Before commencing SWLA 1, if you haven’t done so, you will need to familiarise yourself with Work Placement requirements as explained and detailed in the Student Guide to SWLA (available in the Course Overview at the beginning of the course).
As it is explained in the Student Guide to SWLA, for the first placement (SWLA 1), you will need to complete a minimum of 20 hours of work placement at an approved, regulated early childhood education and care service. For the second placement (SWLA 2), you must complete 280 hours of work placement.
The 300-hour standard is to ensure that students gain sufficient hands-on experience to develop the necessary skills and competencies for effective practice in early childhood education.
There are a few requirements you need to meet to ensure you can successfully prepare and complete SWLA 1:
Completed theory assessments
Before commencing SWLA 1, make sure you have completed and submitted all theory assessments for the preceding modules. This is important so you can implement the theory in practice during placement.
Pre-employment/child-safe screening
Before commencing placement, you must obtain a working with children check/blue card/ police check. The screening process may vary depending on the different state/territory’s legislation and it may take up to 2-4 weeks, depending on the state/territory.
On this website you can read about how to obtain a child-safe screening/ working with children check.
You can find out more information about the different state's and territory's requirements by clicking on the sign within the relevant state/territory in the following map:
Immunisation
To be able to complete work placement, you may also need to have certain immunisation, depending on state/territory’s requirements. Please ask your Workplace Supervisor or your trainer/assessor what vaccines it is required for you to have prior to commencing. It is important that you consult with your GP as soon as possible to avoid delays in starting work placement.
Host Organisation
The Host Organisation where you will complete SWLA 1 must be a regulated children’s education and care service in Australia, such as a long day care centre or pre-school/kindergarten.
You are responsible for finding an appropriate service to complete SWLA 1. However, if you have trouble finding a service, contact your trainer/assessor for assistance.
Once you have found a service, complete the Host Organisation Approval Form, providing the required details about the proposed workplace, its facilities and resources and the information regarding the proposed Workplace Supervisor.
Provide a copy of the Supervisor Guide to Structured Workplace Learning and Assessment to your proposed Workplace Supervisor so they can make an informed decision about taking up the supervisor role.
If the host organisation and proposed Workplace Supervisor agree, submit the Host Organisation Approval Form via the LMS.
Swinburne Open Education will then review the details and determine whether your proposed workplace is suitable for hosting your structured work placement. It may take up to 14 days from submitting the Host Organisation Approval Form to receive approval.
Note: Do not start structured work placement or any associated assessments until you have received approval on the Host Organisation Approval Form.
Work Placement Plan
Once your Host Organisation is approved, and you are ready to commence SWLA 1, your allocated Assessor will contact you and arrange a time to review the structured work placement process and develop your Work Placement Plan. The Plan includes details of the practice activities and assessment components required during your placement. The Work Placement Plan is not an assessment, and it will be created by your allocated Assessor, who will also upload this on your behalf.
Recording your hours
You are required to keep a record of hours completed during SWLA 1 in a regulated and approved education and care service.
You will record the hours completed for SWLA 1 in Logbook 1, as follows:
- Specify the date, such as 1/10/2022 or 1 October 22.
- Specify workplace hours completed, excluding breaks, in the Placement Hours section, such as 7.5 hours.
- Calculate the total hours spent at the service, including breaks, in the Tally of hours section.
- Jot down the main activities completed during the day.
- Each entry will have to be signed off by your Workplace Supervisor.
- At the end of SWLA 1, calculate the total hours of completed workplace hours at the end of the table (excluding breaks). This should equal to a minimum of 20 hours.
SWLA Assessments
During SWLA, while being actively involved in the service’s daily routine, you are also required to complete certain assessment tasks to demonstrate your competence in the units of competency covered.
It is best to read through all assessment tasks before you commence placement, then talk them through with your Workplace Supervisor and create a brief to-do list for each day of the placement to help you keep on track. This can also be captured in the Work Placement Plan.
It is your responsibility to ensure that all SWLA assessment activities are completed within the allocated timeframe. If you think you will have issues completing any of the activities, contact your trainer as soon as possible.
In the following, you can read a brief description of each assessment document:
SWLA Portfolio
Your SWLA Portfolio will capture evidence of the tasks/activities set out for you during your work placement.
This evidence may include, for example:
- Photographs
- Recordings
- Completed documents and checklists
- Short answer questions and your responses to them, etc.
SWLA Interview Questionnaire
Your SWLA interview questions are completed during your final check-in with your assessor. You do not need to submit this document. The assessor will ask you and your supervisor the questions found in this document and submit this assessment on your behalf.
SWLA Third-Party Report
Your SWLA Third-Party Report will capture confirmation by workplace supervisors that they have observed the student demonstrate specific skills and knowledge during the Structured Workplace Learning and Assessment (SWLA) process. The supervisor can choose to either complete this document or have the assessor capture the evidence in the final interview. If the supervisor decides to complete the form, you will need to upload a copy to the LMS.
Choosing a workplace can be a pretty daunting task!
There are a few things to keep in mind when finding a suitable workplace.
You can have more than one (1) workplace. You are required to submit a Host Organisation Approval Form for each workplace. You cannot commence work placement until the workplace and the Workplace Supervisor are approved.
