A3. Applying for Proficient Teacher accreditation

Section A3 describes the requirements and application process for teachers to achieve Proficient Teacher accreditation.

It details:

• the requirements for Proficient Teacher accreditation – see A3.1
• the application process – see A3.2
• the supporting declarations and recommendations that need to be submitted – see A3.3
• how the principal/TA Delegate makes recommendations– see A3.4
• how NESA makes Proficient Teacher accreditation decisions – see A3.5.

A3.1 Proficient Teacher accreditation requirements

A3.1.1 Teachers must meet the Proficient Teacher accreditation requirements

All teachers with Conditional or Provisional accreditation must achieve accreditation at the Proficient Teacher level within their maximum timeframe to remain accredited and eligible to teach in a NSW school or service. This also applies to principals/TA Delegates whose duties meet the definition of 'teach' under Section 3A of the TA Act. ¹¹

To achieve Proficient Teacher accreditation, teachers with Conditional or Provisional accreditation must:

• meet the accreditation conditions in A1.2.1
• complete NESA’s online Proficient Teacher Orientation Course ¹²
• meet the Proficient Teacher Standards
• submit 5 to 8 items of annotated documentary evidence of their practice in eTAMS
• not provide any information or material in their application that is false or misleading
• submit their Accreditation Supervisor’s observation report in eTAMS.

Teachers with Conditional accreditation must also provide a copy of their graduation certificate or testamur confirming the award of the approved/accredited teaching degree (if they have not already done so).

See A3.2 for details of the application process.

A3.1.2 Teachers must achieve Proficient Teacher accreditation within the timeframe

Teachers with Conditional or Provisional accreditation must achieve accreditation at Proficient Teacher level within the timeframes listed below.

The maximum timeframe (also known as the ‘accreditation period’) starts from the day they are accredited at Conditional or Provisional level.

A3.1.3 Applicants can apply to extend their accreditation timeframe

Teachers who have had limited opportunity to meet the requirements within the timeframe may apply for an extension.

To seek an extension, teachers must apply within the final 6 months of their maximum timeframe (and as soon as possible during that time).

They must provide evidence to support the reason for the extension, such as:

• illness or misadventure
• carer responsibilities
• further study
• other relevant professional or personal circumstances.

A3.1.4 Failing to meet the requirements within the timeframe

If a teacher does not achieve Proficient Teacher accreditation within the maximum timeframe (or extended timeframe, where applicable), their accreditation will cease.

This means the teacher is no longer accredited and is not eligible for employment to teach in NSW schools or services.

Teachers whose Conditional or Provisional accreditation ceases may be eligible for re-accreditation at Provisional level (see C2.2.1).

A3.1.5 Schools and services must allocate an Accreditation Supervisor

Employers must have procedures for allocating an Accreditation Supervisor (see E2.3.3) to teachers with Conditional or Provisional accreditation in their schools or services.

The Accreditation Supervisor must:

• be accredited at Proficient Teacher level or above ¹³
• have sound knowledge of the teacher’s daily practice in the school/service in relation to the Standards.

The Accreditation Supervisor’s role includes:

• providing the teacher with support and feedback on their practice throughout the accreditation period
• determining when a judgement can be made about the teacher’s practice
• completing an observation report on the teacher’s practice
• helping the teacher select and annotate evidence
• declaring that the teacher’s annotated documentary evidence addresses the identified Standard Descriptors.

If an Accreditation Supervisor is not available at an early childhood employer, the teacher should contact Head_EC@nesa.nsw.edu.au for advice.

Reporting issues about a teacher’s practice

If an Accreditation Supervisor becomes aware of any issue(s) with a teacher’s practice that might impact on the Proficient Teacher accreditation recommendation, they must write to the teacher and principal/TA Delegate within 28 days.

If the principal/TA Delegate considers that the issue(s) might impact on their accreditation recommendation, they must inform the employer within 28 days of receiving the Accreditation Supervisor’s advice and include the Standard Descriptor(s) the teacher is failing to meet.

The principal/TA Delegate must follow their employer’s procedures for addressing issues related to a teacher’s practice not meeting the relevant Standards (see E2.3.1).

A3.2 Application process

A3.2.1 Applicants must show that they meet the Proficient Teacher Standards

During their early accreditation period, teachers are expected to develop their teaching practice.

When they are ready to finalise their application for accreditation at the Proficient Teacher level, teachers must:

• submit 5–8 items of annotated documentary evidence of their practice
• have their practice observed by their Accreditation Supervisor.

For principals/TA Delegates and executive teaching staff, the observation process and required documentary evidence will reflect the nature of their role and their responsibility for leading and supporting teaching and learning in their school/service, according to the Proficient Teacher Standards.

The teacher and Accreditation Supervisor determine if the teacher is ready to finalise their application for Proficient Teacher accreditation

When the Accreditation Supervisor and teacher agree that the teacher’s practice meets the Proficient Teacher Standards, the Accreditation Supervisor must begin the finalisation process.

