Implementation of curriculum for Western Australia

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

In order to keep you up-to-date the School Curriculum and Standards Authority would like to draw your attention to the following information.

Item 1   The impact for Western Australia with the release of the Australian Curriculum Version 8

As you may be aware, ACARA released Version 8 of the Australian Curriculum on 20 October 2015. The implementation of the endorsed Australian Curriculum is a State matter. On the 16 September 2015 all Principals received a letter from the Chair of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority reminding schools that the syllabuses for all seven learning areas (English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, Technologies and The Arts) are published in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline. These should be used by teachers as the basis for their teaching and learning programs in English, Mathematics, Science and History while teachers are strongly encouraged to use the Outline for the basis of their teaching and learning programs in the Phases 2 and 3 learning areas, Humanities and Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, The Arts and Technologies.

The Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (the Outline), accessible via the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website (www.scsa.wa.edu.au) replaces the Curriculum Framework and is mandated for all Western Australian schools.

The reviewed Australian Curriculum includes changes to English, Mathematics and Science. The Authority will continue to consult with key stakeholders to advise the Board on how these changes may be reflected in the Western Australian Curriculum. Schools will be informed of the progress of this work.

Item 2   Familiarisation with Phases 2 and 3 Learning Areas

Humanities and Social Sciences and Health and Physical Education
2016 is a familiarisation year for Humanities and Social Sciences and Health and Physical Education. During this period schools can choose to teach the new Western Australian Curriculum. To assist teachers and schools during the transition to the full implementation of the Western Australian Curriculum for these learning areas the following information will be available in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline:

• the Judging Standards Materials will be included in the Outline at the beginning of 2016
• the Teacher Support Materials such as Assessment Activities will be included in the Outline at the beginning of 2016.

Schools not delivering the Western Australian Curriculum for these learning areas are required to use the Curriculum Framework to develop teaching and learning programs using the relevant outcomes from the Curriculum Framework.

Technologies and The Arts
2016 and 2017 are familiarisation years for Technologies and The Arts. During this period schools can choose to teach the new Western Australian Curriculum. To assist teachers and schools during the transition to the full implementation of the Western Australian Curriculum for these learning areas the following information will be available in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline:

• the Judging Standards Materials will be included in the Outline during Semester 1 2016
• the Teacher Support Materials such as Assessment Activities will be included in the Outline during at the beginning of 2016.

Schools not delivering the Western Australian Curriculum for these learning areas are required to use the Curriculum Framework to develop teaching and learning programs using the relevant outcomes from the Curriculum Framework.

Item 3   Languages

In June 2014 the Authority’s Board requested that a comprehensive overview of the current provision of Pre-primary to Year 12 languages in Western Australia, both in and out of school settings, be prepared. This review was commissioned to provide the Board with a sound basis on which to make informed decisions about the future development and provision of language education policy and curriculum in Western Australia. The State of Play: Languages Education in Western Australia, October 2014 is available on the Authority’s website at
www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/_Documents/Publications/State_of_Play_Languages_Education_in_WA_September_2014.pdf

The feedback gathered from this review and a consultation forum, attended by over 80 key stakeholders, is being considered by the Authority’s Board in the development of a policy position on Languages education in Western Australia. It is proposed that the policy position will be announced in Term 4 this year.

The Languages curriculum will be available to schools for familiarisation at the beginning of Semester 2, 2016.

Item 4   Phases 2 and 3 Learning Area Student Work Samples

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority provides annotated student work samples to assist teachers in assigning grades.

Following feedback from teachers, the work samples for Phases 2 and 3 learning areas (Humanities and Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, Technologies and The Arts) will show student work at an
A grade, B grade and C grade from the same assessment task. This will assist teachers to see the shift in student achievement between grades.

Item 5   Phase 1 Learning Area Student Work Samples

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority collected student work samples for Mathematics and Science during Terms 2 and 3 2015 from the same task. The samples are currently being annotated and used to refine the assessment pointers where necessary. The assessment pointers and student work samples will be progressively uploaded to the Judging Standards section of the website.

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is currently developing the assessment pointers for Speaking and Listening from student work samples gathered in Term 3 2015. The samples are currently being annotated to reflect an A grade, B grade and C grade. The video samples will be progressively uploaded to the Judging Standards section of the website.

Introduction to SIRS 2016

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

Limited places are available for school staff, using the Student Information Records System (SIRS), to attend a familiarisation seminar at the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority). The seminar is aimed at new and existing 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 two hours long. Participants will log into SIRS using their own school login and password.

There will be four sessions available prior to school commencing in 2016, which may be preferable for staff in remote and country Western Australia.

Seminar dates and times (2016)

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

Registrations can be made online at

www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Events_and_Forms/Registrations_and_Logins/SIRS_intro.

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 2015, two sessions were held in Bunbury for South West participants, and if we have enough interest for 2016, 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.

Registration of secondary students and early registration of Year 10, 11 and 12 students in 2016

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

Schools and other education providers will be required to register their Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students with the Authority by Thursday, 18 February 2016.  All other students in Years 7, 8, and 9 must be registered by Friday, 18 March 2016.

It is critical that Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students are registered by 18 February to ensure their inclusion in the compulsory Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment in March (unless pre-qualified through Year 9 NAPLAN performance or their achievement of the standard in Year 10 or Year 11). Demonstrating the minimum standard in the three components of the assessment (reading, writing and numeracy) is a requirement for students to achieve the WACE from 2016.

Details of how to register students will be provided in the updated Data Procedures Manual 2016, with links to assist schools using Reporting to Parents, MAZE, and Excel.

School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) student numbers
For information about SCSA student numbers, see the relevant item in this eCircular.

Requests for SCSA student numbers for 2016

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

SCSA student numbers info line (08) 9273 6344
numbers@scsa.wa.edu.au

Effective 12 October 2015, schools can request School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) student numbers automatically through the student information record system (SIRS) for Year 7 students starting in 2016. Details of how to request SCSA student numbers are in Section 1.2 of the Data Procedures Manual 2015 -http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/Data_Procedures_Manual.

For students other than Year 7, schools are encouraged to do an initial search in SIRS for student numbers via Enrolment > Student Enrolment > Find Student Number. If no record is found, schools can email numbers@scsa.wa.edu.au and advise the following:

• your school code
• student first name
• student surname
• date of birth
• academic year
• if the student has arrived in WA from overseas or interstate.

This will enable a more comprehensive search to be undertaken before a new number is issued.