Strategic Partnerships Program

Strategic Partnerships Program is sponsored by Victorian Government (Department of Education). This program provides funding for not-for-profit organisations to deliver curriculum enrichment and enhancement programs, directly supporting educational initiatives.

Partnerships: Department of Education | vic. gov.au Partnerships: Department of Education Information on our partnerships with community groups and bodies.

Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership Municipal Association of Victoria partnership agreement Victorian Community sector partnership agreement Quarterly Governance Group Meeting communiques Strategic Partnerships Program Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership The Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership (Academy) delivers evidence-informed and inspiring professional learning to Victorian teachers and school leaders.

Municipal Association of Victoria partnership agreement Our partnership agreement with the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) outlines mutual support to: improve outcomes for children, young people and their families help ensure that every Victorian is given the best learning and development experience make our state smarter, fairer and a more prosperous place.

It recognises the collaborative relationship between our department and councils in: the planning, development and provision of initiatives infrastructure and services across early childhood, schools, TAFE and training.

Principles of the agreement The agreement provides a formal set of high-level principles to guide our partnership in its representation of local councils, committing both parties to: mutual understanding and respect of mandates and responsibilities transparency of financial relations, subject to relevant legislation and policies mutual support in representations to the Commonwealth awareness of synergies between us, the MAV and councils sustaining and improving outcomes for children and families in all communities fostering opportunities to work collaboratively, and transparent and timely communication and consultation.

Action plans are developed annually under the partnership agreement on a financial year basis. These are reviewed and updated throughout the year. The agreement was signed on 30 March 2018.

Achievements of the partnership The Early Years Compact is a compact between our department, the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFS) and local government (represented by MAV) 2017-2027 Supporting Children and Families in the Early Years was signed on 28 April 2017.

Review of the early childhood agreement for children in out of home care and subsequent improvements including the confirmation of local government positions to support the agreement, and weekly notification of data. Development of the new Maternal and Child Health Service memorandum of understanding (PDF) Joint advocacy on universal access to support continued Commonwealth funding for 15 hours of kindergarten funding.

Representation on a variety of our governance groups, including: Victorian Children’s Council DET Coleman Foundation Partnership Committee Early Years Compact Board and Compact Steering Group Marrung Central Governance Board New Technical Schools State-Wide Policy Implementation Panel Maternal and Child Health Expert Reference Group Children and Youth Implementation Working Group Early Childhood Development Advisory Group.

Download the partnership agreement Department of Education and Training and MAV Partnership Agreement (PDF, 357KB) Department of Education and Training and MAV Partnership Agreement (DOCX, 718KB) Victorian Community sector partnership agreement In September 2018 the Secretary of the Department and the CEO of Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) signed the 'Department-Victorian Community Sector Partnership Agreement 2018-22', refreshing the 2014-2018 partnership agreement.

The partnership agreement recognises the community sector as an important partner in the development of policy, the delivery of services and the improvement of outcomes of all Victorians, particularly for those who are vulnerable or experiencing disadvantage. It recommits our increased collaboration, consultation and engagement with the community sector.

The aims of the partnership agreement are achieved through annual action plans agreed to by our department and VCOSS, who is responsible for furthering the partnership on behalf of the sector.

Department-Victorian Community Sector Partnership Agreement 2018-22 (PDF, 558KB) Department-Victorian Community Sector Partnership Agreement 2018-22 (DOCX, 67KB) Principles of the agreement This agreement is based upon a model of engagement emphasising cooperation and commitment to the following principles: a shared vision to achieve the best possible learning and development outcomes for all Victorians, particularly the vulnerable or disadvantaged mutual respect for each partner’s autonomy and responsibilities, while recognising that true partnership may require change, innovation, and risk collaboration and the fostering of opportunities to work together on issues of mutual benefit or concern communication, consultation, and engagement on decisions by one partner that will impact upon the other transparency of financial relations between our department, VCOSS and the sector, subject to relevant legislation and policies a relationship that celebrates success, addresses challenges and acknowledges contributions to outcomes that are achieved joint leadership of the partnership, including joint agenda setting.

Achievements of the partnership Some significant achievements to date include: the establishment of the 'Victorian Community Partnership Governance' group, which provides a regular forum for relationship building, policy development, and the exchange of information annual Victorian community sector forums on topics of mutual interest, which are attended by ministers from all three education portfolios the publication of Creating engaging schools for all children and young people: What works , research by the community sector identifying principles of good practice to keep children engaged at school.

Visit the Victorian Council of Social Service to find out more about the achievements.

Quarterly Governance Group Meeting communiques December 2022 Communique (DOCX) September 2022 Communique (DOCX) June 2022 Communique (DOCX) The Department of Education and Training (DET) – Community Sector Organisation (CSO) Governance Group is a quarterly forum for communication, consultation, engagement and collaboration between the Department and the community sector.

