Published on Tuesday, 27 May 2025 at 9:40:33 AM
Applications are now open for the City’s ECEC Educator Awards Program, which will provide up to 30 grants of between $500 and $1,000 to local educators working in long day care centres and family day care services.
Educators can either apply directly or be nominated by their employer or industry networks. As part of the process, applicants will be asked to share details about their experience and commitment to the local ECEC sector, as well as their qualifications, training, future career goals, and how the funding would assist them.
Supporting references can also be provided. Grants can be used to support accommodation costs and professional development for long day care educators or to purchase new equipment for family-day care educators. To be eligible, successful recipients must remain employed at their current ECEC centre for a minimum of six months.
Mayor Glenn Wilson said the City was pleased to continue supporting the ECEC sector through this targeted funding initiative.
“Early childhood educators play such an important role in our community - helping to shape the learning, wellbeing, and development of our youngest residents,” Mayor Wilson said.
“This program is about recognising the hard work and dedication of those in the sector and making it just a little easier for them to keep doing what they do best. Whether it’s covering accommodation costs or helping pay for more training, these grants are a way of saying
thank you.”
“Over the past few years, we’ve worked closely with the Department of Communities to roll out a range of initiatives for educators in our region. This new program builds on that effort and is another step towards strengthening and retaining our local ECEC workforce.”
This is the third ECEC initiative the City has delivered in partnership with the Department of Communities over the past three years. Previous programs include two rounds of the City’s Childcare Educator Scholarship, supporting Central Regional TAFE students studying ECEC, and the Goldfields Professional Development Project, which provided two rounds of professional learning conferences and in-centre support visits to educators across the region.
This new awards program is funded by the Department of Communities through the Attraction and Retention Packages for Regional Childcare Workers grant.
Early Childhood Education and Care Educator Awards Program
Applications close at 5pm on Saturday, 15 June 2025. For more information and to apply:
Click here
Pictured: Goldfields Child Care educator - Hyein Goh
Back to All News