Contact

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

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

The Arts
John Newman (08) 9273 6757
John.Newman@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (the Outline) sets out the mandated Western Australian curriculum, assessment and reporting requirements.

As outlined in the School Curriculum and Standards Authority Pre-primary to Year 10: Teaching, Assessing and Reporting Policy and Policy Standards schools are required to fully implement (teach, assess and report on student achievement) Technologies, The Arts and Languages (Year 3) by the end of Semester One, 2018.

When implementing the Technologies syllabuses from the Outline, all students will study both Technologies subjects each year from Pre-primary to the end of Year 8. Design and Technologies includes four contexts which are: Engineering principles and systems; Food and fibre production; Food specialisations; Materials and technologies specialisations. Students have the opportunity to study at least one of the contexts.

When implementing The Arts syllabuses from the Outline, all students will study at least two of the five Arts subjects, including at least one performance arts subject (Dance, Drama or Music) and one visual arts subject (Media Arts or Visual Arts) each year from Pre-primary to the end of Year 8.

In Years 9 and 10, the study of Technologies and The Arts is optional. However, if schools offer Technologies or The Arts, they are required to deliver the mandated syllabuses and report on the mandated achievement standards. For example, if reporting on a student’s achievement in Drama in Year 10, the teaching and learning program and reporting on student achievement must be based on the Drama Year 10 syllabus from the Outline.

While schools must formally implement the Year 3 Languages syllabus from the Outline by the end of Semester 1, 2018, teaching, assessing and reporting on student achievement for all other years will continue to be against the Curriculum Framework. If a school is delivering Languages from the Outline to other year groups, teachers must report student achievement against the year level achievement standard.

For Pre-primary, Year 1 and Year 2, schools may implement Languages syllabuses from the Outline in 2018 including, teaching, assessing and reporting to parents/carers by the end of Semester 1, 2018. However, should a school decide to implement the curriculum for Years 4, 5 and/or 6 in 2018, or before the year in which the syllabuses are scheduled for implementation (Year 4 in 2019, Year 5 in 2020, Year 6 in 2021), the reasons should be based on the Language teacher’s professional judgement that the students have had sufficient exposure to the curriculum content and opportunity to acquire the linguistic skills required to confidently meet the achievement standards of the syllabus for that year.

Contact
Andrew Sinfield (08) 9273 6738
andrew.sinfield@scsa.wa.edu.au

OLNA helpdesk (08) 9273 6726
olna@scsa.wa.edu.au

https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/olnahttps://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/assessment/testing/olna

Schools are asked to note the following important dates and information:

March 2018 OLNA testing window
Writing – Tuesday 6 March to Friday 9 March
Numeracy and Reading – Tuesday 6 March to Thursday 29 March

Student Information Records System (SIRS) reports: 
LAN001 – Registration of all 2018 Year 10, 11 and 12 students must be completed before they appear in the OLNA student list.
LAN002 ­­– Student usernames and passwords will be available in SIRS on Monday 26 February 2018.

Further information on how to access these reports is available in the OLNA Handbook via https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/olna/schools.

Preparation of students

In preparation for the OLNA, students should:

• have the opportunity to sit the relevant practice (or example) tests. These tests can be accessed by using the following login credentials: 
  https://assess.scsa.wa.edu.au/engine/index.php/login/olna
  username: schools should use their school code
  password: prac14
• receive a copy of the OLNA Information for students sheet to advise them of the day, time and location of each test session they will sit. This form is available under the Forms section via https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/olna/schools.

Further information on steps coordinators should take to prepare students for the OLNA is contained on pages 58–69 in the OLNA Handbook available via 
https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/olna/schools.

Preparation of school and staff

Coordinators should:

• provide supervisors with their OLNA timetable.
• organise mode/s of communication to manage difficulties should they arise.
• advise supervisors that if a student’s device/browser freezes during the writing component, the supervisor should phone the OLNA helpdesk where they will be authorised to take a screen shot of the student’s work and will be asked to email it to olna@scsa.wa.edu.au.

Further information on steps coordinators should take, including a checklist (page 25), to prepare for the OLNA is contained in the OLNA Handbook available via https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/olna/schools.

Technical preparations

IT staff/Coordinators should ensure that:

• the school’s internet and network infrastructure is able to handle the expected load of students sitting the OLNA and any other users accessing the internet.
• non-urgent system maintenance and upgrades are not conducted during the OLNA period. Changes to the IT system can affect delivery and collection of OLNA data.

Further information on the checks that schools’ IT staff should undertake is contained in the OLNA Test-delivery website user guide available via https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/olna/schools.

OLNA publications and forms
All OLNA publications and forms are now available from the Authority website at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/olna/schools.

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

Schools who plan to implement a curriculum that is different to the P-10 Western Australian Curriculum and/or a different method of reporting student achievement, as outlined in the School Curriculum and Standards Authority’s Pre-primary to Year 10: Teaching, Assessing and Reporting Policy, are advised that they must apply to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) to seek recognition.

In 2018, the Authority will accept alternative curriculum submissions for the following Pre-primary to Year 10 learning areas:

English                                                           Health and Physical Education

Mathematics                                                   Languages (Year 3)

Science                                                          Technologies

Humanities and Social Sciences                    The Arts

Information is provided at https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/teaching/alternative-curriculum-recognition to explain the process of recognition of well-established alternative curriculum (and/or reporting on student achievement) as meeting the requirements of the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline and to assist organisations to prepare for submissions to the Authority’s Alternative Curriculum/Reporting Recognition Review Panel.

Submissions by schools and education providers for recognition of an alternative curriculum (and/or reporting on student achievement) that aligns with the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline should be made to the Authority using the templates provided on the Authority’s website.

Any questions in regard to this information should be forwarded to Ms Maureen Lorimer, Principal Consultant, Strategic Projects (maureen.lorimer@scsa.wa.edu.au).

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

School leaders and teachers are advised that the ABLES Assessment Tool within the ABLEWA resources (https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/resources/ablewa) has been updated to include four new assessment instruments:

• Critical and Creative Thinking
• Digital Literacy
• Mathematics
• Movement and Physical Activity.

These resources will assist Western Australian teachers to create high-quality targeted classroom programs by applying the assessment tool to identify their students' readiness to learn across the seven learning domains (Critical and Creative Thinking, Digital Literacy, English – Reading and Writing, English – Speaking and Listening, Mathematics, Movement and Physical Activity and Personal and Social Capability) and using the curriculum content descriptions and achievement standards for Stages A to D, in all learning areas, except Languages, as provided in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline.

If you have any questions about ABLEWA, please contact Maureen Lorimer, Principal Consultant, Strategic Projects at maureen.lorimer@scsa.wa.edu.au.