Registration of students on the Student Information Records System (SIRS) in 2019

Contact
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
lynn.galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au
dataservices@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools and other education providers are asked to note the last date for the initial upload of student registration and demographic information to the Student Information Records System (SIRS) in 2019.  Please do not leave it until the last date to upload your data.

Thursday, 14 February 2019

• Initial 2019 registration and demographic information for Years 10–12 students (required for Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) student lists and password generation)
• Initial 2019 registration and demographic information for ALL Kindergarten–Year 6 students where these students attend schools either administering National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Online or delivering Brightpath
• Initial 2019 registration and demographic information for all Year 7 and Year 9 students where these students attend schools administering NAPLAN Online
• Initial 2019 registration information for all teachers where students attend schools delivering Brightpath.

Thursday, 14 March 2019

• Registration and demographic information for all remaining Years 7–9 students is due to be uploaded to SIRS on Thursday, 14 March 2019.

Thursday, 11 April 2019

• Registration and demographic information for Kindergarten–Year 6 students where these students attend schools not administering NAPLAN Online or delivering Brightpath is due to be uploaded on Thursday, 11 April 2019.

Updates to registration and demographic information should be uploaded into SIRS on a regular basis for the remainder of the year.

Details of how to register students are provided in the updated Data Procedures Manual 2018, with links to assist schools using Reporting to Parents, MAZE, and Excel.  There is also a separate Student Registration Procedures Manual 2018 – Primary Students found at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/349641/Student-Registration-Procedures-Manual-2018-Primary-Students.pdf to assist primary schools with creating and uploading their Student Registration and Demographic File (SRGDG).

Schools are requested to include their school code in any correspondence.

Year 12 students to remain on school roll unless advised otherwise

Contact
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
lynn.galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au

As a result of the amendments to the Acts Amendment (Higher School Leaving Age and Related Provisions) Bill 2005 and the School Education Act 1999, the compulsory education period is until the end of the year in which the child reaches the age of 17 and six months. Therefore students must not be removed from the school roll unless the school has received advice of:

• a transfer to a new school or home education, or
• an approved Notice of Arrangements (from either the Participation Unit or School Curriculum and Standards Authority) or
• the student has officially been placed on the ‘Whereabouts Unknown’ list, or
• the parent advises that the student is leaving the school to enrol outside the State, or
• the student has already turned 18 years of age.

A student with a date of birth between 1/7/2000 and 30/6/2001 should not be marked as ‘Left Provider’ or ‘Left Secondary Education’ because they have decided they no longer wish to attend school.

Schools can no longer withdraw any student from a course and adjustments will have to be made to enrolments by the data services team once ATAR course examinations are completed. Any achievements should be uploaded to SIRS.

Students with a ‘Left’ status on SIRS will not receive a Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement (WASSA) which they may require at a later stage as proof of their education or to apply for further studies.  However, students still on the school roll, or on an approved Notice of Arrangements who will have a current record at 9000 (Department of Education), and who have achieved results in Years 11 and/or 12, will receive a WASSA detailing any results achieved at school.

Introduction to SIRS 2019 – Secondary Schools

Contacts
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
lynn.galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au

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

Limited places are available for secondary school staff, using the Student Information Records System (SIRS), to attend a familiarisation seminar at the School Curriculum and Standards Authority. The seminar is aimed at new and existing secondary school users who have not previously attended a seminar.

Ideally, two staff members should attend: the clerical staff member who may be responsible for maintaining the changes on the school database and the Deputy or Associate Principal who is responsible for timetable changes for students.

The seminar will cover the basic operations and functions of SIRS. This includes data transfer and the generation of reports which enable the information transferred to SIRS to be checked.

The seminar will be approximately two and a half hours duration. Participants will log into SIRS using their own school login and password.

There will be eight sessions available prior to school commencing in 2019, which may be preferable for staff in remote and country Western Australia.

Seminar dates and times (2019)

More sessions may be provided if these sessions are fully booked.

The seminars will be held in the Mason Bird Building Training Room 1 at 303 Sevenoaks Street, Cannington. Further details will be supplied to participants once registered.

