Media releases

Federation University Australia has welcomed a partnership with the Victorian Government to expand the number of placements for student teachers in the Wimmera. 

Announced today by Minister for Education James Merlino, the partnership between the Victorian Government and Federation University, Deakin University and Australian Catholic University will provide an extra 60 placement opportunities for pre-service teachers in Horsham. 

A new Teaching Academy of Professional Practice (TAPP) will also be formed under the agreement to support schools hosting pre-service teachers. 

Federation’s Horsham campus will become a hub for the school and university partners. 

The agreement, which runs from July 2021 to the end of 2022, will use proven elements of existing TAPPs models, including partnerships with primary and secondary schools, employing a local site director as well as co-developed workshops and resources for supervising teachers. 

This collaborative initiative is a valuable way to work towards sustaining the teaching profession in regional Victoria. 

Quotes attributable to Federation University School of Education Dean, Professor Claire McLachlan 

“This partnership is a fantastic opportunity to provide further professional learning opportunities to our students about teaching in the regions and work together as a community to provide a skilled workforce.”  

“The teaching academies have mainly operated in metropolitan Melbourne previously, but this the first time a teaching academy will be fully focussed on teaching practice in the regions.” 

“It is a great opportunity for the universities to work with a large number of primary and secondary schools in the Wimmera to co-develop a shared understanding of effective teaching practice which is genuinely informed by place-based understandings of effective practice.”