Most long day care, preschools (or kindergartens), family day care and outside school hours care services are regulated under the National Quality Framework (NQF).
It is recommended you complete SWLA at a long day care or preschool to gain the most out of your placement as you will need access to specific resources.
This search tool can help you find a service in your area.
Workplace requirements
Apart from being an approved and regulated service, the Host Organisation will also need to be able to provide you with access to certain facilities, equipment and resources, such as:
- A variety of policies and procedures
- Service documentation
- Quality Improvement Plan (QIP)
- Work health and safety facilities, tools and equipment
- Food service facilities, equipment and utensils
- Workplace meetings
- Staff and families
- Emergency drills, such as emergency evacuation or lockdown rehearsals
- Indoor and outdoor play area, etc.
A detailed list of required resources can be found in the Host Organisation Approval Form.
Workplace supervisor requirements
It is important that the Workplace Supervisor is able to provide you with effective guidance and support to perform safely in the workplace; therefore, it is imperative that the Workplace Supervisor has the appropriate experience and qualifications.
The Workplace Supervisor is required to:
- Hold a minimum of Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care qualification, and
- Have a minimum of two (2) years’ work experience in the early childhood education and care sector.
Once you have a suitable service in your area, there are a couple of things you need to prepare for approaching the selected service. You should approach work placement the same as if you were applying for a job.
This means you need to prepare:
- A cover letter
- A resume
- An outfit for an interview.
Cover letter
A cover letter is an introduction letter that should complement your resume and give an explanation as to why you are the ideal candidate. The explanation could include:
- information about your skills
- information about your experiences
- achievements
- what you are currently studying (for the purposes of work placement)
Your cover letter should be around 3-4 paragraphs. The cover letter should highlight your skills, experiences, and achievements that relate to the job you are applying for. This is the employers'/workplaces' first impression of you.
As you are approaching the service to complete your work placement, it is recommended to explain what you are trying to achieve during work placement and how the service will benefit from your presence. You can say things like: “I’m looking forward to getting the service’s procedures and contributing to the children’s learning journey.” Or, “I have a childhood dream to become an early childhood educator and I would be delighted to be able to complete my work placement at your service and learn from your educators. I am dedicated to becoming a useful part of the team during my placement.”
Watch the following 13-minute video on how to write a cover letter:
Through this link you can access cover letter templates for different purposes.
Resume
A resume or CV is a document that provides details of your:
- Work experience
- Education
- Skills
- Achievements
The information in your resume is essential information that your workplace or employer needs to know to be able to determine if you are a suitable fit for the role.
What to include in your resume:
You should include your full name and contact details (phone number & email address)
This includes courses and qualifications you have completed/or you are in the process of completing that relate to the role you are applying for. You should also include your schooling if you completed school within the last 5 years. When listing your qualifications or schooling achievements, you should start at the most recent and work backward. You should also include the qualification you received, where you studied, and the start and finish date of the study.
This can include any paid or volunteer work, with focus on jobs relevant to early childhood education and care. For each job, you should include the title of your position, the name of the workplace, and the dates that you worked there. Under this information, you should provide a brief overview of the responsibilities you had in the role. Similar to the education section, these should be listed from the most recent backward. This is a great place to list any experience you may have working with children, even if it was babysitting your younger siblings or the neighbour’s children. Jobs not directly related to early childhood education and care will prove that you are hard-working and mature-minded or will indicate any transferrable skillsets that may be useful during your placement.
Here you can list any skills, strengths, or interests that relate to the role you are applying for, for example playing on an instrument, speaking another language, gardening, art and craft, etc. These skills may come handy during your placement.
A reference is a professional that can provide a recommendation and vouch for your skills and work ethic. This could be a manager or supervisor from a previous role. You could also include an academic reference. This could be a previous teacher or career advisor, or it could be a current teacher. For each reference, you should include company and contact information. It is a good idea to include at least two (2).
Your resume should not be more than 1-2 pages. Keep it short and sweet! You also want to make sure the format and colours used are neat and professional.
Here is a link to a resume template you could use.
Contact potential services
Once you have located a few services in your area, it is time to contact them. It is best to contact them over the phone first during the day when it may be quieter time at the service, such as between 10 am–11 am or between 2 pm–4 pm. When you ring the service, always greet politely according to the time of the day, such as ‘Good morning’ or ‘Good afternoon’, then ask to speak to the director or second-in-charge.
When you talk to the director or second-in-charge, introduce yourself and ask whether the service accepts students for placement. You may find that some services may not accept work placement students. There could be many reasons for this, don’t take it personally, just try somewhere else. If the service accepts students, it is best to make an appointment to go and meet the director in person.
Always pre-plan your work placement a couple of months before it starts, rather than organise it at the last minute, as services may have strict policies around how many students they can accept at a time.
Think through your availability before you contact the service, as they may want to have an idea of when and how long you’ll be at the service.
At the interview
Once you have organised an appointment with the service’s director, you should consider this meeting as a job interview. Although this is not the main purpose of the placement, students who demonstrate passion for working in the sector and are able to be part of the team during placement are often offered work opportunities as well.
You should prepare an outfit for the interview in the instance you are successful in securing an interview. Your attire should be professional, and your appearance should be neat and tidy.
Read more for some tips and tricks for dressing for an interview.