In previous years, two sessions were held in Bunbury for South West participants, and if we have enough interest for 2019, it may be possible to conduct sessions there again. Please contact Lynn.Galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au if you would be interested in attending SIRS familiarisation in Bunbury.

Sessions were also funded in 2017 by schools in Port Hedland, Kalgoorlie and Geraldton and any future sessions in these areas would include a session dedicated to primary schools only.

Students on a ‘Notice of Arrangements’ – uploading results

Contact
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
lynn.galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au

Students who received an approved ‘Notice of Arrangements’ late in the year may be entitled to receive results for completed courses, VET units of competency or Endorsed Programs.

If you are uploading results for a student who has previously been withdrawn from a course unit on transfer to Code 9000 with a ‘Notice of Arrangements’, you will receive warning messages similar to the following:

Please note this is not an error; it means the student has been re-enrolled into the course unit and a result has been recorded for that unit. It will not create a new enrolment, it will only re-enrol. To receive a green tick to indicate a successful upload, please upload the same file again – the warning messages will not appear as the re-enrolment has already taken place.

Year 12 students on a ‘Notice of Arrangements’ will also receive a Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority.

Ensure your Year 12 student details and community service hours are accurate

Contact
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
lynn.galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are reminded the last date for uploading Year 12 student registration and demographic data is Friday 16 November 2018.

All schools are requested to upload their Student Registration and Demographic File (SRGDG) on a regular basis to ensure the accuracy of student registration and demographic data. This is particularly important for the Year 12 students who will be receiving their Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) and/or Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement (WASSA) through Australia Post early in 2019.

Please ensure that the student home and postal address details are correct. The Certificate Name that appears on the CSE059 Report is the name that will be printed on the student’s WASSA and WACE. This information is taken from the Certificate Name field in the SRGDG file. These details can be checked by running the Verification of student details report via the pathway Reports > Other Reports > Enrolments > CSE059 – Verification of Student Details.

Schools should ensure students check this information carefully, make any changes and upload their SRGDG file. Instructions for uploading the SRGDG file can be found in Section 4 of the Data Procedures Manual - https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/438159/Data-Procedures-Manual-2018.pdf

If a student has received prior learning block credit, this will also show on the Verification report.

Community service hours
The number of community service hours a student has completed can be uploaded through the SRGDG file and this will appear on each student’s WASSA. If no hours are noted, no mention of community service will be made on the WASSA.

Students with a ‘Left’ status on SIRS will not receive a WASSA, which they may require at a later stage as proof of their education or to apply for further studies.  However, students still on the school roll, or on an approved Notice of Arrangements who will have a current record at 9000 (Department of Education), and who have achieved results in Years 11 and/or 12, will receive a WASSA detailing any results achieved at school.

Small group moderation partnerships for 2019

Contact
Rita Colliander (08) 9273 6378 (partnership registration)
John Newman (08) 9273 6757 (moderation queries)

Schools planning to run a class with fewer than six examination candidates in an ATAR Year 12 course are reminded of the need to establish a small group moderation partnership for 2019. All schools with one or more small groups must register their partnerships with the Authority on the required form by Thursday, 14 February 2019.

To ensure the required comparability of marks, a partnership should be made with another school early to ensure delivery of the course at the same time. Establishment of a partnership before teaching commences enables the teachers involved to agree to the sequence and timing of delivery and to plan a common assessment outline.

All schools in a partnership are required to:

• use an identical assessment outline (typically developed collaboratively)
• establish and use identical assessment tasks and marking keys
• conduct all assessment tasks under the same agreed conditions (or conditions that are as similar as possible)
• co-develop and document agreed marking strategies to ensure comparability of marking, which can include:
  • one teacher marking a task from all students in all partner schools (i.e. rotating the marking of tasks between teachers)
  • double-marking a task from all students or from selected students across the range of grades (i.e. both teachers independently mark the whole task or particular sections/questions, then discuss comparability, review marks and make adjustments where required)
  • co-marking a task (i.e. each teacher marks particular sections/questions for all students).

