As members are aware, the pre-2004 cohort of teachers were deemed Proficient and commenced their first maintenance cycle on 1 January 2018.
Teachers working full time from that date were initially required to finalise their maintenance period by 31 December 2022, while those working part time have a due date of 31 December 2024.
However, it was immediately apparent that, without any intervention, there would be a logjam of about 60,000 teachers trying to finalise their maintenance of accreditation between October and 31 December this year.
Submission period extended
As we have previously advised, in consultation with the IEU and other stakeholders, NESA has expanded the submission window to address this issue. The submission window, for pre-2004 teachers only, opened in April 2022 and extends until 31 December 2023.
NESA would prefer that teachers consider submitting earlier than the final due date, to avoid the same logjam at the end of 2023. However, it is a personal decision for teachers and will remain as such.
NESA has recently written to pre-2004 teachers who have completed their 100 hours of PD, encouraging them to submit this year (earlier than the final deadline). This does not change a teacher’s right to submit in 2023 should they wish.
In making the decision about when to submit, members might like to consider the ramifications of the maintenance cycle and the impact of the requirement to complete 100 hours of professional development over the five-year period.
The maintenance cycle will restart whenever a teacher finalises the current maintenance cycle, regardless of the final due date of 31 December 2023. This is a one-off change to the due date, and it only applies to pre-2004 teachers. For example, a pre-2004 teacher who submits in August 2022, and continues to work full time, will be due again in August 2027.
Members may wish to consider the timing of their submission in terms of how many cycles of maintenance they want to engage with before, for example, retiring.
There are also significant factors related to the professional development hours:
- a pre-2004 teacher who, for whatever reason, has not achieved the 100 hours of required professional development, can take advantage of the extended deadline to make sure they not only complete the PD but log it and evaluate it, as currently required.
- PD hours cannot be carried over from one maintenance cycle into the next. NESA’s data indicates that most pre-2004 teachers have a considerable surplus of PD hours beyond the 100 hours required. If a teacher intended to commence a course that would provide a significant number of accredited or elective PD hours, say in January next year, they may decide to finalise the current maintenance cycle this year in order to be able to count the course hours in the next maintenance cycle.
NESA has advised that the eTAMS due date for pre-2004 teachers will continue to show 31 December 2022 until a teacher finalises their current maintenance cycle, even if that is not until the end of next year.
The union raised concerns that this may cause some confusion, since for these teachers it will appear that they are overdue.
However, NESA has assured the IEU it is aware of the pre-2004 cohort final due date, regardless of what is stated on a teacher’s eTAMS account.