Support a teacher applying for HALT accreditation

Support a HALT applicant

You should read the procedures on this page together with:

• your employer’s internal procedures
• the Principal/Service Director Guide – HALT Accreditation (PDF 219.51KB).

Find out more about what teachers do to apply for HALT accreditation.

We offer information sessions and training courses on how to support HALT applicants. View upcoming opportunities on our showcases, courses and events page.

Support from employers, principals and service directors is vital

Principals or service directors have several key roles and responsibilities in the HALT accreditation process for teachers in their school or service.

Employers play an important role in supporting principals or service directors and applicants to meet the requirements for HALT accreditation.

The responsibilities of principals or service directors and/or employers include: 

• providing a supportive environment for teachers applying for HALT accreditation
• participating in initial discussions with the teacher about their intention and readiness to apply for HALT accreditation
• verifying a teacher meets the eligibility criteria for HALT accreditation
• verifying a teacher’s individual contribution to a collaborative initiative, if applicable
• supporting applicants through a NESA recognised program, if applicable
• accommodating Site Visits for HALT applicants and participating in a 30-minute structured interview with the External Assessor. 

Provide a supportive environment

Employers and principals or service directors play a crucial role in establishing and maintaining a supportive professional environment for HALT applicants.

To create a supportive environment for HALT applicants:

• consider how organisational structures, roles and responsibilities in the school or service can support the professional growth of teachers and provide opportunities for teachers to engage in the levels of practice identified by the Standards for HALT accreditation
• read the Principal/Service Director Guide – HALT Accreditation (PDF 219.51KB) for detailed information and advice on how you can actively support teachers to apply for HALT accreditation
• attend a NESA information session for principals, service directors and employers on supporting HALT applicants.

Discuss with the teacher their intention and readiness to apply for HALT accreditation and the level of accreditation appropriate for them.

To understand the professional capabilities of Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers read our Principal/Service Director Guide – HALT Accreditation (PDF 219.51KB).

When you discuss with the teacher their readiness to apply for HALT accreditation, you should: 

• encourage them to reflect on their practice against the Standards for either Highly Accomplished or Lead Teacher and select the appropriate level
• identify areas within the Standards where teaching practice may require further development
• encourage and support the teacher to attend a NESA workshop for HALT applicants, or complete the self-paced HALT Applicant online course on NESA Learning.

When the teacher may not be suitable for HALT

Discuss areas for professional development and encourage the teacher to reflect on their practice against the HALT Standard Descriptors. Provide opportunities for the teacher to develop their practice and collaborate with colleagues.

Verify the applicant’s eligibility 

Principals or service directors have a role to verify the applicant’s eligibility to apply.

To be eligible, applicants must be:

• an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• accredited at Proficient Teacher or above
• assessed as satisfactory in 2 of their most recent annual performance assessments if applying for Highly Accomplished Teacher, or 3 annual performance assessments if applying for Lead Teacher.

Verifying the teacher’s eligibility

The teacher must open a HALT application in their NESA online account (eTAMS) and then complete the mandatory HALT Orientation Course. Once they have done this, you will be notified in your eTAMS to verify:

• that they have discussed with you their intention to apply 
• their eligibility.

Early childhood teachers whose service director is not accredited at Proficient Teacher will need to contact NESA at HALenquiry@nesa.nsw.edu.au for advice about who can verify their eligibility. 

Verify a teacher’s contribution to a collaborative initiative

For one module only, applicants may submit evidence that is the result of them working in a collaborative project or initiative. For this, they may submit evidence for assessment of up to 10 nominated Standard Descriptors at the relevant level of the HALT Standards. 

While principals, service directors or employers have no responsibility for assessing the collaborative evidence, they have an important role in verifying the individual applicant’s contribution to the collaborative initiative or project. 

Collaborative evidence requirements

Applicants working together on the same project or initiative:

• can submit the same or similar documentary evidence
• must write their own structured narrative for each set of evidence in their eTAMS account
• must complete the NESA collaborative evidence template to write an individual reflective statement about the project or initiative
• must seek verification of their contribution to the initiative or project from their principal, service director, employer, or their delegate.

For more information on how you can verify an applicant’s collaborative evidence refer to the Principal/Service Director Guide – HALT Accreditation (PDF 219.51KB).

For more information on what applicants must include when they submit collaborative evidence read our Develop your evidence page.

When you cannot verify the applicant’s contribution 

If you are not the most appropriate person to verify the applicant’s contribution, you can delegate the responsibility to another appropriate teacher who is accredited at Proficient Teacher or above. 

If you do not agree with the applicant’s reflective statement, discuss with the teacher to make necessary changes to the statement and/or their evidence before they submit the evidence.