Full details of the small group moderation procedures for 2019 are available in Section 3.6 (page 53) of the WACE Manual 2019, available on the Authority website at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/wace-manual.

A copy of the form required for registering Small Group Moderation partnerships with a principal’s signature can be found here under Moderation: https://scsa.wa.edu.au/forms/forms.

A seminar with a repeat session will be provided early in 2019 for those teachers who have not participated in a small group moderation partnership before, or for those who wish to refresh their understanding of the required procedures. Details about the seminars will be published in the first circular for 2019.

Syllabus delivery audit 2019 of selected General/Foundation Year 11 and 12 courses

Contact
Graeme Quelch (08) 9273 6758
Graeme.Quelch@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are advised that in 2019 the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) will conduct a syllabus delivery audit for selected General/Foundation Year 11 and 12 courses (see table below). This moderation activity is designed to ensure that all schools are teaching and assessing the current syllabus in line with the requirements of the WACE Manual 2019, available online later this year.

Schools are required to submit a separate course outline and an assessment outline for each listed course delivered.

General/Foundation courses selected for a Syllabus Delivery Audit 2019

NB No Languages courses have been selected for review in 2019.

For courses with defined contexts, schools are required to upload a separate course outline and assessment outline for each defined context. Schools are reminded that for Year 12 courses, the course outline and the assessment outline must cover both Unit 3 and Unit 4 (year-long).

The process will require the upload of documents to SIRS2.

The Syllabus Delivery Audit School Handbook for 2019 and the Syllabus Delivery Audit Handbook for Teachers will be made available to principals via SIRS before the end of November. These will also be available on the Authority’s website.

Schools are required to complete this task between 9.00 am Friday, 7 December 2018 and
4.00 pm Friday, 22 February 2019. The documents can be either in Microsoft Word or PDF format.

Following the Authority's review of the documents in 2019, a report for each course will be available to schools. Schools will be informed if a document does not meet the requirements of the syllabus and/or the WACE Manual 2019. The report will specify the action/s that the school needs to take to ensure the document meets the requirements of the Authority.

For successful upload to SIRS2, schools are asked to ensure each file is named according to the naming convention described in both the Syllabus Delivery Audit School Handbook for 2019 and the Syllabus Delivery Audit Handbook for Teachers.

Externally set tasks 2019 mark allocation and course specific advice (where applicable)

Contact
Kerry Cribb (08) 9273 6787
Kerry.Cribb@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are advised that the total marks allocated to each General and Foundation Externally Set Task (EST) in 2019 is provided in a document located on the School Curriculum and Standards website at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/externally-set-tasks.

In addition specific course advice (where applicable) for each General and Foundation EST is available at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/externally-set-tasks.

Teacher seminar 21 November 2018

Contact
Mandy Hudson (08) 9273 6755
Mandy.Hudson@scsa.wa.edu.au

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is providing a seminar for new and/or inexperienced teachers of WACE courses on Wednesday 21 November from 8.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.

The seminar is for new and/or inexperienced teachers of WACE courses (i.e. graduate teachers, teachers who have not previously taught Year 11 or Year 12, teachers from interstate or overseas). The seminar is applicable to all learning areas.

The seminar will be conducted at the Telethon Speech and Hearing Centre (36 Dodd St, Wembley). Details of the seminar can be accessed when the teacher registers online from the Authority website at www.scsa.wa.edu.au. To register for this session to attend in person, please register via this link: http://scsawebapps.scsa.wa.edu.au/apps/Bookings/Events.aspx?EventId=3595.

Teachers in regional/remote areas will be able to join the seminar via WebEx. To register for this training session via WebEx, go to https://educationwa.webex.com/educationwa/k2/j.php?MTID=t6d947fa3fbb204f8ffd71a864b6652da and register.

Once you are approved by the host, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the session. For assistance, you can contact Sven Sorenson at sven.sorenson@education.wa.edu.au opens in new window or 61-0892736390.

The seminar is free to attend, but the school is responsible for teacher relief and any travel and accommodation expenses. Teachers are asked to bring a laptop or tablet to review and discuss online content.

