Teachers help change lives, and thanks to the Allan Labor Government, more than 400 outstanding Victorian teachers have taken their skills to new levels through the Teaching Excellence Program (TEP).

Across government, Catholic and independent schools 434 high-performing teachers have graduated the 2023 Teaching Excellence Program – a year-long training program for teachers to explore unique ways of making learning meaningful for their students.

Minister for Education Ben Carroll today congratulated the graduates of the professional learning program, an Australian-first, offered through the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership (the Academy).

TEP supports and challenges some of the state’s most highly-skilled teachers to deepen their subject knowledge, helping them take innovative teaching approaches back to the classroom and provide insights to their school.

The program is open to teachers with at least three years’ teaching experience and involves conferences, subject-specific study days and self-directed research projects to test and apply new and improved skills in their schools.

Supported by subject-specific expert Master Teachers, TEP participants learn from colleagues, share experiences and resources with each other further raising the quality and status of Victoria’s teaching workforce.

Once graduated from the program, teachers gain alumni status and can apply for a Teaching Innovation Fellowship awarded through the Academy. The fellowships give teachers an opportunity to design and lead an innovative professional learning project that addresses a problem they experience in the classroom back at their school.

The Labor Government invested $148.2 million in 2022 to open the Academy’s first centre in East Melbourne along with 7 regional centres: Bairnsdale, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Mildura, Moe and Shepparton —making sure rural and regional teachers can access high-quality, evidence-informed professional learning close to their schools.

Teachers are encouraged to visit academy.vic.gov.au/professional-learning/teaching-excellence-program to apply or find out more about TEP in 2024.