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NSW Teacher Accreditation Manual
4. Proficient Teacher accreditation
This section applies to teachers with Provisional or Conditional accreditation.
All teachers with Provisional or Conditional accreditation must achieve accreditation at the mandatory level of Proficient Teacher within their maximum timeframe to remain accredited and eligible to teach in a NSW school or service. The requirement to achieve accreditation at Proficient Teacher also applies to principals/service directors.1
4.1 Proficient Teacher accreditation requirements
To achieve Proficient Teacher accreditation, teachers must:
- complete NESA’s online Proficient Teacher Orientation Course (see Section 4.2)
- meet the Standards for Proficient Teacher (see Section 4.3)
- submit five to eight items of annotated documentary evidence of their practice (see Section 4.4.2)
- submit a report on an observation of their practice completed by their Accreditation Supervisor (see Section 4.4.3); and
- if accredited at Conditional, provide a certified copy of their graduation certificate or testamur confirming the award of the approved/accredited teaching degree.
All teachers must also meet the conditions of accreditation in Section 1 to remain accredited.
4.2. Orientation to accreditation
All Provisional and Conditional teachers must complete NESA’s online Proficient Teacher Orientation Course before finalising their accreditation at Proficient Teacher.2, 3
4.3. Developing practice at Proficient Teacher
As teachers develop their practice they will produce documentary evidence of their practice, have their practice observed by their Accreditation Supervisor and receive timely and constructive feedback on their practice.4
4.3.1. Support from Accreditation Supervisors
Employers are responsible for having internal procedures for allocating an Accreditation Supervisor5 to conditionally or provisionally accredited teachers employed in their schools/services. An Accreditation Supervisor must:
- be accredited at Proficient Teacher or above6
- have sound knowledge of the teacher’s in-school/in-service daily practice in relation to the Standards; and
- provide ongoing support and feedback to the teacher on their practice throughout the accreditation period.
If an Accreditation Supervisor becomes aware of any issues with a teacher’s practice that may impact on the Proficient Teacher accreditation recommendation, the Accreditation Supervisor must advise the teacher and the principal/service director in writing within 28 days of becoming aware of the issue(s).
In cases where the principal/service director considers that the issue(s) may impact on the accreditation recommendation, they must inform the employer within 28 days of being advised by the Accreditation Supervisor, including the specific Proficient Teacher Standard Descriptor(s) that are not currently being met.
The principal/service director must follow their employer’s internal procedures for addressing issues related to a teacher’s practice not meeting the applicable Standards (see Section 14.6).
4.4. Finalising accreditation at Proficient Teacher
To finalise accreditation, teachers must submit the following evidence7 in their NESA online account (eTAMS):
- five to eight items of annotated documentary evidence of the teacher’s practice (see Section 4.4.2); and
- an observation report of the teacher’s practice completed by their Accreditation Supervisor (see Section 4.4.3).
4.4.1. Determining readiness to finalise accreditation
When the teacher and Accreditation Supervisor agree that the teacher’s practice meets the Standards for Proficient Teacher, the Accreditation Supervisor must begin the process of finalising the teacher’s accreditation (see Section 4.4.3 and 4.4.4).
If the Accreditation Supervisor determines that a teacher’s practice does not meet all of the Standard Descriptors, the Accreditation Supervisor must notify the principal/service director and the teacher in writing within 28 days of the teacher initiating a discussion about finalising accreditation. The Accreditation Supervisor’s notification to the principal/service director and teacher must:
- identify which Standard Descriptors the teacher has yet to demonstrate; and
- include appropriate strategies and support they will provide to assist the teacher in meeting the identified Standard Descriptors.
The principal/service director, in consultation with the Accreditation Supervisor, must provide feedback and support to the teacher in relation to meeting the Standards, in line with the employer’s internal procedures (see Section 14.6).
4.4.2. Documentary evidence of practice
To finalise accreditation teachers must select five to eight items of documentary evidence of practice they have collected during their accreditation period to annotate8 and submit in their NESA online account (eTAMS). Accreditation Supervisors are responsible for assisting teachers to select and annotate evidence, in line with Section 14.2.