Courses in Consensus Moderation 2019

Contact
Mandy Hudson (08) 9273 6755
Mandy.Hudson@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are advised that the Board of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority has endorsed consensus moderation processes for both Year 11 and Year 12 ATAR and General courses in 2019.

Participation in this moderation process is compulsory for all schools delivering a course in the table below. Teachers participating are required to provide a student assessment file for three students (one at each grade from A to C), including all assessment types and all marked assessments up to the time of providing the file.

In the Perth metropolitan area and larger regional centres consensus moderation occurs at meetings of typically 10 – 15 teachers. Schools more than 100 km from the nearest scheduled meeting venue will participate in an alternative process to review assessment files.

All assessment files are reviewed independently, twice by other teachers attending the meeting (or organised by the Authority to review files from schools more than 100 km from the nearest scheduled meeting venue).

For each assessment file, feedback from each reviewing teacher in the form of a grade and a supporting comment for that judgement. The teachers reflect on the feedback received from their colleagues to help determine any adjustments that may be required so that the school’s marking and grading is comparable with the standard of their colleagues in the group. The process will be conducted in Term 2 and Term 3.

Courses in Consensus Moderation in 2019

During Term 1 2019, each school will be required to register one teacher for each of the courses above that the school is delivering. Registration details will be made available early in Term 1. Teachers are reminded that they need to have procedures in place to ensure that all marked student work is retained for moderation purposes. This includes evidence collected for courses with portfolios and/or practical requirements. Please see the WACE Manual 2019 (Section 2.8) for further details.

Teacher Seminars in 2019

Contact
Mandy Hudson (08) 9273 6755
Mandy.Hudson@scsa.wa.edu.au

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is providing two sets of seminars open to senior secondary teachers in 2019.

• One for new and/or inexperienced teachers of WACE courses (i.e. graduate teachers, teachers who have not previously taught Year 11 or Year 12, teachers from interstate or overseas). These seminars are Learning Area specific.
• One for teachers involved in small group moderation in 2019 who wish to learn more about this process.

Provisions for teachers in regional and/or remote schools to participate in the seminars will be made available via WebEx.

Details of all seminars can be accessed in January 2019 from the registration page on the Authority’s website and a summary of seminars available will be published in the first circular for 2019. The seminars are free to attend, but the school is responsible for teacher relief and any travel and accommodation expenses.

Note: A generic seminar for new and/or inexperienced teachers of Year 11 and Year 12 WACE courses who have commenced teaching in Term 4 is being held on 21 November 2018. To register to attend in person, please click this link: http://scsawebapps.scsa.wa.edu.au/apps/Bookings/Events.aspx?EventId=3595. Teachers are asked to bring a laptop or tablet to review and discuss online content.

The link below provides registration details for online webinar using WebEx. To register for this webinar training session, go to https://educationwa.webex.com/educationwa/k2/j.php?MTID=t6d947fa3fbb204f8ffd71a864b6652da opens in new window and register. Once you are approved by the host, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the session. For assistance, you can contact Sven Sorenson at sven.sorenson@education.wa.edu.au opens in new window or 61-0892736390.

Curriculum Advisory Committees 2019

Contact
Maureen Lorimer (08) 9273 6397 [Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday]
maureen.lorimer@scsa.wa.edu.au

An expansion of the current Years 11 and 12 Course Advisory Committees will be implemented for 2019 to include not only committees for the Late Adolescence and Early Adulthood (Years 11 and 12) phase of learning but also to support the following phases of learning:

• the Early and Middle Adolescence (Years 7 – 10)
• the Middle and Late Childhood (Years 3 – 6)
• the Early Childhood (Years K – 2).

Practising teachers, and representatives of the following organisations: education system/sector offices, professional associations, universities, training, industry and community, are invited to nominate for the newly formed committees.  The Nomination Form, including the Terms of Reference, is accessible via the following link: https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4579100/Curriculum-Advisory-Committee-Nomination-Form opens in new window.

You will be required to gain endorsement as part of the nomination process.

