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4. Accreditation of Professional Development (PD) courses
To be accredited as NESA Accredited PD, a course must:
- be delivered by a provider who meets the requirements set out in Section 4.1 or be an Authorised Provider listed in 4.1.1
- reflect the principles of effective PD published on the NESA website; and
- meet the criteria for NESA Accredited PD set out in Section 4.2.
4.1 Applying for accreditation of PD courses
To apply to have a course accredited as NESA Accredited PD, a provider must be a bona fide provider,4 or an Authorised Provider (see Section 4.1.1), and must provide evidence of the following:
- course presenters have relevant qualifications and/or experience
- policies and/or procedures to provide quality assurance, including continuous improvement and evaluation of courses
- evidence of recent delivery of PD to teachers that demonstrates a positive impact on teacher practice and/or student learning
- current, accurate and secure administrative and record management systems
- appropriate and ethical strategies for marketing and advertising PD products and delivery of services
- current insurance cover to conduct PD activities5
- where a partnership exists, a written agreement in place noting that the provider is responsible for maintaining the accreditation criteria.
Providers must also meet the statutory requirements6 that affect the provision of PD and complete and submit the Fit and Proper Persons Requirementsdeclaration.7 An administration fee applies to each application to have a course accredited directly by NESA as NESA Accredited PD. Providers that are not-for-profit organisations are exempt from the application fee.
4.1.1 Additional requirements for Authorised Providers
The following providers are authorised to assess and accredit NESA Accredited PD on NESA’s behalf on the basis of meeting additional requirements:
- NSW Department of Education
- Catholic Schools NSW and the Archdioceses and Dioceses of NSW
- Association of Independent Schools of NSW
- The Professional Teachers’ Council NSW.
In addition to requirements 1 to 6 in Section 4.1 of the Policy, Authorised Providers must:
- have rigorous internal policies and processes for assessing PD courses they deliver against the criteria in Section 4.2; and
- provide a copy of all relevant policies and procedures to NESA for assessment.
Authorised Providers must submit to NESA:
- the following information on all NESA Accredited PD at least four weeks prior to delivery:
- course title
- course description
- applicable priority area
- applicable Standard Descriptor/s.
- evaluation data for NESA Accredited PD, as requested.
4.2 Criteria for NESA Accredited PD
To be accredited as NESA Accredited PD, a course must:
- directly address one or more aspects of a priority area that has been identified by the Minister, on advice from the NESA Board
- address the principles of effective PD published by NESA
- meet the subject/content specific criteria for the applicable priority area, as published on the NESA website
- include content and activities that directly align with relevant Standard Descriptors at the Proficient, Highly Accomplished or Lead Teacher level of the Standards.
4 As evidence, providers must supply an Australian Business Number, Certificate of Registration of Business Name and relevant description of business or company.
5 Including but not limited to Public Liability insurance.
6 In line with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977.
7 The Fit and Proper Persons Declaration for providers is published on the NESA website.