Support applicants through a NESA recognised program

NESA recognised programs are professional learning programs NESA has approved to support teachers to fully demonstrate Standard Descriptors at the Highly Accomplished level.

Applicants for Highly Accomplished accreditation can complete a NESA recognised program and be verified for successfully demonstrating between 6 and 10 Standard Descriptors at that level. 

Accommodate and participate in a Site Visit

The Site Visit provides an opportunity for applicants to demonstrate nominated Standard Descriptors through teaching and, where relevant, non-teaching sessions. 

Principal or service director’s role in a Site Visit

Your role for a Site Visit includes:

• supporting the teacher’s plan for their Site Visit and schedule for the day
• participating in a 30-minute structured interview with the External Assessor during the Site Visit
• providing evaluative comments about the applicant’s performance and practice against the Standards to the External Assessor. 

Preparing for the structured interview

You should prepare for the discussion by reviewing the interview questions (PDF 219.51KB). 

In the case of a recorded observation, the External Assessor will contact you to arrange a suitable time within 48 hours of the External Assessor’s review of the Recorded Observation to complete the interview.

Following the Site Visit, the External Assessor will provide the applicant with a Site Visit report. The report will include a summary of the structured interview with you. 

If your availability for the Site Visit changes

You must contact NESA as soon as practical to make alternative arrangements for your interview at HALenquiry@nesa.nsw.edu.au. You will need to provide a contact phone number and alternative times to be sent to the External Assessor so that they can call you. The alternative interview time needs to be within 48 hours of the day of the Site Visit.

NESA makes the accreditation decision

NESA will make the accreditation decision based on:

• assessment of the applicant’s evidence modules, as documented in the HALT Module Report(s)
• demonstration of nominated Standard Descriptors, as verified by the program manager of a NESA recognised program, if applicable
• the External Assessor’s Site Visit Report.

We make the accreditation decision within 28 days of the teacher submitting their second module or within 28 days of their revisions, if applicable.

If the teacher’s application is successful, the teacher and their employer will be notified of the accreditation decision.

If we accredit the teacher at Highly Accomplished or Lead Teacher, we will issue them a certificate and they will start their first maintenance period.

Recognition and support

We encourage you to recognise and share the teacher’s achievement of HALT accreditation within your school or service. This supports a culture of quality teaching and professional excellence.

The teacher will now begin to maintain accreditation at Highly Accomplished or Lead Teacher. You will need to provide:

• continued access to opportunities for the teacher to participate in professional activities aligned with their level of accreditation
• opportunities for the teacher to make significant contributions to the professional learning of other teachers and colleagues in the school or service.

For more information on your role and responsibility to support a teacher maintaining HALT accreditation read Support a teacher maintaining HALT accreditation. 

Quality assurance of accreditation decisions

NESA has quality assurance processes in place to ensure HALT accreditation assessments and decisions are rigorous, valid and nationally credible. These include:

• monitoring the assessment of HALT modules on an ongoing basis as HALT Assessors and External Assessors complete them
• addressing any identified issues by providing relevant feedback and training to HALT Assessors and/or External Assessors to ensure the assessment of HALT applications are valid and reliable, and are consistent with the Standards at the higher levels
• submitting evidence developed by HALT applicants for national moderation as requested by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) in line with the national Framework for the Certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers
• implementing quality assurance processes with NESA recognised program providers to ensure the programs are aligned with the HALT Standards. For instance, we may request individual examples of the evidence to determine how impact is evaluated. We will also verify if the program coherence is aligned with the program application and will provide feedback on any areas for development
• collecting summary data on assessment and accreditation decisions to evaluate, review and improve the accreditation processes, and providing such data to AITSL if requested.
   

Support a teacher who does not achieve HALT

We encourage you to be supportive of the teacher and to discuss with them:

• career path planning and direction
• their qualities and the HALT Assessor advice provided in the module reports
• future accreditation and professional opportunities.

The teacher will remain at their current accredited level. They will need to continue to meet the relevant maintenance requirements and timeframes. They may reapply for HALT accreditation at any time.

Review

The teacher may decide to apply to NESA for an internal review of a decision to not accredit them.

If they are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, they can apply to NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for a review of NESA’s decision to not accredit them.

Related information

• Applying for HALT Accreditation Procedure information for principals, service directors and employers (PDF 232.11KB)
• NSW Teacher Accreditation Manual
• Principal/Service Director Guide – HALT Accreditation (PDF 219.51KB)
• Apply for higher levels accreditation
• The Standards
• Support a teacher applying for Proficient Teacher accreditation