Professional experience placements start in your first year, meaning you’ll progressively develop your skills over multiple placement experiences in your course. You’ll gain practical, real classroom expertise in assessing and reporting student learning progress alongside industry leaders. You’ll also engage professionally with your future colleagues, parents, and the wider school community.
With a network of over 6000 schools and early childhood centres across Australia, we’ll arrange your placements and ensure you graduate with at least 60 days of placement. You’ll graduate with the skills and confidence needed to inspire the next generation.
We’ll contact you for some initial information and paperwork to find the right placement based on your teaching areas, skills, residential location and mode of transport.
You may even be placed within our alliance network of almost 150 schools, providing additional support and opportunity. This is unique to Deakin – our alliance partners in three of our campus areas (Geelong, Melbourne, Warrnambool) provide pre-teachers with placement opportunities in local schools.
The most rewarding part of studying at Deakin is seeing how far my confidence has come on placement. The theory that we’ve learnt has been practical and has really set us up for success on placement and as graduate teachers.
Philippa Barclay
Bachelor of Health and Physical Education student
Deakin partners with school leaders in Melbourne, Geelong and Warrnambool to deliver an enhanced model for pre-teacher education. Deakin alliances have improved the way we align our Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs with local schools. We work in genuine partnership to build mentoring capacity, develop research projects and provide professional development opportunities.
Three Deakin teaching academies have been established across Melbourne, Geelong and Warrnambool. Each of the academies includes a smaller ‘alliance’ of primary and secondary schools.
Our unique model helps strengthen and support pre-service teacher education in ways that align to school improvement. Every school in the network has been identified as a high-impact provider engaging in exceptional practice and leading the development of evidence-based teachers. You’ll benefit from:
The Victorian Government has grants of $140 to $420 per day to support completing a teaching placement in an eligible regional or remote Victorian government school.
Deakin coordinates additional funding and support for pre-service teachers who choose professional experience programs in rural communities. Through our alliance programs, you can participate in rural education immersion experiences that involve teaching in the Horsham Wimmera region or Warrnambool’s south coast.
When you study an early childhood education degree through Deakin’s employment-based pathways program, you may be able to complete most of your childcare placements in your workplace.
It’s important to plan ahead for your professional experience placement while you complete your teaching course. The following is a check list to get you started:
Under the Working with Children Act 2005 (VIC) a student teacher must obtain a Working with Children Check (WWCC) before commencing a placement in a school. Your WWCC must remain current throughout your course. Learn more about the Working with Children Check.
When you are a teacher in training, you’ll have access to this upon enrolment.
This includes your address, personal details and personal preferences. This is an internal system which helps us to manage student details on placement.
Familiarise yourself with our policy and guidelines for pre-service teachers to ensure clarity in all processes incorporated during placement.
You can find this on the student professional experience webpage.
This will be listed on the professional experience CloudDeakin unit site.
You’re required to pass both the Literacy and Numeracy Tests for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE). This is an externally administered test that must be completed within the first trimester of study.
If you have any questions about teaching professional placements, please email the School of Education.
