The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) replaced the Board of Studies, Teaching and Education Standards (BOSTES) on 1 January 2017.

News from NESA, including Official Notices, is now published on the new NESA website: educationstandards.nsw.edu.au.

NESA has an increased focus on:

• developing evidence-based policy to improve student achievement and support teachers
• risk-based monitoring of Teacher Accreditation Authorities and schools.

NESA continues to set and monitor quality teaching, learning, assessment and school standards. This includes responsibility, across NSW public, Catholic and independent schools, for:

• Kindergarten to Year 12 curriculum
• accreditation of teachers and teaching degrees
• the internationally recognised HSC
• school registration and home schooling.

Read:

•        the latest news and official notices
•        the NESA story and what has changed and what hasn’t
•        about the Board members
•        current job vacancies.

BOSTES 50/16

Who needs to read this notice:
Principals and proprietors of non-government schools
Representatives of systems of non-government schools
Providers and Directors of early childhood education centres (‘ECECs’)
Authorised delegates of TAAs for non-government schools and ECECs

Effective from 1 January 2017

The Minister for Education has approved amendments to the Guidelines for the Regulation of Teacher Accreditation Authorities for Non-government Schools and Early Childhood Education Centres (‘the TAA Guidelines’).

The amendments follow the passing of legislation to establish the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), including changes to the legislation underpinning teacher accreditation authority (‘TAA’) approval.

The amendments relate to:

• changes regarding the suspension and revocation of teacher accreditation:
   - providing that NESA is the only body authorised to decide to suspend or revoke the accreditation of a teacher
   - requiring TAAs to notify NESA when grounds exist for suspending or revoking a teacher’s accreditation (sections 2, 4 and 5 of the TAA Guidelines)
• changing references from ‘the BOSTES’ to ‘the Authority’ and other minor edits and clarification (various sections of the TAA Guidelines).

The TAA Guidelines are amended on a transitional basis to encompass the period on and from 1 January 2017 until the NESA Board meets in 2017 and either confirms the amendments or requires changes to be made.

The TAA Guidelines constitute the rules of the BOSTES which, under legislated savings and transitional arrangements, continue to apply when NESA commences on 1 January 2017.

The amended TAA Guidelines are available to download from the Guidelines for the Regulation of Teacher Accreditation Authorities for Non-government Schools and Early Childhood Education Centres webpage.

Please note that the web version of the TAA Guidelines is the most up-to-date version at any time.

The following documents are also available to download:

• Tracked changes of the amended TAA Guidelines
• Proforma for Document Audit for Teacher Accreditation Authorities

For more information, contact:
Caraline Cloke
Senior Board Inspector, School Registration and Accreditation Standards
caraline.cloke@bostes.nsw.edu.au
(02) 9367 8170

A new education authority, to commence in January 2017, will focus on supporting quality teaching and learning to improve results for every student in every NSW classroom.

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) will build upon the work of the Board of Studies, Teaching and Education Standards (BOSTES).

NESA will take over responsibility for setting the state’s K-12 curriculum; accreditation of teachers, registration of schools and home schooling; delivering the internationally regarded Higher School Certificate (HSC); and approving tertiary teaching degrees, including minimum entry standards and a pre-graduate literacy and numeracy test.

Minister for Education Adrian Piccoli said NESA will have an increased focus on developing evidence-based policy to improve student achievement and driving quality teaching.

“NESA’s renewed focus on streamlining processes and cutting red tape for schools will ensure increasing efforts are redirected to support quality teaching and learning in our classrooms,” Mr Piccoli said.

Mr Piccoli announced the appointment of David de Carvalho as Chief Executive Officer of NESA and the members of the inaugural NESA board. The Board has been cut from 23 to 14 members and will be chaired by Tom Alegounarias, the current President of BOSTES.

“Mr de Carvalho brings extensive experience in leading major reforms at both national and state levels and a deep personal passion for and understanding of education. I am pleased he will be supported by an outstanding board which will take a more strategic role leading education reform in NSW,” Mr Piccoli said.

