Plans, organises and conducts activities to help pre-primary school students to develop a wide variety of skills including speech, reading, writing, motor skills and social interaction. Registration or licensing is required.

Skill Level

1

Alternative Titles

• Kindergarten Teacher

Specialisations

• Preschool Director

Unless you are exempt in very limited circumstances, you are required to have a positive Skills Assessment to apply for the visas listed above.

Skills Assessment authority for Early Childhood Teacher is Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITLS). To have a positive skills assessment, you must meet the following criteria:

• Hold an initial teacher education qualification comparable to the educational level of an Australian Bachelor degree (Australian Qualifications Framework Level 7) or higher, which includes:
  • i) at least one year full-time (or part-time equivalent) higher education (university) level study of Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher initial teacher education
  • ii) completion of at least 45 days of supervised teaching practice with students across the Birth to 8 years age range in education programs prior to and in the early years of primary school*.
• Other higher education qualification/s contributing to the four years of study must be comparable to the educational level of an Australian Advanced Diploma/Associate Degree (Australian Qualifications Framework Level 6) or higher.
• Proficiency in English language demonstrated by ONE of the following:
  • IELTS score of at least 7.0 for both reading and writing
  • Completion of at least four full years of study (or part-time equivalent) in higher education (university) in Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America resulting in qualification/s comparable to the educational level of an Australian Bachelor degree (Australian Qualifications Framework Level 7) or higher. This study must include a recognised initial teacher education qualification.

teach the basics of numeracy, literacy, music, art and literature to early childhood (pre-primary) students and promote students’ social, emotional, intellectual and physical development.

Tasks

• planning and structuring learning in both indoor and outdoor environments using a variety of materials and equipment to facilitate students’ development
• providing a variety of experiences and activities to develop motor skills, cooperative social skills, confidence and understanding
• promoting language development through story telling, role play, songs, rhymes and informal discussions held individually and within groups
• observing students to evaluate progress and to detect signs of ill health, emotional disturbance and other disabilities
• observing nutritional health, welfare and safety needs of students and identifying factors which may impede students’ progress
• discussing students’ progress with parents
• attending parent interviews, and staff and committee meetings
• participating in community and family support programs as appropriate
• supervising student teachers on placement

Skill Level

Most occupations in this unit group have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor degree or higher qualification. In some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification (ANZSCO Skill Level 1).

Registration or licensing may be required.

Occupations in this Group

• 241111 Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher
• 241112 Kaiako Kohanga Reo (Maori Language Nest Teacher)