Each of the five to eight selected items of documentary evidence9 must:
- illustrate practice at the Proficient Teacher level
- address two to four Standard Descriptors; and
- be annotated by the teacher, in their NESA online account (eTAMS), to explain how the evidence demonstrates the identified Standard Descriptors.
Collectively, a teacher’s submitted evidence must:
- address at least one Proficient Teacher Standard Descriptor from each of the seven Standards; and
- demonstrate their engagement in a range of professional activities.10
Teachers who collect evidence from their employment in a number of schools/services must have their evidence authenticated11 by a colleague accredited at Proficient Teacher or above to confirm that the evidence is the teacher’s own work.
Documentary evidence of practice for teachers who have been re-accredited at Provisional (see Section 12) must include significant work from the re-accreditation period.
4.4.3. Observation report
To finalise accreditation teachers must have their practice observed by their Accreditation Supervisor.12 Accreditation Supervisors must provide teachers with feedback and a report on their observation of the teacher’s practice within 14 days of the observation.13
The Accreditation Supervisor’s observation report14 must include:
- a record of the discussion between the teacher and the Accreditation Supervisor prior to the observation, including details of the negotiated and agreed lesson/learning experience to be observed
- the two to four Standard Descriptors for Proficient Teacher that the teacher and Accreditation Supervisor have agreed will be the focus of the observation
- a written account by the Accreditation Supervisor on the observation of the teacher’s practice, referencing the agreed Standard Descriptors
- the teacher’s reflection on their teaching practice; and
- written feedback to the teacher from the Accreditation Supervisor following the observation.
4.4.4 Declaration
When the teacher has submitted their annotated documentary evidence and their Accreditation Supervisor’s observation report, the teacher’s Accreditation Supervisor must login to their own NESA online account (eTAMS) and, within 28 days:
- review the documentary evidence and, if any Standards have not been met, provide feedback to and request revisions from the teacher; and
- declare whether the teacher has demonstrated that their practice meets each of the Standards.
The Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration is a holistic judgement based on:
- the teacher’s annotated documentary evidence of practice
- their observation and knowledge of the teacher’s practice
- professional conversations with the teacher throughout the accreditation period; and
- any feedback and support provided to the teacher which may include an improvement plan or other intervention, and the outcome of such intervention, where applicable.
If the Accreditation Supervisor declares that the teacher’s practice does not meet the Standards, the Accreditation Supervisor must provide evaluative comments when making the declaration outlining the issues, which Standard Descriptors have not been demonstrated, the feedback and support offered to the teacher and the teacher’s response to the feedback and support.
4.5. Proficient Teacher recommendations
Recommendations about accreditation at Proficient Teacher are made by a teacher’s current principal/service director. The principal/service director must make a recommendation about the teacher’s accreditation within 28 days of the Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration.15
The principal’s/service director’s recommendation must be made in their NESA online account (eTAMS) based on the:
- documentary evidence the teacher has selected, annotated and submitted
- observation report completed by the Accreditation Supervisor; and
- Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration.
The principal/service director may:
- recommend that NESA accredit the teacher (see Section 4.5.1)
- recommend that NESA does not accredit the teacher (see Section 4.5.2); or
- record that they are unable to make a recommendation about accreditation (see Section 4.5.3).
A principal may delegate responsibility for making accreditation recommendations to a teacher(s) in the school who is accredited at Proficient Teacher or above.16 In early childhood services, the employer must nominate a service director17 to undertake the functions related to making accreditation recommendations and advise NESA of their nomination.
A principal/early childhood employer cannot delegate responsibility for making recommendations about accreditation to a third party outside the school/service.
A principal/service director may seek advice from a teacher with appropriate expertise in another school/service, or who is employed by a third party outside the school/service,18 to assist them to make valid and reliable judgements about a teacher's practice against the Standards.
4.5.1. Recommendation to accredit
If the principal/service director determines that a teacher meets all requirements for accreditation at Proficient Teacher, the principal/service director must, within 28 days of the Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration, recommend that NESA accredit the teacher.
4.5.2. Recommendation to not accredit
If the principal/service director determines that a teacher does not meet all requirements for accreditation at Proficient Teacher, the principal/service director must, within 28 days of the Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration, recommend that NESA does not accredit the teacher. The principal/service director must include the reasons and provide evidence that the school/service has followed their employer’s internal procedures (in line with Section 14.6) when making the recommendation.