Starting his career as a secondary teacher, Mr de Carvalho has been on several education and research boards. He has also led the National Catholic Education Commission, was Head of the Higher Education Division in the Federal Education Department and is currently a Deputy Secretary at the NSW Department of Family and Community Services.

"I am looking forward enormously to the challenges and opportunities of this new role, because nothing is more important for a child's life chances than the knowledge and skills a quality education can deliver,” Mr de Carvalho said.

NSW Education Standards Authority board members
· Mr Tom Alegounarias, Current President, Board of Studies, Teaching and Education Standards (BOSTES)
· Professor Paul Chandler, Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of Wollongong
· Dr Brian Croke, Executive Director, Catholic Education Commission NSW
· Mr David de Carvalho, Chief Executive Officer, NSW Education Standards Authority
· Professor Susan Dockett, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Charles Sturt University
· Mr Denis Fitzgerald, Vice President, NSW Teachers Federation
· Ms Katherine Grace, General Counsel, Company Secretary, Stockland Group
· Ms Robyn McKerihan PSM, Former Executive Director, NSW Department of Education
· Ms Iris Nastasi, Principal, Clancy College
· Dr Geoff Newcombe, Chief Executive, Association of Independent Schools of NSW
· Mr Mark Northam, Assistant Secretary, Independent Education Union
· Mr Craig Petersen, College Principal, Denison College of Secondary Education
· Mr Mark Scott AO, Secretary, NSW Department of Education
· Ms Carol Taylor, Former Chief Executive, BOSTES

BOSTES 49/16

Who needs to read this notice:
Principals and proprietors of non-government schools
Representatives of systems of non-government schools

Effective from 1 January 2017

The Minister for Education has approved amendments to the Registered and Accredited Individual Non-government Schools (NSW) Manual and the Registration Systems and Member Non-government Schools (NSW) Manual ('the Manuals’).

The amendments follow the passing of legislation to establish the NSW Education Standards Authority (‘the Authority’), including changes to the legislation underpinning school registration.

 The amendments relate to:

• replacing the good character requirement with a fit and proper person requirement (section 3.9.1 of the individual schools manual / 5.9.1 of the systemic schools manual)
• a new financial viability requirement (section 3.9.4 of the individual schools manual / 5.9.4 of the systemic schools manual)
• a greater focus on the quality of teaching and student learning (section 3 of the individual schools manual / 5 of the systemic schools manual)
• the risk based approach of the Authority (section 2.4.2 of the individual schools manual / section 2.3.6 of the systemic schools manual)
• changing references from 'the BOSTES' to 'the Authority' and other minor edits (various sections of the Manuals).

The Manuals are amended on a transitional basis to cover the period 1 January 2017 until the Board of the Authority meets in 2017 and either confirms the amendments or requires changes.

Schools with a registration period expiring at the end of 2017 have been notified of these changes and the renewal process to be implemented in 2017.

Further information about the changes will be published early in 2017, particularly in relation to certification of financial viability.

The Manuals constitute the rules of BOSTES which, under legislated savings and transitional arrangements, continue to apply when the Authority commences on 1 January 2017.

The amended Manuals are available to download from the Registration and Accreditation of Non-government Schools (RANGS) website.

Please note that the web versions of the Manuals are the most up-to-date Manuals at any time.

Tracked changes of the amended Manuals areavailable in the ‘Reference Documents section’ of the RANGS website.

The following support materials are also available:

• Proformas for Document Audits for Individual Schools
• Proformas for Document Audits for System Member Schools.

For more information, contact:
Anita Yates
Senior Board Inspector, School Registration and Accreditation Standards
anita.yates@bostes.nsw.edu.au
(02) 9367 8214

BOSTES 48/16

Who needs to read this notice:
Principals
Directors, Public Schools NSW
Relevant Directorates within the Department of Education

Effective from 1 January 2017

The Minister for Education has approved amendments to the Registration Process for the NSW Government Schooling System Manual (‘the Manual’).

