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Meet the Professional experience requirements

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Changes to the NSW Professional Experience (PEX) Policy

NESA has updated the requirements for PEX in NSW, including the replacement of the “Waiver B” process.

Want to know what’s changed? Read the revised PEX policy.

Professional experience and program requirements

Your program application must include compliance with the NSW Professional Experience (PEX) in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) policy.

Minimum PEX requirements

ITE providers must ensure that all programs meet the nationally mandated minimum number of PEX days:

80 days for undergraduate programs
60 days for graduate-entry programs

Mandatory placement days in schools	Optional placement days in educational settings other than schools
90% of placement days must be completed in schools, i.e. 72-days for an undergraduate program and 54-days for a graduate-entry program Of the 90% of placement days completed in schools: minimum 80% must involve the ITE student in the direct act of teaching a group or class of students up to 20% can compromise structured school-based observations ITE students must complete placements in at least 2 different schools.	Up to 10% of placement days can be completed in educational settings other than schools (which may include, but are not limited to, sport and recreation centres, homework centres, museums and galleries, early childhood centres, disability services centres and industry). Simulated learning environments which serve as preparatory experiences and offer ITE students interactive learning environments may be included in this allocation.

Mandatory placement days in schools

Optional placement days in educational settings other than schools

90% of placement days must be completed in schools, i.e. 72-days for an undergraduate program and 54-days for a graduate-entry program
Of the 90% of placement days completed in schools:
- minimum 80% must involve the ITE student in the direct act of teaching a group or class of students
- up to 20% can compromise structured school-based observations
ITE students must complete placements in at least 2 different schools.

Up to 10% of placement days can be completed in educational settings other than schools (which may include, but are not limited to, sport and recreation centres, homework centres, museums and galleries, early childhood centres, disability services centres and industry).
Simulated learning environments which serve as preparatory experiences and offer ITE students interactive learning environments may be included in this allocation.

Technology-assisted experiences, including simulated learning environments, may serve as preparatory experiences for PEX, however, they cannot be substituted for the minimum number of PEX days.

Quality and structure of PEX

A PEX program must:

be integrated with the broader ITE program
include preparation for placements
provide developmental and diverse teaching experiences
clearly outline assessment processes aligned with the Graduate Teacher Standards
include documentation such as a PEX handbook, report templates and roles/responsibilities for supervising teachers, ITE provider staff and students

Diversity

ITE students must have the opportunity to experience a variety of settings with access to a diversity of students. They must undertake PEX placements in at least two schools. ITE providers should advise ITE students of this requirement as early as possible in their program.

Recognised Prior Learning (RPL)

ITE providers may grant RPL for some PEX components. In this circumstance, the ITE student must still complete a minimum of 20 days for the final PEX placement incorporating the Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA), to support rigorous assessment and completion of the TPA during this placement.

Employment-based final PEX placements (incorporating the Teaching Performance Assessment)

ITE providers can determine whether an ITE student is eligible to complete their final PEX placement (incorporating the TPA) at the school where they are employed as a Conditionally accredited teacher. The ITE provider must liaise with the employing school to ensure the following conditions are consistently applied:

the employing school supports their retention in the interests of curriculum continuity
independent and impartial assessment arrangements are in place
appropriate supervision arrangements are in place
all program requirements, including support for the TPA will be met.

How the process works

The process is managed by the ITE provider on behalf of the ITE student and involves their principal/employer and NESA.

ITE provider determines if an employment-based final PEX placement (incorporating TPA) is appropriate for the ITE student and meets PEX policy requirements

Where the ITE student has completed all placements in the same school, this would include confirming the placement provides broad and diverse teaching experience and access to a diversity of students, comparable to what can be achieved across at least 2 different schools.

ITE provider liaises with the ITE student’s principal/employer (or delegate)

The ITE provider seeks an attestation from the principal/employer (or delegate) and confirms to NESA that:

the placement has the principal’s support, including the reasons they need to continue to employ the Conditionally accredited ITE student during the placement
the principles and practices of independent and impartial assessment will be maintained
the placement will support the requirements of the TPA
there will be access to a broad and diverse range of teaching experiences and students (if the ITE student is completing all their placements at the same school).

ITE provider submits the placement details to NESA to verify before the placement begins

Using NESA’s submission form (PDF 175.88KB), the ITE provider submits the placement details and declarations to NESA. Once NESA has verified the placement meets the PEX policy requirements, NESA will notify the ITE provider. The placement can then begin.

Purpose of NESA’s framework for high quality PEX in NSW schools

NESA’s framework for high quality PEX in NSW schools sets out how schools, school systems and ITE providers can work together to improve the quality of professional experience placements.

The PEX framework includes:

These can also be found as appendices to the NSW Professional Experience (PEX) in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) policy.

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