The principal/service director can only recommend to not accredit a teacher at Proficient Teacher if:
- the teacher has completed at least 160 days of teaching19
- the Accreditation Supervisor has fulfilled their responsibilities outlined in Section 14.2
- the principal/service director has contacted the teacher’s previous school/service (where relevant and subject to consent from the teacher) to inform their recommendation
- the principal/service director has provided the teacher with an opportunity to revise their documentary evidence of practice and demonstrate they satisfy the requirements for accreditation at Proficient Teacher and the teacher has failed to do so
- the principal/service director has provided the teacher and employer with 28 days’ written notice of the intention to recommend against accreditation. The written notice must:
- include the specific reasons for the recommendation and the Standard Descriptors that the teacher has failed to demonstrate; and
- advise the teacher of their right to respond to the notice within 28 days;20 and
- the teacher is unable to meet the requirements for accreditation at Proficient Teacher.
4.5.3. Unable to make a recommendation
If a principal/service director is not able to make an accreditation recommendation for a teacher, they must include the reasons when recording that they are unable to make a recommendation within 28 days of the Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration. A principal/service director can only record that they are unable to make a recommendation if:
- the teacher has not completed at least 160 days of teaching during their accreditation period
- the teacher has not worked in the school/service for long enough to allow the principal/service director 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/service director in making a valid and reliable judgement.
4.6. Proficient Teacher decisions
Proficient Teacher accreditation decisions are made by NESA within 28 days of the date of the principal’s/service director’s recommendation. Proficient Teacher accreditation decisions are based on the:
- documentary evidence of practice that the teacher has submitted in their NESA online account (eTAMS)
- observation report of the teacher’s practice completed by the Accreditation Supervisor
- Accreditation Supervisor’s declaration about the teacher’s practice; and
- recommendation from the principal/service director.
NESA can decide that a teacher:
- meets all requirements for accreditation and accredit the teacher (see Section 4.6.1); or
- does not meet all requirements for accreditation and decide to not accredit the teacher (see Section 4.6.2).
If NESA considers making a decision that does not align with the recommendation, NESA will contact the principal/service director and, if necessary, the teacher, to discuss the recommendation before making a decision.
4.6.1. Decision to accredit
If NESA decides to accredit a teacher at Proficient Teacher, NESA will record the decision in the teacher’s NESA online account (eTAMS) within 28 days of the recommendation from the principal/service director, notifying the teacher of the decision.
The teacher will start their first maintenance of accreditation period on the day the accreditation decision is recorded in their NESA online account (eTAMS).
4.6.2. Decision to not accredit
If NESA decides to not accredit a teacher at Proficient Teacher, NESA will advise the teacher in writing of the decision and reasons within 28 days of the recommendation from the principal/service director.
If the teacher has not reached the end of their maximum timeframe, the teacher will remain accredited at Provisional or Conditional and:
- be eligible for employment as a teacher until the end of their maximum accreditation timeframe
- may continue to work towards achieving Proficient Teacher with a school/service where they are employed to teach; and
- may approach another school/service where they are employed to teach about finalising their accreditation at Proficient Teacher.
Teachers who are not able to achieve Proficient Teacher accreditation by the end of their maximum timeframe will cease to be accredited (see Section 4.7.2).
A teacher may apply to NESA for an internal review of a decision to not accredit them at Proficient Teacher within 28 days of being notified.21 Information on how to apply to NESA for an internal review is published on the NESA website.
After the internal review is finalised, the teacher may apply to have the decision reviewed by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
4.7 Timeframes for gaining Proficient Teacher accreditation
A teacher’s accreditation timeframe starts the day they are accredited at Provisional or Conditional.
There is no minimum timeframe for gaining accreditation at Proficient Teacher.
A Provisional or Conditional teacher’s maximum timeframe is determined by their employment at the time they are accredited as follows:
- Provisional (full-time) - three years
- Provisional (part-time/casual) - five years
- Conditional (full-time) - four years
- Conditional (part-time/casual) - six years.
