Classification Levels For ECT's In Early Childhood Services

For ECT's working in early childhood services, they are on the Educational Services Teachers Award and there are 5 Classification Levels which determines their rate of pay.

Level 1 - Graduate teacher and all other teachers (as defined) including those holding provisional or conditional accreditation /registration
Level 2 - Teacher with proficient accreditation/registration or equivalent
Level 3 - Teacher with proficient accreditation/registration or equivalent after 3 years’ satisfactory teaching service at Level 2
Level 4 - Teacher with proficient accreditation/registration or equivalent after 3 years’ satisfactory teaching service at Level 3
Level 5 - Teacher with Highly Accomplished / Lead Teacher accreditation / registration or equivalent

Accreditation In NSW

There are two mandatory levels of accreditation: Graduate Teacher and Proficient Teacher. There are also two voluntary levels of accreditation: Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher. Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher levels of accreditation are undertaken by experienced teachers.

Being fully qualified to teach by graduating from an approved teacher education program recognises that the teacher has met the standards at Graduate Teacher, the first career stage. Teachers who are fully qualified graduates will be provisionally accredited before they begin teaching for the first time in NSW.
Teachers who are fully qualified graduates will be provisionally accredited before they begin teaching for the first time in NSW.
Conditional accreditation is granted when a teacher seeks employment in NSW prior to completing their teaching qualification. Completion is required within a defined period of time.
The second stage of a teacher’s career is recognised when achievement of the Standards at Proficient Teacher is demonstrated.
Teachers may also choose to undertake a voluntary accreditation process to have their practice recognised as Highly Accomplished Teacher or Lead Teacher.

Conditional/Provisional Accreditation For The Purpose Of Level 1

Conditional accreditation is granted if you have successfully completed an undergraduate degree and enrolled in a postgraduate teaching degree or have completed at least three years of a four-year undergraduate teaching degree. Conditional accreditation allows you to start working as a teacher in some settings while you complete your qualifications.

Conditional accreditation is granted when a teacher seeks employment in NSW prior to completing their teaching qualification.

Under s31 of the TA Act, NESA may conditionally accredit a person if:

a person holds a degree in an area that, in the opinion of NESA is relevant to the area in which the person is or is to be employed to teach and
produces evidence of an offer of employment as a teacher

Provisional accreditation is granted if you have successfully completed an approved teaching degree. Provisional accreditation allows you to work as a teacher in any NSW school or approved Centre-based early childhood service.

Under s30 of the TA Act, NESA may provisionally accredit a person if the person:

meets the requirements specified in the professional teaching standards, and
has completed an approved course and has or will receive a qualification in relation to that course.

Completion Of An Approved Course

Graduates of approved courses satisfy the qualification requirements for Provisional Accreditation.

An approved course is one that:

is approved by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA)
is an initial teacher education degree that has been accredited by NESA as meeting both national and NSW-specific initial teacher education accreditation standards
is an initial teacher education degree that has been accredited by an interstate teacher regulatory authority
is an overseas qualification or qualifications assessed and confirmed by NESA as being comparable to an Australian four-year degree qualification or qualifications or
is an historical initial teacher education qualification that has been assessed and confirmed by NESA as being comparable to an Australian teaching degree

Completion Of A Substantial Part Of An Approved Program

A substantial part of an approved program comprises:

at least three quarters of undergraduate integrated professional qualification (for example a Bachelor of Education) or an undergraduate combined or double degree covering discipline knowledge and professional studies (for example a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Education or a Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Teaching), or
a three year Bachelor degree and at least one year of a graduate entry initial teacher education qualification of at least two years of equivalent full-time study (for example a graduate entry Bachelor of Education or a Master of Teaching).

Changing From Conditional to Provisional Accreditation

Section 30 (4) of the TA Act allows NESA to provisionally accredit a teacher within the first 12 months of their Conditional Accreditation. Teachers must provide a certified copy of their final transcript to NESA before the 12-month period has ended.
Where a teacher moves from Conditional to Provisional Accreditation, they are given the Provisional Accreditation timeframe. Full-time teachers have three years from the date they are provisionally accredited to be accredited at the Proficient Teacher level. Teachers employed on a casual or part-time basis have five years to be accredited at the Proficient Teacher level.

Proficient Accreditation For The Purpose Of Level 2, 3, 4

Proficient Teacher accreditation is a workplace-based process that supports teachers to develop their practice against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (the Standards). Provisionally and conditionally accredited teachers work towards Proficient Teacher accreditation when they start teaching in a NSW school or an approved centre-based early childhood service.

Provisionally and conditionally accredited teachers develop their practice at Proficient Teacher by participating in a range of professional activities 7 while employed as a teacher in a school/s/service/s.

To achieve Proficient Teacher accreditation, teachers with provisional or conditional accreditation must:

meet the Standards for Proficient Teacher
submit evidence that demonstrates they have reflected on their practice against the Standards and that their practice consistently meets the Standards to finalise their accreditation (see Sections 4.2.2, 4.2.3 and 4.2.4 of the Policy)
if conditionally accredited, provide a certified copy of their transcript as evidence of completion of their teacher education program

Highly Accomplished/ Lead Teacher For The Purpose Of Level 5

Highly Accomplished Teachers work collaboratively with colleagues to enhance quality teaching practices that impact beyond their immediate classroom. They are highly effective and skilled classroom practitioners.
Lead Teachers are innovative, exemplary teachers with a breadth of educational experience and a wide sphere of influence across their school. They are experts in leading others by initiating, evaluating, monitoring and implementing actions that have an impact within and beyond their school.
HALT accreditation is voluntary and is nationally certified.

Period Of Teaching Service

Teaching service means the total period a person has been employed as a teacher in the children’s services and early childhood education industry.

Teaching service does not include employment as a teacher in a TAFE program (unless the teacher is employed to teach a Vocational and Educational Training (VET) program) or in an English Language School.

Service as a part-time teacher will normally accrue on a pro rata basis according to the percentage of a full-time teaching load undertaken in any year. Where the hours are more than 90% of a full-time load, service will count as a full-time year.

In the case of an early childhood/preschool teacher, the following will count as service:

teaching experience in preschools, kindergartens, multi-purpose centres, early intervention services, long day care centre and other similar services;
teaching experience of children from 4 to 8 years (or in the infants department) of a school registered and/or accredited under the relevant authority in each state or territory;
service as a lecturer in early childhood education or child development, as a child development officer or equivalent; and
service as a diploma qualified childcare worker, at the rate of one year for every 3 years’ service up to a maximum of 4 years.