Contact
Trish Dunnett (08) 9273 6794
Patricia.Dunnett@scsa.wa.edu.au

Secondary school principals, deputy principals and curriculum leaders are invited to register to attend a briefing about the School Curriculum and Standards Authority’s areas of emphasis for 2017.

The briefings will be organised to provide updates on the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (Pre-primary to Year 10) and the WACE (Year 11 and Year 12).

The briefings will be presented across the State, in February and April, by the Authority’s Chief Executive Officer, Allan Blagaich and senior members of his executive team.

Register now at http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/events/2017-briefings.

Contact
Jenny Offer (08) 9273 6313
jenny.offer@scsa.wa.edu.au

The 2017 Activities Schedule has been revised (updated on 9/1/2017) and can be found on the Authority website at http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/activities-schedule. The changes to dates relate to the activities around the externally set tasks (ESTs). Anyone who is involved with the ESTs should review these dates and make any necessary changes in their own records and planning. The changes relate to an additional service provided by the Authority to support schools. Any further changes to the activities schedule will be noted in the Circular. Updates to the activities schedule will be replicated in new versions of the calendar. It is the user's responsibility to delete superseded versions of the calendar from their system.

To minimise problems associated with date changes, the electronic calendar will be available on a term-by-term basis. At the beginning of each term, schools will be able to access, at the above website, an electronic calendar in iCalendar (*.ICS) format to download. The electronic calendar for Term 1 is available for downloading into Outlook.

Instructions on how to download the electronic calendar can also be found at the above address.

The 2017 Term Calendar will be available in the near future and the 2017 Term 2, 3 and 4 Outlook calendars will be available at the beginning of each term.

Contact
Jenny Offer (08) 9273 6313
jenny.offer@scsa.wa.edu.au
Marie Parker (08) 9273 6303
marie.parker@scsa.wa.edu.au
Jessica Wright (08) 9273 6752
jessica.wright@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are reminded to be vigilant in their management of the upload of student result data to the Authority. The provision of incorrect or unchecked student results can be expensive for schools.

After the release of the 2016 Year 12 students’ results, the Authority received a number of queries from Year 12 students and parents in relation to incorrect data provided to the Authority by schools.

These errors included:

• schools not uploading VET qualifications achieved in Year 11 and/or Year 12 into the School Information Records System (SIRS)
• failure to update ‘postal address’ (when relevant) in SIRS when updating the ‘street address’
• provision of incorrect registration data relating to the:
  • spelling of students’ names
  • schools not providing correct certificate name
  • residency status (i.e. a student becoming an Australian citizen)
• in the situation where a student had changed schools, in particular from Semester 1 to Semester 2 in Year 11, failure of the first school to ensure the appropriate recording of the achievements in the course units studied in Semester 1.

Where an error required the Authority to reprint a student’s statement of student achievement or ATAR course report, the school was charged a fee of $32 for each student. If the WACE was also reprinted, the fee was an additional $32.

Schools must carefully check all Year 12 achievement and personal data submitted to the Authority. Failure to do so may have serious consequences for production of accurate results in the post-examination period and, in particular, the production of the WACE, ATAR course reports and ATAR calculations (which may have implications for university offers).

Contact

Kerry Tarrant (08) 9273 6770
kerry.tarrant@scsa.wa.edu.au

Permission must be obtained from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority for Year 10 students to enrol and have achievements in ATAR units 1 and 2 contribute towards the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE).

Schools should apply only if the studies are part of a longer term program for students who are:

• either gifted and talented; or
• accelerated language students.

An application form for permission to record enrolment and achievement in ATAR units for Year 10 students, 2017 is available on the Authority website at http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/75556/Application-form-for-recording-of-enrolment-and-achievement-in-ATAR-units-1-and-2-for-Year-10-students-2017.pdf.

The completed application form is to be returned to the Authority by Thursday, 23 March 2017.

Contact
Gabby Raggio (08) 9273 6306
gabby.raggio@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers of Accounting and Finance, General and ATAR, Year 11 and Year 12 are advised that due to recent changes in the Australian Accounting Standards and the Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements (the Framework), changes are required in teaching practices for the Accounting and Finances courses.

The key changes are:

• the qualitative characteristics of financial information
• the treatment of discount allowed and discount received
• the classification of financial expenses/finance costs.

Full details of the changes are outlined in the following documents available on the course page for Accounting and Finance on the Authority website at http://wace1516.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/humanities-and-social-sciences/accounting-and-finance under Support Materials:

• For ATAR: ATAR Year 11 and 12 syllabus support materials (document number 2016/50751v2)
• For General: General Year 12 syllabus support materials (document number 2016/50746v2).

As outlined in the above documents these changes will be phased in during 2017 and 2018.

Contact
Gabby Raggio (08) 9273 6306
gabby.raggio@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are advised that the Accounting and Finance ATAR Year 11 sample course outline has been corrected to align with the current syllabus.

The professional association ‘Charted Accountants Australia and New Zealand’ has replaced the ‘Institute of Charted Accountants of Australia’.

Contact
Kerry Tarrant (08) 9273 6770
kerry.tarrant@scsa.wa.edu.au

Permission must be obtained from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority for a student who is in Year 10 to study a pair of Year 12 ATAR units (Units 3 and 4) and sit the 2017 ATAR course examination.

