Welcome to the September edition of Registration Buzz. 

As you may know, this year marks the 50^th anniversary of the first meeting of the Teachers Registration Board of South Australia.

In honour of this significant milestone, we have introduced two new awards that will be open for applications annually to recognise the important work of teachers in our state.

The Teachers Registration Board Service Award recognises teachers with 20 or more years of service to the teaching profession. Teachers are able to self-nominate or be nominated by another registered teachers who is currently working with the nominee or has done so in the five years prior to nomination.

The Minister’s Graduate Achievement Prize recognises a pre-service teacher (PST) who has recently graduated, or is about to graduate, from a South Australian Initial Teacher Education program, who has overcome a hurdle during their study, for example a personal, academic, financial, or health issue that may have otherwise been a barrier to their success.

We would love to see your nominations for these awards in their inaugural year. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.trb.sa.edu.au/home/about-us/awards-and-prizes.

In other news, the annual registration renewal period will soon open on the 10^th of October for teachers whose registration is due to expire in January 2024. As we approach the renewal period, we appreciate it is a busy time of year for all teachers and we aim to make the renewal process as easy as possible.

If you are due to renew, please make sure that your application is submitted via the Teachers Portal before 31 December 2022. If you haven’t yet set up your personal portal account, visit: https://online.trb.sa.edu.au/default.aspx

If you require assistance with your application or setting up your portal account, please contact the office on 08 8253 9700 or email renewal@trb.sa.edu.au.

As Presiding Member of the Teachers Registration Board for the last 6 years, Dr Jane Lomax-Smith has overseen many significant changes. These changes have ensured that the Board’s focus remains on improving outcomes for teachers and students in South Australia, now and into the future.

Jane joined the Teachers Registration Board in 2017 as the Presiding Member and her enthusiasm and dedication were evident from day one.

With her time as Presiding Member now at an end, we were delighted to have the opportunity at a recent event to wish Jane well in this new chapter and thank her for her contribution to the Board and the teaching profession.

We were also pleased to get this snapshot of Jane with Education Minister Blair Boyer and former Education Ministers John Gardner and Greg Crafter.

Deputy Presiding Member Carolyn Grantskalns will temporarily take over the role of Presiding Member.

The annual audit of professional learning undertaken by the Teachers Registration Board after renewal of registration was completed in June. A total of 280 teachers (i.e., 2.7%) were selected randomly for inclusion in the audit this year. Teachers were given four weeks to ensure their records were complete before commencement of the audit.

The majority of records were submitted through the Teachers Portal although a proportion of teachers submitted hardcopies. Records entered electronically tended to move through the process more quickly because the portal provides the key components required by the TRB. Hardcopies often did not provide all the required information with teachers having to submit additional information to complete the process.

Overall, teachers demonstrated an array of professional learning opportunities including:

• individual readings
• formal study towards a high degree
• podcasts, webinars, and other electronically available resources
• site-based projects
• targeted professional learning provided by individual sites

The Teachers Registration Board recognizes the importance of all these different types of professional learning experiences and does not expect teachers attend face-to-face workshops to meet the learning requirement. This point is crucial to ensure that those teachers who are working part-time or as Temporary Relief Teachers are not disadvantaged.

The majority of teachers met the Teachers Registration Board’s requirements around professional learning although some activities are still being included that are not accepted. Examples include:

• career evenings or open days provided for parents and students
• attendance at staff meetings (which are generally administrative). The exception would be if an invited expert attended to provide a presentation on a particular educational aspect (i.e., developing tasks to assess critical thinking).

Activities like these are considered part of the roles and responsibilities of teachers i.e., a teacher’s professional practice.

For clarification regarding what constitutes professional learning and how to record various types of professional learning access Professional learning | Teachers Registration Board of South Australia (trb.sa.edu.au) or contact the helpful staff on 08 8253 9700.

Informing the future of the teaching profession.

Each year, teachers are telling us about the rewards and challenges of teaching through the Australian Teacher Workforce Survey, to help us understand how to build a more sustainable teaching profession.

