Professional development sessions
Behaviour matters: During Term 1, the IEU provided eight hours of accredited Professional Development (PD) to members through the Behaviour Matters modules presented by Dave Vinegrad.
Entitled Getting it right; Keeping it right; Making it right; and Upholding the right, the sessions proved so popular we re-ran all four. A combined total of more than 500 members attended each module.
We plan to deliver all four courses again in Term 3. Keep an eye on our publications and website for details.
Early childhood: The IEU ran unique sessions for our early childhood members to learn more about the accreditation process as it applies to their profession, and changes to the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020.
In the first of the sessions, IEU Senior Industrial Officer Michael Wright explained changes to the award and the impact on an early childhood teacher’s pay for achieving Proficient status.
Three senior NESA officers were online in the second session to answer members’ accreditation questions. The sessions covered all aspects of the accreditation requirements for teachers working towards Proficient status or maintaining their accreditation at the Proficient level.
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data: We held online briefings on the new NCCD Evidence Fact Sheet in March and April, providing an opportunity for members to become familiar with the information in the Fact Sheet and to ask questions about its practical applications in schools.
Note: We will be exploring a number of options in both Accredited and Elective PD in Term 2. Members can keep up to date through the IEU website.
Accreditation
Pre-2004 teachers: Submit early or take advantageof the extension
In 2020, NESA approached the union to discuss the anticipated impacts on Teacher Accreditation Authorities (TAAs), supervisors, principals and NESA’s systems due to the large number of full-time teachers with the same due date of 31 December 2022.
The submission period has now been expanded. Pre-2004 teachers can:
- submit early: from 26 April 2022 (Day 1, Term 2); or
- extend their final submission date until 31 December 2023.
Your maintenance of accreditation anniversary will be reset this once only, with your new five-year cycle starting on completion of your first submission.
All teachers due in Term 2 or Term 3 2022
NESA has recently announced a further extension. See our website for further information.
When should I submit?
This is a personal decision, but members may wish to consider the following factors:
- Professional development hours cannot be carried from one maintenance cycle into the next. If you have completed your 100 hours (check your eTams) and you are planning to undertake a course that will provide a significant number of accredited hours, you may wish to submit early so as to include the PD course hours in your next maintenance cycle.
- Alternatively, external influences, including anticipated career breaks or retirement plans, may mean you’d prefer submitting closer to the final due date in December 2023.
We invite you to contact your organiser or the IEU’s Professional Engagement team if you need more advice.
PD requirements: For pre-2004 teachers and all teachers submitting in 2022
If you have received the green tick on your eTams account, your do not have to complete any further PD hours. This applies regardless of when you decide to submit and finalise your current maintenance period.
If you plan to submit or must submit this year and have not obtained the 100 hours green tick on eTams, you must complete at least one accredited course in one of the four priority learning areas (Curriculum; Student Mental Health; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education; and Students with Disability) as part of the 100 hours.
The balance of the PD hours can be made up in Elective PD.
This arrangement may only apply for 2022, so if you are planning to submit, or must submit in 2023, consider completing your 100 hours this year.
Professional Development hours are subject to scrutiny by your attestor, usually your principal. Be sure to allow enough time to replace any Elective PD hours challenged by your attestor.
Teachers who are not part of the pre-2004 cohort cannot make a submission for maintenance of accreditation earlier than three months before their due date.
Changes to the Teacher Accreditation Act
The IEU broadly supports recent changes to the Teacher Accreditation Act 2004. One practical implication for teachers in schools is that NESA will become the decision-maker for accreditation applications at all levels. The IEU anticipates this will result in more consistent and equitable accreditation processes across independent schools and Catholic schools.
The policies to enact the changes will be developed through an extensive consultation process. As a stakeholder, the IEU will be engaged in a series of meetings with NESA over the next few months.
Some of the areas of change that NESA will focus on during the consultation process include:
- transferring accreditation decision-making powers to NESA and decommissioning the Teacher Accreditation Authority guidelines
- developing clearer structures around documentary guidelines for evidence submission when applying for Proficient accreditation status
- finalising the public register of accredited teachers, taking into consideration various professional and privacy issues
- developing provisions that will define suitability to teach
- creating a new category of accreditation for non-practising teachers.
Members can find NESA’s summary of the changes here:https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/about/initiatives/teacher-accreditation-reform
NCCD update: Members welcome NCCD Evidence Fact Sheet
The Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) NCCD Evidence Fact Sheet, developed over months of consultation with officers of the IEU, became official at the end of November 2021.
Member principals and teachers in many schools have reached out to the IEU to express their appreciation of the clarity provided by the Fact Sheet. It is particularly pleasing to hear from members that their school has actively engaged with the NCCD Evidence Fact Sheet. We have received many reports of schools streamlining processes and eliminating duplication in light of the Fact Sheet, thereby allowing teachers to restore time and energy for the actual support of students.
You can download the full NCCD Evidence Fact Sheet here: bit.ly/nccd2021
The IEU will continue engaging with DESE throughout 2022 to provide feedback on the reach and impact of the Fact Sheet and the alignment between this document and the Census post-enumeration verification process (sometimes referred to as an audit).
We encourage members to provide feedback to the IEU, either on the implementation of the Fact Sheet at your school, or experiences with the post-enumeration verification process (audit) in 2022.
Direct feedback from members is very helpful in our ongoing consultations with DESE. All comment will be aggregated and de-identified. If you wish to provide feedback, we invite you to contact your IEU Organiser.