4.7.1. Applying to extend an accreditation timeframe
Teachers who have been limited in their opportunity to meet the requirements for Proficient Teacher accreditation within their timeframe may apply for an extension in the final six months of their timeframe, and as soon as possible within the final six months. Teachers must apply in their NESA online account (eTAMS), providing evidence of the grounds for their request. Grounds for an extension of a teacher’s accreditation timeframe include:
- illness and misadventure
- carer responsibilities
- undertaking further study; or
- other applicable professional or individual circumstances.
4.7.2 Failure to achieve accreditation at Proficient Teacher within the maximum timeframe
If a teacher does not gain Proficient Teacher accreditation by the end of their maximum accreditation timeframe (or extended timeframe, if applicable), their accreditation will cease. A teacher whose accreditation ceases is no longer accredited and is not eligible for employment as a teacher in any NSW school/service.
Teachers whose Conditional or Provisional accreditation ceases may apply for re-accreditation at Provisional (see Section 12.2).
1. Principals with significant experience teaching outside NSW who are not accredited at Proficient Teacher, including under the MR Act or the TTMR Act, should contact NESA to discuss contextually appropriate evidence.
2. The Proficient Teacher Orientation Course is not a requirement for returning teachers who are eligible for immediate accreditation at Proficient Teacher.
3. Transition arrangements for the Proficient Teacher Orientation Course apply to teachers who completed an orientation to accreditation prior to 29 November 2022 and are published on the NESA website.
4. Documentary evidence and the observation of practice for principals/service directors and executive teaching staff will reflect the nature of their role and their responsibility for leading and supporting teaching and learning in their school/service, according to the Standards for Proficient Teacher.
5. An Accreditation Supervisor is a teacher accredited at Proficient Teacher or above who has been allocated in line with the employer’s internal procedures to fulfil the roles and responsibilities described in Section 14.2.
6. Where there is no Accreditation Supervisor available in the teacher’s school/service, a teacher accredited at Proficient Teacher or above who is on a Leave of Absence or accredited as a Non-practising teacher may be appointed as an Accreditation Supervisor, and must meet the requirements in Section 14.2.
7. Conditional teachers must also provide a certified copy of their graduation certificate or testamur confirming the award of the approved/accredited teaching degree, if they have not already done so, before they can be accredited at Proficient Teacher.
8. Information and advice for teachers on writing annotations, including examples of annotated evidence, are published on NESA’s Apply for Proficient Teacher accreditation page.
9. A teacher’s selection of annotated documentary evidence that they submit to finalise accreditation must not exceed 10MB per item and must not exceed 35 single-sided pages in total.
10. Professional activities are those that teachers undertake in the course of their teaching practice in relation to the Standards’ three domains of teaching: Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice and Professional Engagement.
11. Confirmation by a teacher’s colleague, who is accredited at Proficient Teacher or above, that the documentary evidence is the teacher’s own work. Authentication is not confirmation that the teacher’s documentary evidence meets the Standards.
12. The observation for an early childhood teacher may be completed by a teacher accredited at Proficient level or higher as determined by NESA, if an Accreditation Supervisor is not available at the teacher’s workplace.
13. Where it is not possible for the Accreditation Supervisor to conduct the observation of the teacher in the teacher’s context, a virtual or recorded observation may be arranged. If a teacher has arranged to submit a recorded observation, the Accreditation Supervisor must provide feedback within 14 days from the date they receive the recorded observation.
14. A template observation report is available on the NESA online account (eTAMS).
15. Or within 28 days of receiving revised evidence from the teacher or advice from a teacher’s previous principal/service director, if applicable.
16. Where the principal is not accredited at Proficient Teacher or above, they must appoint a delegate who is an employee in the school and accredited at Proficient Teacher or above to carry out the duties related to making recommendations, in line with their employer’s internal procedures for implementing NESA's requirements for teacher accreditation.
17. See glossary for definition of ‘service director’.
18. In cases where the service is attached to a school.
19. This requirement does not apply to a recommendation to not immediately accredit a returning teacher at Proficient Teacher (see Section 12.6).
20. In these cases, the principal/service director has 28 days from the date the teacher responds (or from the end of the notice period if the teacher does not respond) to submit their recommendation to NESA.
21. Under the Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997, S53.