Applications close on Thursday 29 November 2018.

These committees will be responsible for providing expert advice to the Authority on a range of matters, including, but not limited to:

• the Western Australian Curriculum Kindergarten to Year 12
• the Principles of Teaching, Learning and Assessment
• the Pre-primary to Year 10: Teaching, Assessing and Reporting Policy and Policy Standards for Pre-primary to Year 10: Teaching, Assessing and Reporting
• external assessments (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA), Externally Set Tasks (ESTs) and Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) course examinations)
• assessment and moderation – Pre-primary to Year 2, Years 3 to 6, Years 7 to 10, Years 11 and 12
• the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) syllabus requirements
• the Australian Curriculum
• trends and emerging issues pertaining to Kindergarten to Year 12 curriculum and assessment.

Please contact Maureen Lorimer, Principal Consultant – Strategic Projects, by email (maureen.lorimer@scsa.wa.edu.au) if you require further information.

Minor clarification to Computer Science ATAR Year 12 Syllabus for teaching and examination in 2019

Contact
Ian Gaynor (08) 9273 6530
ian.gaynor@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are advised that the following knowledge dot point in the Managing data content area of the Computer Science ATAR Year 12 syllabus has been clarified.

The updated version of the ATAR syllabus can be found on the Technologies Learning Area, Computer Science course page of the Years 11 and 12 section of the Authority’s website:

https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/technologies/computer-science

Sample course outlines have been updated accordingly.

Changes to the Ancient History Examination Design Brief Effective from 2019

Contact
Mandy Hudson (08) 9273 6755
Mandy.Hudson@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Board of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority has approved a change to the Ancient History examination design brief effective from January 2019.

The Examination Design Brief for Section 2, Source analysis – Unit 4, to be implemented in 2019 states:

As a result of the changes to Section Two, Section 1 Short answer – Unit 3 was modified. Part (b) ten (10) mark question of the Short answer questions was removed and replaced with an additional five (5) mark question.

The updated Ancient History ATAR course Year 12 Syllabus will be published on the Authority’s website (https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/humanities-and-social-sciences/ancient-history) at the conclusion of the WACE examinations. Where the Year 12 course has been commenced in Term 4 this year, schools will be required to provide an amended Syllabus document to students, and to ensure any changes are reflected in assessment practice.

Copies of 2018 examination papers available at the examination centre

Contact
Kaylene Power (08) 9273 6309

Schools with candidates presenting for an ATAR course examination are permitted only one copy of an ATAR course examination paper. Multiple copies of examination papers will not be given to a school.

Approximately one hour after the examination has commenced, a school representative can collect their school’s copy of the examination paper from the reception of the examination centre at which their students are sitting the examination. Teachers must not enter the examination room to request a copy of an examination paper.

Alternatively, if a school does not have students sitting an examination at their school examination centre and a school representative is unable to collect the examination paper from another examination centre, a copy can be obtained by sending an email request to Tim.Chiew@scsa.wa.edu.au by Thursday, 29 November 2018. Phone requests cannot be accepted.

For schools that do not have candidates sitting an ATAR course examination in 2018, a copy of examination papers can be downloaded from the Authority’s website early in 2019. For examinations with an aural component, no copies of the CD are distributed.

2017 and 2019 Dance ATAR course practical examination set solo material in schools

Contact
Lisa Honczarenko (08) 9273 6763
lisa.honczarenko@scsa.wa.edu.au

Dianne Rogers (08) 9273 6772
dianne.rogers@scsa.wa.edu.au

The set solo material for the Dance ATAR course practical (performance) examination for 2017 and 2019 has been sent to schools that did not receive the material in 2016, but will be offering the Year 12 Dance ATAR course in 2019 and will therefore require the material to prepare students for the 2019 practical examination. The package, comprising a DVD and a CD, was addressed to the teacher-in-charge of Dance.

The DVD contains the set solo. The CD contains the music track for the set solo and the technical notes, which includes the choreographer’s intent. Candidates will be required to learn the set solo for Performance two of the 2019 practical (performance) examination.