To truly understand the modern teaching career, the Teachers Registration Board of South Australia encourages all registered teachers to participate annually. Please contribute to the survey if you can as your views are important to understanding the pressures teachers face.

Each registered teacher should have received a link to the survey, emailed by the TRB on behalf of survey organiser AITSL (sent on August 28).

Every teacher’s story is unique. Every teacher’s story matters.

The Australian Teacher Workforce Survey takes only 10–15 minutes to complete. It is for all teachers and leaders across schools and early childhood services Australia.

What’s in the Australian Teacher Workforce Survey?

The Australian Teacher Workforce Survey is part of the Australian Teacher Workforce Data (ATWD) initiative. It is the largest survey of the teaching profession in Australia and is providing the evidence we need to build a sustainable teaching profession.

You will be able to help us learn more about:

• Teacher wellbeing.
• Time spent on teaching, preparing to teach and non-teaching activities.
• Career intentions and the reasons teachers are choosing to stay or leave.
• Other important workforce experiences.

What teachers have told us so far

Under the new 5-year term of registration, teachers may choose to pay the full 5 years fees upfront or annually. If your current financial date is 31 January 2024 and you wish to continue teaching in South Australia from 1 February 2024, you will need to pay for at least one additional annual year fee before 31 January 2024 via the teacher’s portal.

If your registration is current you will receive a payment reminder email from the Teachers Registration Board approximately two months before payment is due and again one month before payment is due, however you can pay for additional years at any time on your teacher’s portal.

Once you have updated your fees, you can print off your Statement of Teacher Registration from your teacher’s portal which shows the date your annual fees are paid to. You can use this statement to provide evidence of your financial status to your employer.  A new registration certificate is not issued each time you update your fees.

If your fees are not paid by 31 January 2024, you will be non-financial, your registration will lapse, and you will not be able to teach. If you become non-financial, there will be outstanding annual fees as well as a late payment penalty. It is the responsibility of all teachers to be financial and ensure registration does not lapse.

SA HALT Network – 2024 Conference, Friday October 13.

If you are a current HALT, aspiring HALT, HALT alumni, mentor, leader, assessor, or interested in National Teacher Certification, come along to the SA HALT Network’s conference on Friday October 14 2023 at Westminster School, Marion.

The theme for this year's conference is connect, collaborate, and cultivate.

Come and hear from Keynote Speaker Ben Calleja from Growth Coaching International. Ben will be speaking about the importance of coaching conversations in educational and how to maximise our opportunities.

Masterclasses- three masterclasses will be run simultaneously, and you can attend two of these.

Sharespaces- a range of sessions run by our very own HALTs. You will be able to choose 2 of these.

Networking - before dinner there will be an opportunity to network with others.

Dinner with our guest speaker, Dr Nick Jackson, who will speak more on generative A.I. and its potential in schools.

For more information and to book, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/sa-halt-network-2023-conference-connect-collaborate-and-cultivate-tickets-655584610217?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Calling all early career & pre-service teachers!

The program and registration for the 2023 Early Career Teachers Conference on Friday 13 October, is now available.

With 4 different hands-on workshops delivered by experience and inspiring teachers across the day, plus a ‘share-a-thon’ where presenters share a strategy or teaching tool in a 10 minute presentation, it's a great opportunity to learn, network, and grow in your teaching journey

Take advantage of discounted member prices or with our half-price membership fees, it's more affordable than ever to join. Download the program and register now: https://bit.ly/ECTC2023

Keeping your contact details up to date is an important obligation of your teacher registration. The Board regularly sends updates throughout the year to your email, however if your email has changed and you haven’t advised us, these important messages may not reach you.

You can log in to your teacher portal at any time to update your contact details.

https://online.trb.sa.edu.au/default.aspx

The KS:CPC is a child safety and respectful relationships curriculum for children and young people age 3 to year 12. It is mandated in all Department for Education and Catholic Education sites, and used in independent schools and other approved organisations.  Teachers must complete the full day Educator course prior to delivering the curriculum to children and young people.  For more information see:

• About the KS:CPC
• KS:CPC Educator course
• Approved organisations