Faculty of Arts and Education
As part of the Bachelor of Education (Birth to Five Years) or the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood & Primary), professional experience is a core component designed to support your development as an early childhood educator. This hands-on placement is essential for deepening your understanding of the teaching role within early childhood settings and for cultivating your professional pedagogy.
During your placement, you’ll have the opportunity to:
The program is structured to build your professional knowledge, skills, and attributes through close collaboration with your supervising educator and university lecturer.
Under no circumstances should teacher education students approach schools / early childhood providers requesting placements. Nor should they enter into agreements regarding future placements.
Note: The Bachelor of Education (Birth-5) students are exempt from this rule and use the self-placement tool to submit an application.
Once compliance is confirmed, placement sourcing may take 6–8 weeks during school terms.
See the Professional experience timeline for more information
The following indicates compulsory Work Integrated Learning (WIL) components:
The recommended course progression is to perform one placement per session across the degree in the following order.
Note: If currently employed in an Early Childhood service, the placement for subjects EMH302 and EEB427 can be performed within that service or a service where placement has previously been performed.
Whilst completing placements for EPT308 and EPT326, you should be aware that:
The Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood & Primary) degree requires 7 supervised professional experience placements to be undertaken, 3 in early childhood and 4 in a primary school setting, to meet external regulations for teaching accreditation:
It is important to familiarise yourself with the Student Guide to Professional Experience Placement for the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood & Primary)
Student guide to professional experience placement: Bachelor of Education (Birth to Five Years)
Eligibility to proceed with professional experience placement is dependent upon students meeting their course requirements. These requirements are:
Anaphylaxis Training - Must be completed every two years. Upload a signed and dated certificate to InPlace. You're not required to demonstrate the use of an auto-injector before placement.
Appropriate professional behaviour is expected in any Professional Experience. To be fully aware of professional expectations, you should refer to the NSW Department of Education and Communities' Code of Conduct and the Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics, and apply the relevant information to your placement and/or your working environment after graduation.
Child Protection Awareness training requirements for all States and Territories are located in the links below. Many states and territories will require teacher education students to create logins for the Department of Education.
Please note: teacher education students seeking placements outside of NSW must complete the relevant State appropriate.
Initial teacher education students are required to pass both components of the personal Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE) as part of the accreditation requirements of this course and before commencement of the final professional experience placement. Further information about LANTITE, including registration details, can be found on the LANTITE website.
NSW Department of Education Training - To be eligible for a professional experience placement with Charles Sturt University, all pre-service teachers must complete the following NSW DoE mandatory pre-requisite training modules: NSW Department of Education Child Protection Awareness Training (CPAT)
If you are completing a placement in NSW, you must also complete the following NSW DoE modules:
⏳ Processing Time: All mandatory requirements must be completed before submitting your InPlace application. The NSW DoE requires up to two weeks to process and confirm your training.
Refer to the NSW DoE Step-by-Step Guide for assistance.
The New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) have provided a means for Pre-Service Teacher (PST) to complete their final professional experience as conditionally accredited teachers within a school where they are employed. This is known as the Waiver of Appendix B of the NESA Professional Experience Policy.
The following criteria needs to be met for you to submit your application
If you meet the above criteria, please complete the following Forms and Submit to FOAE-WPL@csu.edu.au
To assist with understanding the process of this application please see the Process document.
To prepare for your placement, you must log into the InPlace placement management system to upload all the mandatory documents (evidence that all required checks and training are completed).
To ensure a smooth placement experience, please be aware that all professional experience placements have set dates that align with semester schedules, school terms, and subject requirements.
Before applying for a placement through InPlace, please:
Check the 2025 Professional Experience Placement dates. Students must not attend placement during the annual University-wide shutdown period, even if their placement service is in operation.
IMPORTANT - To avoid conflicts of interest arising from your circumstances, you must disclose any potential conflicts of interest when applying for placement and stating your location preferences.
To request an assessment of any conflict of interest, you must formally email Workplace Learning (FOAE-WPL@csu.edu.au), providing detailed information about your circumstances. These circumstances may include challenges such as geographical isolation or limited availability of placement locations in the area.
NOTE: As a teacher education student, you are required to wear identification whilst on your Professional Experience Placement and carry your University student ID card. You can either purchase a Charles Sturt name badge from the online store and carry your ID card or wear your University student ID card in a clear plastic lanyard or clear plastic name badge sleeve during school visits and placements.
Requests to change a confirmed placement will only be considered in exceptional circumstances involving serious and unavoidable changes. You must promptly contact the Workplace Learning team to allow the Manager and relevant placement sites to explore alternative arrangements.
Workplace Learning at Charles Sturt uses The InPlace (Workplace Learning Placement system). You also have access to your placement information and WPL resources via InPlace.
Thank you for partnering with us to support our pre-service teachers (PSTs). Your role as a supervising teacher is vital to their development, and we truly appreciate your time, expertise and commitment.
To help you prepare, we recommend reviewing Section 4 of AITSL’s Components of Effective, High-Quality Professional Experience. It offers practical guidance on effective supervision and mentoring.
Each PST follows a suggested weekly teaching schedule with minimum teaching responsibilities. You can adjust this based on their individual needs, progress and your school’s context.
You’ll need to complete:
Important tips for completing the report:
If you or the University Liaison Officer (ULO) have concerns about a PST’s conduct or competency, please address them promptly.
Use the Student Placement Support and Review Process (SPSRP) to support PSTs who are struggling to meet teaching standards.
Early intervention—before the mid-placement review—is key.
Helpful documents:
All students are covered by university insurance during approved placements.
If you have questions or need support during the placement, please contact the Workplace Learning team.