Meetings are co-chaired by DET and the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) and reflect topics of mutual interest to DET and the sector. This communique has been prepared by VCOSS to increase the visibility of this forum. What was discussed in the March 2022 meeting?

The focus of this meeting was Transitions. Supporting under-represented cohorts into early learning Fiona Balsillie, Executive Officer Early Learning, Uniting Vic. Tas presented on effective ways to support culturally and linguistically diverse families to transition into early learning.

Fiona highlighted the positive impact of leveraging established connections in local communities to build trust; creating and using accessible communication through translated resources, translators and visual aids; and using bilingual outreach support workers to build awareness and understanding of the value of early learning, provide support in overcoming barriers to participation (for example, enrolment), and providing weekly support in language at the early learning service.

Further information about programs delivered by Uniting Vic. Tas at their early learning and multicultural services webpages. Transitions for young people with youth justice involvement Murray Geddes, Principal – LOOKOUT Centre, South East Victoria Region provided an update on the work of LOOKOUT Centres in supporting young people with youth justice involvement.

Supports include but are not limited to using multidisciplinary care teams, Youth Justice Advisors, Learning Mentors, Student Support Groups and Individual Education Plans.

The meeting highlighted the importance of planning and consistent communication, ensuring clarity around roles and responsibilities, and increasing the capacity and understanding of the school system about meeting the needs of young people with youth justice involvement. Further information about LOOKOUT Centres . Find information on the department’s Youth Justice policy .

Trent McCarthy, CEO Central Ranges Local Learning and Employment Network (LLEN) and Chair of VicLLENs spoke about the importance of partnerships across government departments, local organisations and local business to support young people who are youth justice system involved to sustain engagement with education, training or employment as they transition out of youth justice centres.

The VicLLENs have recently formalised a Memorandum of Understanding with Parkville College to support this work. Find further information at the VicLLENs webpage.

Murray Geddes, Principal – LOOKOUT Centre, South East Victoria Region spoke about the Early Years LOOKOUT program which uses multidisciplinary teams to support children in out of home care to engage in early learning services; support the transition to school, and build system capability. Find further transition resources to support students in out of home care .

Natalie Garcia de Heer, Director, Policy, Design and Coordination, Senior Secondary Pathways Reform Taskforce provided an update on the senior secondary reforms. These reforms have many streams of work including moving to a new integrated senior secondary certificate to bring together the VCE and VCAL. Natalie will return for the Term 2 meeting on engagement/disengagement to provide a more detailed presentation.

The Term 2 meeting will be on the theme of Engagement/Disengagement. Please contact VCOSS if there is something that you’d like to share with us, to guide our planning for future meetings. Deb Fewster, Director, Policy and Advocacy Email: Deborah.

fewster@vcoss. org. au Talisha Ohanessian, Policy Advisor Email: Talisha.

Ohanessian@vcoss. org.

au December 2021 Communique (PDF, 225KB) September 2021 Communique (DOCX, 88KB) September 2021 Communique (PDF, 182KB) May 2021 Communique (DOCX, 98KB) May 2021 Communique (PDF, 186KB) March 2021 Communique (DOCX, 54KB) March 2021 Communique (PDF, 183KB) Strategic Partnerships Program The Strategic Partnerships Program (SPP) provides funding to not-for-profit organisations to deliver curriculum enrichment and enhancement programs that improve student achievement across the Victorian curriculum and/or improve teacher capability.

SPP funded programs provide opportunities that are not usually available in mainstream classrooms or professional development settings and enrich the learning experience of Victorian students. The SPP funds programs in two distinct categories: teacher professional learning. In the current funding period, the SPP is supporting 83 programs.

The programs are delivered across Victoria, including in rural and regional areas. Programs vary in subject focus, duration and intensity, ranging from one‑off excursions through to year-long mentoring and professional development programs. View the programs and organisations funded in the current funding round (XLSX, 28KB) .

From 2026, the SPP will be supporting 93 programs. Organisations and programs funded for both the 2–year (2026–2027) and 4–year (2026–2029) rounds of the SPP, can be viewed at the following link. View the programs and organisations funded in the 2026–2029 funding round (XLSX, 26KB) .

Prioritising students less likely to have access and making an impact SPP programs target students (or teachers of students) who are less likely to have access to curriculum enrichment and enhancement opportunities, including: students from disadvantaged or low SES backgrounds rural and regional students students with English as an Additional Language students in Out of Home Care.

The SPP seeks to have a meaningful and measurable impact on the skills, knowledge and capability of participating students and teachers. All SPP‑funded organisations are required to monitor and evaluate their program, and to report on the outcomes they are achieving throughout the funding period. For additional information regarding the SPP funding round, email strategic.

partnerships@education. vic. gov.au .