Programing in NSW schools:

What are the expectations?

Schools and systems of schools have policy documents in relation to programing. It is critical however that the NESA source documents are utilised and provide clarity and certainty for teachers. Programing is an essential requirement and various types of ‘inspections’ call for such documents.

Schools and systems which have a particular faith tradition will often have an additional programing dimension which ideally would have similar expectations.

Variations in approaches to programing are many and uneven expectations can generate teacher workload in excess of what is required. The following outline is derived from the NESA manuals.

Registration Systems and Member Non-government Schools (NSW) Manual and the Registered and Accredited Individual Non-Government Schools (NSW) Manual (both found on the NESA website under the Registration tab) outline the curriculum documentation requirements for individual and systemic schools.

Evidence of compliance in relation to the educational program provided by the school essentially consists of:

the scope and sequence of learning/units of work in relation to the outcomes of NESA syllabuses for each KLA for each year (documentation needs to be kept for each calendar year of the current registration period)

teaching programs for each unit of work that correspond to those identified in the scope and sequence of learning/units of work (documentation needs to be kept for the current calendar year)

resources used in the teaching of those units

samples of student work that relate to the teaching program for that year, and

an assessment plan indicating how students’ performance in each KLA is assessed, monitored and recorded.

Evidence relating to the standard of teaching includes: consistency between the various elements of the school’s curriculum including NESA syllabus outcomes, scope and sequence, teaching programs assessment records and samples of student work.

For schools offering Stage 6 the documentation required includes:

the scope and sequence of learning/units of work in relation to the outcomes of NESA syllabuses for each course for each year

resources and equipment available for each course of study, and

an assessment plan indicating how students’ performance in each course is assessed, monitored and recorded.

In summary what is required is: a scope and sequence that is a one page snap shot that you are compliant, ie

the name of the unit

how long the unit goes for

the NESA outcomes addressed through the unit (may include Life Skills outcomes if relevant)

any mandatory requirements, eg text types in English, site study in History, field trip in Geography, investigation in Science, and

in Stage 6 – assessment tasks and weightings. A unit of work (program) that is consistent with the Scope and Sequence:

the unit name

how long the unit goes for

the NESA outcomes addressed through the unit (may include Life Skills outcomes if relevant)

content from the relevant NESA syllabus

teaching and learning strategies that indicate how the content was taught (should include doing words eg demonstrate, outline, discuss, model, brainstorm etc)

any adjustments made (could be indicated on the program or as an attached student ILP)

any mandatory requirements, eg text types in English, site study in History, field trip in Geography, investigation in Science

resources used in teaching the content (texts, YouTube, interactives, websites etc)

statement on how the unit was assessed (formative and summative). For Stage 6 the Assessment grid that identifies the timing, weighting of task and components, outcomes and other course specific requirements – refer to the sample assessment grids on the NESA website for each course), and

teacher reflection/evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching and learning activities.

Ensuring your program has the key elements described above will mean compliance requirements are met.

It may be appropriate for your school to review its programing policy to ensure that compliance is not in excess of what is being sought. Systems of work left to simply evolve can become unnecessarily burdensome.

Mark Northam
Assistant Secretary