ABOUT US
The Australian Education and Care Workforce Professional Body (ECW), was formed to connect, inform and elevate the education and care workforce. ECW brings together educators from all sectors under one professional body.
Working collaboratively with our Collective members and Professional Body, ECW conveys one strong voice to speak up collectively for the health, well being and professional profile of educators across Australia.
Our Vision
One strong voice dedicated to elevating the education and care workforce, their wealth of knowledge, expertise, and practice wisdom.
Our Mission
The Australian Education and Care Workforce Professional Body’s mission is to advocate for and connect education and care practitioners across the sector as one profession, enabling practitioners to speak with one strong voice and to create a positive vision for the future health and wellbeing of the Education and Care workforce.
We recognise and acknowledge the practice wisdom that already exists within the profession and believe that by bringing practitioners together from across the sectors under one National Professional Body we can speak loudly and collectively to positively influence perceptions of the education and care profession. We strive to build skills, knowledge, capacity and confidence through open, honest, reflective professional discussions and sharing of practice stories, enabling practitioners to learn from each other and to grow their collective practice wisdom.
We work to promote the wealth of knowledge and expertise that exists within the profession by showcasing quality practices across the profession, raising the profile of Education and Care practitioners both within the profession and in the broader community. Through fulfilling our mission, we will contribute to a sustainable education and care workforce that is well equipped to provide rich, nurturing learning environments for children delivered by highly skilled, reflective, confident, professionals, who are highly regarded by colleagues, families and communities.
Organisation Structure
ECW is a social enterprise, dedicated to elevating the education and care workforce, their wealth of knowledge, expertise, and practice wisdom.
Our profit for purpose commitment ensures that profits generated by ECW’s membership are reinvested back into the profession.
This reinvestment will be influenced by members’ feedback and designed by the Professional Practice Reference Body in consultation with ECW Collective members with a vision to meet ECW’s mission.
We work to promote the wealth of knowledge and expertise that exists within the profession by showcasing quality practices across the profession, raising the profile of Education and Care practitioners both within the profession and in the broader community.
Practice Principles
ECW understands the innate value of education and care professionals, and from this belief can advocate for others to recognise and acknowledge this value. As the national professional body for education and care practitioners, we will work tirelessly to raise the profile of the sector and increase awareness within the wider community of the critical role professional education and care practitioners hold in the provision of quality education and care for children. We will work to promote the significance this important role has in terms of quality outcomes for children, families, and communities.
We aim to provide key information and essential support that is practical and meaningful to the EC workforce across Australia. Each individual education and care practitioner’s strengths, interests and challenges are as unique as the individual children they have been entrusted with and as unique as the service, community and sector in which they work. Whether full time or casual, whether an assistant educator, educator, lead educator, teacher, director, coordinator, educational leader, admin officer or cook; a person who works in education and care belongs to the education and care profession. They are an EC professional practitioner and deserve to be recognised and represented as a professional in the field of EC.
Just as the National Quality Standard (NQS) and Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) have high expectations for children and see children as competent and capable, we at ECW have high expectations of our education and care professionals. Educators are highly skilled, passionate professionals whom we hold in high esteem, as do those within the community that know and understand the invaluable work they do caring for and educating our most vulnerable and valuable members of community.
We will listen to practitioners’ voices to identify the key information, content and services they seek. We will source, current, relevant information from recognised and reputable EC services, providers, organisations, peaks and recognised authorities, and bring them together in one place for ease of access.
We will facilitate the sharing of information and practice wisdom across the profession. We will inform others and hopefully influence practices, perceptions and ideally policy to build greater understanding, recognition for and investment in quality outcomes for EC professionals. This will in turn benefit children, families, and communities.