The amendments follow the passing of legislation to establish the NSW Education Standards Authority (‘the Authority’), including changes to the legislation underpinning school registration.

The Manual is amended on a transitional basis to encompass the period on and from 1 January 2017 until the Board of the Authority meets in 2017 and either confirms the amendments or requires changes to be made.

The amendments relate to:

• replacing the good character requirement with a fit and proper person requirement (section 4.10 of the Manual)
• a greater focus on the quality of teaching and student learning (section 4 of the Manual)
• the risk based approach of the Authority with a focus on the determinants of student learning (section 3.1 of the Manual)
• changing references to ‘the BOSTES’ to ‘the Authority’ and other minor edits (various sections of the Manual).

The Manual constitutes the rules of the BOSTES which, under legislated savings and transitional arrangements, continue to apply when the Authority commences on 1 January 2017.

The amended Manual can be downloaded from the Registration process for the government schooling system section of the BOSTES website.

Please note that the web version of the Manual is the most up-to-date Manual at any time.

A tracked changes copy of the amended Manual is available from the Registration process for the government schooling system section of the BOSTES website.

For government schools, further information about the Department’s system processes:
Bruce Inwood
Director, High Performance
Leadership and High Performance Directorate
NSW Department of Education
bruce.inwood@det.nsw.edu.au
(02) 9266 8625

General enquiries about the process of the Authority:
Stan Browne
Senior Board Inspector, School Registration and Accreditation Standards
stan.browne@bostes.nsw.edu.au
(02) 9367 8156

BOSTES 51/16

Who needs to read this notice:
Principals
Directors, Public Schools NSW
Relevant Directorates within the Department of Education
Non-government school registration systems

Effective from 1 January 2017

The NSW Education Standards Authority (‘the Authority’) is strengthening its risk-based approach to regulation by expanding its program for the inspection of schools selected randomly. The expanded program will include government schools for the first time and continue to select individual and systemic non-government schools.

The expanded ‘random inspection’ program is consistent with the recommendations of the recent BOSTES Review and legislative changes providing for the Authority to monitor the compliance of government schools in addition to advising the Minister on the compliance of government schools with similar requirements to those that apply to non-government schools.

The inspection of schools selected randomly will:

• consider school compliance with a subset of the registration requirements rather than the full set of requirements; and
• occur with limited notice having regard to the assessment of risk associated with the registration requirement(s) being monitored; and
• check whether the school continues to comply with the registration requirements.

For the inspections, schools will be asked to provide a sample of the materials identified in the Evidence of Compliance sections from the relevant registration manual:

• government schools – Registration Process for the NSW Government Schooling System Manual

• individual non-government schools – Registered and Accredited Individual Non-government Schools (NSW) Manual

• systemic non-government schools – Registration Systems and Member Non-government Schools (NSW) Manual.

For government schools and systemic non-government schools the ‘random inspection’ program has regard to the context in which these schools operate as members of a system and the associated responsibilities of the system in managing the compliance of their schools.

An overview of the ‘random inspection’ process follows. Further details will be published in early 2017.

Selection

Schools will be selected randomly to form a sample that is proportionate to the number of schools in each schooling sector.

In 2017, it is planned to select 18 government schools, four individual non-government schools and four systemic non-government schools.

Schools that are already part of the Authority’s inspection program, for example, schools seeking renewal of registration in 2017, will be excluded from the selection process in 2017.

Notice

The selected schools will be contacted by a Board Inspector no less than four days in advance of the inspection.

An inspection with less notice may take place should the Authority have concerns in regard to the compliance of a school with registration requirements, having regard to the assessment of risk associated with those requirements.

The contact will be by phone call to the school’s Principal (or equivalent) followed by written notice identifying the inspection date and confirming the subset of requirements to be assessed.

