White Cloud Internships is an innovative and exciting opportunity available to Early Childhood Education providers in Auckland and Wellington. We are a unique international internship programme facilitating opportunities for European students, who are completing practical work experience placements in New Zealand as part of their overseas university qualification in a range of professions including Early Childhood Education. White Cloud Internships have strong relationships with Danish universities, who offer their Early Childhood Education students opportunities to gain international experience and contribute abroad during one of their 6 months internships. The students are either in their 2nd or 3rd year of their Danish Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood Education, and they are expected to complete an unpaid internship with an average of 32 hours per week. Danish students are well looked after by the Danish government, they study for free, and in addition, they get paid a monthly student allowance. While the students are in New Zealand to gain international experience, they are also expected to demonstrate relevant Early Childhood Education competencies and contribute with reflections and new ideas. They are, during their internship, ideally as involved in the Early Childhood Teacher role as possible - at the discretion of the Centre Manager. Some centres utilise the White Cloud interns as part of their adult/child ratio because they exceed the minimum requirement of fully qualified NZ teachers already. Other centres, also meeting the minimum requirement of NZ teachers, benefit from our interns as an additional staff member, who takes the pressure off during non-contact time or at times when there are staff shortages because of leave taken or due to general recruitment challenges. Our Comprehensive Package Our ECE partners offer our interns a great place to work, learn and contribute. We take care of pretty much everything else and we charge ECE centres a fee for the work we do. Our aim is to facilitate educational outcomes and positive experiences for all involved – ‘Enabling Learning and Growing Opportunities in New Zealand’. We manage the recruitment, intern/host matching, police vetting and all other safety check requirements, visa requirements, academic supervision, professional development, evaluation, pastoral care, communication with the university etc – no paperwork for the ECE team members! We work in partnerships with the centres, and the White Cloud Supervisors regularly visit the interns and their teams on site. This enables them to engage in meaningful conversations with the interns during supervision, professional development, and evaluation. This way of working together – getting to know the children, teachers, centres and specific practices also helps us match interns with hosts well in the recruitment process. We offer the interns individual supervision and guidance, and we boost their professional development by hosting regular group supervision sessions on relevant topics - to stimulate, support and challenge them, to contribute towards their academic achievements, and to ensure they are well equipped to make a positive difference in Early Childhood Education in New Zealand and back home. Danish intern Maja Lodal Holmbjerg at Tiny Tuis Early Learning Centre in Auckland. Utilising interns August 2023 { 34 }
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=