A student who sits an examination for a particular Year 12 ATAR course in Year 10 must be exiting the course and will not be permitted to enrol in the Year 12 ATAR course (Units 3 and 4) and sit the ATAR course examination in Year 12.

An application form for permission to sit an examination for students in Year 10 is available on the Authority website at http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/75618/Application-to-study-ATAR-units-3-and-4-and-sit-the-2017-ATAR-examinations-for-students-in-Year-10.pdf.

Applications close Wednesday, 5 April 2017. No changes will be made to student enrolments to study a pair of Year 12 ATAR units (Units 3 and 4) and sit the 2017 ATAR course examinations after this date.

Please note the following:

• there is limited availability
• this is only for students on accelerated pathways doing Units 3 and 4 of the course
• applications for students in Year 11 to study ATAR units (Units 3 and 4) and sit the 2017 ATAR course examination are no longer required.

Contact
Jenny Offer (08) 9273 6313
jenny.offer@scsa.wa.edu.au

Detailed written examination feedback (Maximising feedback) reports are available from the Student Information Records System (SIRS) to help schools reflect on the achievement of the 2016 Year 12 students in courses with external examinations. The information about individual students is confidential and must not be released to a third party without the permission of the student concerned.

Teachers have found referring to the preceding year’s results, available in the Maximising Feedback reports, of great use in reviewing their teaching programs. These reports are now available, free-of-charge, as a download from SIRS. The following pathway should be used to access these reports:

Pathway: Reports > Detailed written examination feedback (Maximising Feedback).

There is a report for each course in which the school had students sit the 2016 ATAR course examination.

Each report provides a detailed analysis of how the students at the school performed in the external examination for each course. For each examination, feedback is provided about performance on all items, including multiple-choice items. Where applicable, feedback is also available on the practical component of the examination.

Schools can download Year 12 statistical reports from the student information records system (SIRS) at https://sirs.curriculum.wa.edu.au/.

The school’s login details of user-name and password are needed to access these reports.  These are available from the SIRS coordinator at your school.

The reports and their pathways are:

1. STS010* –           Year 12 provider statistics (Part 1 and Part 2)Pathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
2. STS009* –           Year 12 State statistics (Part 1 and Part 2)Pathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
3. STS022* –           Year 12 School assessment statistics (for each course examination)Pathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
4. STS028* –           School grade distribution against State grade distribution (for each course examination)Pathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
5. STS029 –              Distribution of examination statisticsPathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
6. STS036 –              Statistical moderation and concurrent validity of school assessmentsPathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
7. MF01 –                Detailed written examination feedbackPathway: reports > Detailed written examination feedback (Maximising feedback)
8. MF02 –                Detailed multiple choice feedback (if applicable)
9. MF03 –                Detailed practical examination/portfolio assessment feedback (if applicable)Pathway: reports > Detailed written examination feedback (Maximising feedback)
10. CSE077 –             Student summary details by provider.
    Pathway: reports > Detailed written examination feedback (Maximising feedback)

*Schools can review historical data (i.e. 2015 and beforehand) by running the ‘H’ versions of the reports.

Explanatory notes, containing detailed information on the various reports, can be accessed through the Authority website at http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/reports/statistical-reports/school-comparison-statistics.

If you require assistance with SIRS, contact the Authority helpdesk on 9273 6719 or email SIRShelp@scsa.wa.edu.au.

Contact
Nicole Gazey (08) 9442 9401
nicole.gazey@scsa.wa.edu.au
Angela Kiely (08) 9273 6751
Angela.Kiely@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Authority recommends that school leaders and people delivering VET in Schools read the Awards Selection Report now available on the Authority website at

http://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/certification/exhibitions-and-awards

The report provides valuable information for teachers who supported the nomination of students in 2016 and for those who plan to do so in 2017.

It presents statistics on the number of students involved in the awards selection process and detailed information on how students were selected for awards, including feedback and recommendations for teachers.

The names of award winners, published in the media on 31 December 2016, are listed on the Authority website.

General information relating to the 2017 awards is also on the above site. Detailed nomination information will be available on the site in March.

Access to the online nomination process will be available to schools in Term 3. The last date for schools to submit VET award nominations via SIRS is Monday, 4 September 2017 at 4.30 pm.

Contact
Kerry Tarrant (08) 9273 6770
kerry.tarrant@scsa.wa.edu.au

Permission must be obtained from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority for Year 8 and/or Year 9 students to enrol and have achievements in VET units of competency (achieved through VET credit transfer)/VET qualifications contribute towards the WACE.

Schools should apply only if the studies for these students are part of a longer term program where:

• students are in remote community schools where learning programs relate directly to the local industry, or
• students are accessing VET as part of an individual education program (IEP), and
• a valid opportunity has been presented which supports an ongoing and coherent training pathway.

An application form for permission for the recording of enrolment and achievement of VET units of competency (delivered through VET credit transfer)/VET qualifications – Year 8 and Year 9 students, 2017 is available on the Authority website at

http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/75568/Application-for-recording-of-enrolment-and-achievement-of-VET-units-of-competencyVET-qualifications-Year-8-and-Year-9-students-2017.pdf.

The completed application form is to be returned to the Authority by Thursday, 23 March 2017.