UVQ) Lighting the Way Conference, co-sponsored by the Department of Education and Training, is held every year on a Saturday. The venue alternates between Brisbane and regional Queensland.

Conference participants enjoy a full-day program of workshops and presentations on topical educational issues. Sponsors, including departmental representatives, are available to participants during breaks in the program.

It is worth noting that much of the organisation of this conference is undertaken by a committee of teacher aides with assistance from UVQ organisers.

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Teacher aide networks are active across Queensland. If there is no network in your district, why not start one?

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This page was last reviewed on 23 Mar 2012 at 11:34AM