If the Accreditation Supervisor determines that the teacher’s practice does not meet all the Standard Descriptors, they must notify the principal/TA Delegate and teacher within 28 days of the discussion with the teacher.

The notification must include:

• the Standard Descriptors the teacher has not yet met
• the strategies and support the Accreditation Supervisor will give the teacher to help them meet the Standard Descriptors.

The Accreditation Supervisor observes the teacher’s practice

Before the observation, the teacher and Accreditation Supervisor agree on the:

• lesson/learning experience that will be observed
• 2 to 4 Standard Descriptors to focus on.

The observation may occur anytime throughout the accreditation timeframe and typically occurs in person at the teacher’s school/service. However, if this is not possible, a recorded observation can be arranged.

The Accreditation Supervisor provides an observation report

Within 14 days of the observation (or receiving a recording), the Accreditation Supervisor must give the teacher an observation report ¹⁴ that includes:

• a record of the agreed lesson/learning experience
• the 2 to 4 Standard Descriptors that the observation focused on
• an account of the Accreditation Supervisor’s observation of the teacher’s practice (referring to the agreed Standard Descriptors)
• the teacher’s reflection on their teaching practice
• written feedback to the teacher after the observation.

Teachers must submit the observation report in eTAMS when they submit their documentary evidence of practice.

The teacher submits the observation report and evidence of practice

With help from their Accreditation Supervisor, teachers:

• select 5 to 8 items of documentary evidence collected during their accreditation period
• annotate the documentary evidence ¹⁵
• submit the documentary evidence in eTAMS (up to 35 pages and no more than 10 MB).

Each item of documentary evidence must:

• show practice at the Proficient Teacher level
• address 2 to 4 Standard Descriptors
• be annotated to explain how it demonstrates the Standard Descriptors.

Taken together, the submitted evidence must:

• address at least one Proficient Teacher Standard Descriptor from each of the 7 Standards
• show the teacher’s engagement in a range of professional activities across the 3 teaching domains of the Standards: professional knowledge, professional practice and professional engagement.

If the teacher’s evidence is from several schools/services, a colleague with Proficient Teacher accreditation (or above) must authenticate the evidence to confirm it is the teacher’s own work.

If the teacher has been re-accredited at Provisional level, their evidence must include significant work from the re-accreditation period.

A3.3 Accreditation Supervisor declaration

A3.3.1 Accreditation Supervisors must submit a declaration

When the teacher has submitted their annotated documentary evidence and the Accreditation Supervisor’s observation report, the Accreditation Supervisor has 28 days to log in to eTAMS to:

• review the documentary evidence
• give feedback on any Standards the teacher has not met and ask the teacher to make revisions
• declare whether the teacher has shown that their practice meets each Proficient Teacher Standard.

The Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration is a holistic judgement based on:

• the teacher’s annotated documentary evidence
• the Accreditation Supervisor’s observation and knowledge of the teacher’s practice
• professional conversations with the teacher during the accreditation period
• any feedback and support given to the teacher, such as an improvement plan or other intervention, and the outcome of such interventions, where applicable.

If the Accreditation Supervisor declares that the teacher’s practice does not meet the Standards, their declaration must include the following:

• evaluative comments outlining the issues with the teacher’s practice
• which Standard Descriptors have not been demonstrated
• the feedback and support they offered to the teacher
• the teacher’s response to the feedback and support.

A3.4 Principal/TA Delegate recommendation

A3.4.1 Principals/TA Delegates make a recommendation

The principal/TA Delegate aligned with the teacher’s current school or service must make an accreditation recommendation to either:

• accredit the teacher;
• not accredit the teacher;
• record that they are unable to make a recommendation about accreditation.

The principal/TA Delegate must make their recommendation within 28 days of the Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration (or within 28 days of receiving revised documentary evidence from the teacher or advice from a teacher’s previous principal/TA Delegate).

The recommendation must be based on the:

• teacher’s annotated documentary evidence
• Accreditation Supervisor’s observation report
• Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration.

Appointing a Principal delegate

In cases where the principal does not hold Proficient Teacher accreditation, they must delegate responsibility to a teacher accredited at Proficient Teacher level or above.

If they wish, principals may delegate responsibility for making accreditation recommendations to a teacher(s) in the school who is accredited at Proficient Teacher level or above.

Principals and employers cannot delegate responsibility for making accreditation recommendations to a third party outside the school/service.

In the early childhood sector, the employer must nominate a TA Delegate to make accreditation recommendations for teachers in their services. If there is no-one to carry out this function, the employer must contact NESA.

Seeking advice

If a principal/TA Delegate needs help to make valid and reliable judgements about a teacher's practice against the Standards, they can seek advice from a teacher with appropriate expertise who works for either:

• another school or service of the same employer; or
• a third party outside the school/service (in cases where the service is operated by the school).

A3.4.2 Principals/TA Delegates may recommend accreditation

If the principal/TA Delegate determines that a teacher meets all the Proficient Teacher accreditation requirements, they must recommend that NESA accredit the teacher.

