Early Career Insights: Education Quarterly, Issue 7 2023
Understanding accreditation
Teacher accreditation is linked to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (the Standards). It provides a framework for professional growth throughout your career and helps protect the integrity and status of the profession by providing a public and transparent framework through the Standards. The NSW Education Standards Authority’s (NESA) NSW Teacher Accreditation Manual sets out all requirements. Not all sections will be relevant to you at this point, and additional procedural documents are available on NESA’s website to support you with accreditation. These should be read in conjunction with the Department’s policy and procedures in relation to teacher accreditation.
Getting started
- Inform your principal you are yet to be accredited at Profi cient and follow up with an email. Casuals should approach the principal at the school where they work most.
- Check your eTAMS account that you are assigned to the correct school and your principal has allocated you a supervisor. Change your details in your eTAMS account.
- Teachers who have been conditionally or provisionally accredited post-29 November 2022, must complete NESA’s online Proficient Teacher Orientation Course before they can submit their application for accreditation at Proficient Teacher. Teachers who were conditionally or provisionally accredited before 29 November do not have to complete the course, however, they may do so voluntarily. This course off ers valuable insights into the accreditation process and can be revisited multiple times to reinforce understanding.
- Be pro-active on your accreditation journey and don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Follow up all verbal meetings with your supervisor and principal with an email summarising the key points discussed. Emails act as a good reminder for busy principals and supervisors and written records can be referred to later, when necessary.
Preparing your submission
To begin, gather evidence that refl ects your teaching practice. This may include lesson plans, work samples, classroom rules, and assessment tasks. You are required to submit 5–8 pieces of evidence that meet a range of Standard Descriptors across the seven Standards. Each piece must demonstrate 2–4 Descriptors.
Timeframes
NESA recommends at least 160 days’ teaching as necessary to meet the Standards for accreditation at Profi cient. Note that salary benefi ts associated with Profi cient Teacher accreditation commence after completing 406 days of teaching. It could take up to three months to process your application after submitting in eTAMS, so apply for accreditation about three months before you have completed 406 days of teaching. For up-to-date information go to NESA’s website or attend one of Federation’s free Beginning Teacher courses or conferences (scan QR code for details).