For government schools and systemic non-government schools, the nominated system representative will be notified prior to phone contact with the school’s Principal (or equivalent).

In 2017, the implementation of the ‘random inspection’ program will commence in Term 2 and be conducted throughout the year.

Requirements

The inspection will focus on the school’s compliance with a subset of the requirements as described in the relevant registration manual.

The subset of requirements will relate to either Strand A or Strand B:

Strand A – Annual priorities in 2017

In 2017, the annual priorities for the inspection of schools selected randomly are the requirements for:

• safe and supportive environment – child protection; and/or
• safe and supportive environment – student welfare, with particular regard to anti-bullying and/or managing complaints and grievances.

Strand A inspections will consider school compliance in relation to aspects of these requirements to be specified in the written notice to the school.

Strand B – Quality of teaching and student learning

From 2017, the Authority will have regard to the quality of teaching and student learning in deciding whether the requirements for registration are being met. Evidence to demonstrate the quality of teaching and student learning is described in the amended registration manuals to take effect from 1 January 2017.

Strand B inspections will consider school compliance in relation to:

• records to demonstrate the standard of teaching, monitoring the standard of teaching and implementing strategies to improve the standard of teaching; and/or
• records of assessing student learning and implementing strategies to improve student learning; and/or
• curriculum documentation and samples of student work in one or two key learning areas in one or two stages of schooling.

The particular set of requirements to be monitored will be specified in the written notice to the school.

Focus

While the focus of the ‘random inspection’ process is a subset of the requirements, a Board Inspector may request additional evidence in relation to a broader range of registration requirements should compliance concerns be identified.

Where a ‘random inspection’ identifies compliance concerns, the school and/or system, if relevant, will be required to provide the Authority with evidence of addressing the concerns and the school may be subject to further inspection.

Report

A Board Inspector will prepare a report identifying the findings of the ‘random inspection’ in relation to the school’s compliance. The school and system, if relevant, will be provided with a copy of the report prior to it being considered by the Authority’s School Registration Committee.

For more information, contact:
Stan Browne
Senior Board Inspector, School Registration and Accreditation Directorate
stan.browne@bostes.nsw.edu.au
(02) 9367 8156

The wait is over for around 77,000 students, who receive their HSC results today.

In the 50^th year of the HSC a record number of students achieved the highest possible results.

Key facts:

• A record 1378 students scored a top band result in 10 or more HSC units and are on the BOSTES All Rounders merit list, and overall there were a record 37,781 top bands awarded.
• A record 55,961 students are eligible for an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) and for university entry.
• 1619 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, the highest ever number, achieve their HSC, with 825 eligible for an ATAR.
• Around 11% of this year’s HSC results are in the top performance band and more than 69% are in the top three bands.
• The distribution of results across performance bands has remained consistent over the past 6 years.

BOSTES President Tom Alegounarias said, “The 2016 results represent the dedication and hard work of a record number of students achieving outstanding results.

“Becoming an All-Rounder shows a breadth of ability and consistency of effort that deserves special recognition. It is a truly outstanding feat to have excelled across so many courses.

“I congratulate all 2016 students who received their results today. Getting your HSC is a real achievement that is recognised around the world. They should all feel proud.

“I wish them all the very best in their future endeavours – work, university, TAFE or a gap year.”

““For students who didn’t get the results they hoped for, there are plenty of other options available. You may have to be flexible, but make sure you get advice about all the opportunities open to you,” he said.

“The HSC’s enduring popularity and the consistency in results year on year underpin its world-class reputation for rigorous academic standards,” Mr Alegounarias said.

Yesterday,the Education Minister Adrian Piccoli awarded 124 students who achieved first place in a HSC course with a certificate at the First in Course ceremony. A list of recipients is available on the BOSTES website.

Three additional merit lists recognising outstanding HSC achievement will be published on the BOSTES website at 12 noon today.