They must do this within 28 days of the Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration.

A3.4.3 Principals/TA Delegates may recommend against accreditation

If the principal/TA Delegate determines that a teacher does not meet all requirements for accreditation at Proficient Teacher level, they must recommend that NESA does not accredit the teacher.

Before making a recommendation not to accredit, they must follow the employer’s procedures (in line with E2.3.3) and write to the teacher and employer advising them of their intention to recommend against accreditation. They must do this within 28 days of the Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration.

Sending a written notice

The written notice must:

• include the reasons for making a recommendation not to accredit and the Standard Descriptors the teacher has not demonstrated
• advise the teacher they have 28 days to respond to the notice.

Considering the teacher’s response

If the principal/TA Delegate receives a response from the teacher, they:

• will consider the response and any revised evidence that may be included
• must record their recommendation in eTAMS within 28 days of receiving the revised evidence or written response (or from the end of the notice period if the teacher does not respond).

Deciding not to recommend accreditation after receiving a response

In their recommendation, the principal/TA Delegate must include clear reasons explaining how the teacher does not meet the requirements for Proficient Teacher accreditation and provide supporting evidence that the school/service has followed the employer’s procedures (in line with E2.3.3).

The principal/TA Delegate can only recommend not accrediting a teacher at Proficient Teacher level if all of the following have occurred:

• the teacher has completed at least 160 days of teaching ¹⁶
• the Accreditation Supervisor has met their responsibilities outlined in E2.2.1.
• the principal/TA Delegate has contacted the teacher’s previous school service/employer (where relevant and only with the teacher’s consent) to help inform their recommendation
• the principal/TA Delegate has given the teacher a chance to revise their evidence of practice and show that they satisfy the Proficient Teacher accreditation requirements, and the teacher has failed to do so
• the principal/TA Delegate has given the teacher notice of their intended recommendation as set out in A3.4.3 ‘Sending a written notice’
• the teacher is unable to meet the Proficient Teacher accreditation requirements.

A3.4.4 Principals/TA Delegates might be unable to make a recommendation

If a principal/TA Delegate cannot make an accreditation recommendation, they can only record that they cannot make a recommendation if the following occurs:

• the teacher has not completed at least 160 days of teaching during their accreditation period; ¹⁷ and
• the teacher has not worked in the school/service for long enough to allow the principal/TA Delegate to confidently make a judgement about the teacher’s practice; and/or
• information provided by the teacher’s previous school/service (where applicable and subject to consent from the teacher) has not assisted the principal/TA Delegate in making a valid and reliable judgement.

The principal/TA Delegate must record that they cannot make a recommendation and state clear reasons within 28 days of the Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration or receiving advice from the teacher’s previous school/service.

A3.5 Accreditation decision

A3.5.1 NESA makes decisions to accredit teachers at Proficient Teacher

NESA makes Proficient Teacher accreditation decisions within 28 days of the principal/TA Delegate’s recommendation.

NESA’s decisions are based on the:

• teacher’s documentary evidence submitted in eTAMS
• Accreditation Supervisor’s observation report
• Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration
• principal/TA Delegate’s recommendation.

NESA will consider the advice provided regarding a teacher’s application for Proficient Teacher accreditation and will decide to accredit the teacher or not.

In some cases, NESA will consider making a decision that does not align with the principal/TA Delegate’s recommendation. If so, NESA will contact the principal/TA Delegate and the teacher (if necessary) to discuss the recommendation before making a final decision.

Notifying teachers about the decision to accredit

If NESA decides to accredit a teacher at Proficient Teacher, NESA will notify the teacher and their principal/TA Delegate.

The teacher’s first maintenance of accreditation period starts from this record date.

A3.5.2 NESA may decide not to accredit teachers at Proficient Teacher level

Where NESA decides not to accredit a teacher at Proficient Teacher level, it will write to them outlining the decision and reasons. This will happen within 28 days of the principal/TA Delegate’s recommendation.

If the teacher has not yet reached the end of their maximum accreditation timeframe, they will:

• retain their Conditional or Provisional accreditation status
• be eligible for employment as a teacher until the end of their maximum accreditation timeframe.

Until the end of their accreditation period, the teacher can either:

• continue to work towards achieving Proficient Teacher accreditation at the same school/service; and/or
• approach another school/service where they teach about working towards Proficient Teacher accreditation.

Teachers who do not achieve Proficient Teacher accreditation by the end of their maximum timeframe will cease to be accredited.

This means the teacher is no longer accredited and is not eligible for employment to teach in NSW schools or services.

However, teachers whose Conditional or Provisional accreditation ceases can apply for re-accreditation at Provisional level (see C2.2.1).

A3.5.3 Teachers may seek a review of NESA’s decision

A teacher may apply to NESA for an internal review of a decision to not accredit them within 28 days of being notified.

Full details of how to apply are on NESA’s website.

After the internal review is finalised, the teacher may apply to have the decision reviewed by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.