HSC results are sent to students via SMS and email from the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards (BOSTES) from 6am Thursday 15 December.

Eligible students can download their certificate and other HSC credentials from 21 December with their HSC certificate arriving by post from 20 January 2017.

ATAR results will be released tomorrow by the Universities Admission Centre (UAC).

Students with questions about their results can call the HSC Inquiry Centre on 1300 138 323.

MEDIA CONTACT: MICHAEL CHARLTON 0477 362 546

Tomorrow over 77,000 NSW students will receive their HSC results, and today a handful of students have been able to celebrate early with the news they have topped the state in one or more courses.

Minister for Education Adrian Piccoli presented 129 certificates to 124 students from 74 NSW schools at today’s First in Course Awards ceremony.

Mr Piccoli said students who come first in an HSC course have achieved at the highest level in a world-class credential.

“This is a very proud day for all the students who have achieved a First in Course result, as well as for their families and their teachers,” Mr Piccoli said.

“Whether a student tops the State or not, undertaking the HSC gives young people skills and experience that will serve them well in their lives beyond school.”

Assistant Minister for Education Leslie Williams recognised the Aboriginal Studies First in Course saying that it was pleasing to see such strong interest in the course across the State

“I wish all our 2016 HSC students every success in building on your outstanding achievements and urge you to make the most of your hard work, whether you choose to go to university, vocational education or into the workforce,” Ms Williams said

In 2016:

• equal first place was awarded in nine courses
• including six students sharing equal first in the 2 unit Mathematics course
• five students received a First in Course award for two courses.

The Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards (BOSTES) will issue HSC results to students from 6.00am tomorrow (Thursday) via SMS.

The HSC Inquiry Centre will be available on 1300 138 323 from 9.00am tomorrow to answer students’ questions about their results.

From Wednesday 21 December 2016 eligible students can download their HSC results, with their HSC testamur to arrive by post from 20 January 2017. 

2016 HSC First in Course – Fact sheet

BOSTES 50/16

Who needs to read this notice:
Principals
Curriculum co-ordinators
HSC co-ordinators
Head Teachers Languages
Latin Teachers

Effective immediately

The following amendments have been made to the examination specifications for Stage 6 Latin Extension to accommodate both prose and verse text prescriptions:

• Section I: Prescribed Text - the first dot point and now reads ‘approximately 20 lines of verse or approximately 120 words of prose’. (It previously read ‘approximately 20 lines’)

• Section II: Non-prescribed Text - the first dot point now reads ‘approximately 10 lines of verse or approximately 60 words of prose’. (It previously read ‘approximately 10 lines’). In the same section, the first part of the third dot point now reads ‘approximately 5 lines of verse or approximately 30 words of prose’. (It previously read ‘approximately 5 lines of the prescribed genre’).

The revised specifications can be found in Assessment and reporting in Latin Extension Stage 6 available to download from the HSC syllabus page of the BOSTES website.

For more information, contact:
Lyn Sully
Senior Project Office, Languages
lyn.sully@bostes.nsw.edu.au
02 9367 8312

Schools are reminded to inform BOSTES of Year 10, 11 or 12 school leavers eligible for a Record of School Achievement (RoSA).

The RoSA is a credential for students who leave school before completing their HSC, which records their accumulated results. Visit the RoSA section of the BOSTES website for more information.

Schools need to nominate students via Schools Online > Enrolments > Nominate RoSA School Leavers. To be eligible for a RoSA, students must be leaving the NSW school system. Schools need to ensure that Year 11 students do not have a 2017 Year 12 record before completing this nomination process.

A template letter for schools to issue to nominated students, which includes instructions about how to download their RoSA credentials via Students Online is in Schools Online > Downloads > Memos and Documents > RoSA folder.

The deadline for requests for RoSA credentials for all 2016 students is Tuesday 20 December.

For more information, contact:
Student Records Team
records@bostes.nsw.edu.au
(02) 9367 8001