The Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 that oversees the teaching profession in South Australia is currently being reviewed.

The consultation paper ‘Enhancing Teacher Registration in South Australia’ will be available on our website soon.

The Teachers Registration Board is holding a number of consultation sessions around the state to discuss the proposed changes and gather feedback from teachers, parents and the public.

The sessions will also provide the opportunity to find out more about the Working with Children Check. This check will become a mandatory requirement for anyone in South Australia who works with children from 1 July. There is a transition period for teachers to obtain this check.

Read more about this requirement on our website here.

The session dates and locations are listed below. To book a session click here.

If you can’t make a consultation you can provide your feedback via an online survey here.

All sessions will run from 4:30pm - 6:00pm

Wednesday 1 May, North Adelaide
Thursday 2 May, Modbury
Monday 6 May, Whyalla
Tuesday 7 May, Port Lincoln
Wednesday 8 May, Port Pirie
Thursday 9 May, Berri
Monday 13 May, Mount Gambier
Tuesday 14 May, Victor Harbor
Wednesday 15, Murray Bridge
Thursday 16 May, Tanunda
Monday 20 May, Mawson Lakes
Tuesday 21 May, Reynella

You can also provide feedback by emailing or posting a submission to the Legislation Reform Team at edlawreform@sa.gov.au or mail to:

Ms Joanna Blake
Manager, Legislation Reform
Legal Services Directorate
Department for Education
GPO Box 1152
ADELAIDE  SA  5001

How can your input influence the changes?

Your feedback will be taken into consideration in the drafting of the new legislation. 

Feedback will be accepted until 5.00pm Friday 31 May

What is the Working with Children Check?

As a result of the 2016 Nyland Royal Commission into child protection, the South Australian Government introduced the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016. The Working with Children Check (WWCC) is a new requirement brought in under this Act, to further improve checks on people who work or volunteer with children.

Is the WWCC mandatory?

From 1 July 2019, a WWCC will become a mandatory requirement for anyone in South Australia who works with children. Working with Children Checks will be valid for five years from the date of issue.

How will the WWCC affect teacher registration?

From 1 July 2019, anyone applying for teacher registration or renewal of teacher registration in South Australia must hold a valid WWCC.

Teachers who are renewing their registration in the 2019-2020 renewal period will be required to provide evidence of a valid WWCC or a DHS Child-related Screening Clearance.

Transition arrangements

Teachers due to renew in 2019

If you are due to renew before the 31 December 2019 and do not hold a current DHS Child-related Screening Clearance you will be required to have a WWCC when you renew your registration. You will need to apply for a WWCC as soon as possible after 1 July 2019 and before renewing your registration.

If you hold a current DHS Child-related Screening Clearance you can apply to renew your registration without a WWCC however, you must apply for a WWCC before your DHS clearance expires.

Teachers due to renew in 2020 or 2021

Teachers who are due to renew in 2020 or 2021 do not need to do anything now. However, when applying to renew your registration you will be required to have a WWCC so you will need to apply for a WWCC before you renew your registration.

New applicants from 1 July 2019

All new applicants applying for teacher registration from 1 July 2019 must have a WWCC unless they hold a current DHS Child-related Screening Clearance. Anyone who applies with a current DHS Child-related Screening Clearance must apply for a WWCC before their DHS clearance expires.

Holders of a current DHS Child-related Screening Clearance

• If you are renewing your registration in 2019 and you hold a current DHS Child-related Screening Clearance you can renew your registration without a WWCC^*.

• If you are a new applicant and you hold a current DHS clearance your application can be processed without a WWCC^*.
  
  

^*Prior to expiry of your DHS clearance you will be required to apply for a WWCC.

As professionals, teachers have a responsibility to maintain all requirements of registration.

If you let your Working with Children Check lapse (or if your current DHS clearance expires and you fail to gain a WWCC before it expires), under Section 33A of the Children’s Protection Law Reform Act 2017, your registration may be suspended without notice.

Therefore it is essential that you ensure that you have a valid WWCC at all times.

All questions regarding gaining a WWCC need to be directed to the Central Assessment Unit of the Department for Health who will process all WWCC applications.

For further information about how the WWCC impacts teacher registration visit our website or attend one of our information sessions where the proposed reforms to the Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 will also be discussed.

The South Australian Teacher Certification Committee (SATCC) is the cross-sector certifying authority in South Australia.

Seeking national recognition as a highly accomplished or lead teacher is admirable as this process requires a commitment to interrogate one’s own practice, develop the knowledge and skills of self and colleagues, and undertake a rigorous assessment process.

On 30 November 2018, the annual cross-sector ceremony held at the Stamford Plaza recognised those teachers who had successfully achieved certification during the previous 12 months.

Chairperson of SATCC, Veronica Lee, hosted the ceremony and the Honourable John Gardner, Minister for Education presented the certificates while acknowledging the commitment of certified teachers to supporting their students, their colleagues and their own development.

The ceremony was a very special and enjoyable evening.

Congratulations to the 2018 cohort:

• Amanda Pedder, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Lesley Hartup, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Michelle Burt, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Michaela O’Hara, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Kelly Blandford, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Amberley Lolicato, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Nyasha Tulloch, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Mary Mooney, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Anushka Donellan, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Rachel Powell, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Jarrad McCabe, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Alison Barr, Highly Accomplished Teacher
• Toni Fitzgerald, Lead Teacher
• James Ellis, Lead Teacher
• Meika Bradley, Lead Teacher

If you or a colleague are interested in being recognised for your teaching expertise contact your sector representative below.

The Department for Education – Belinda Radcliffe, tel: 8226 4377.

Catholic Education South Australia – Adrian Dilger, tel: 83016138.

Association of Independent Schools of South Australia – Mark Picket, tel: 8179 1423.

The Commissioner for Children & Young People's Digital Challenge is a brand new recurring annual digital challenge to increase digital opportunity for children in SA.

In 2019 it’s all about digital thinking and is designed to evolve through key areas of the digital learning journey with upcoming challenges looking at design thinking, systems thinking, digital literacy and digital citizenship.

As your students start learning to speak Robot, they can increase student independence and win digital rewards for your school from programmable drones to micro:bits to a new school website.

Plus every student completing the Challenge earns a digital certificate from the Commissioner and every school taking part receives access to exclusive live webinars from Microsoft.

Just four digital thinking Challenge activities = Challenge complete! There are hundreds of activities to choose from including Digital Technologies curriculum approved options with lesson plans from Digital Technologies Hub and Grok Learning’s Hour of Code, unplugged options requiring no devices from CS Unplugged, micro:bit simulator activities from MakeCode, projects using various programming languages from Code Club and lots of popular character-driven themes from Code.org’s Hour of Code.

Check to see if your school is already registered here (Years 3-6).

If not, schools can register now (Years 3-6). Registering is free and takes less than one minute. Registered schools are eligible for rewards, are published on the Challenge website and receive exclusive Official Challenge School promotional materials to share with teachers, students, parents and families.

NB* If you would like your students outside Y3-6 to take part, there’s a Challenge extension option you can access by emailing CommissionersDigitalChallenge@sa.gov.au

Children of all ages can also take part at home with family, through Scouts, Girl Guides and as a Children’s University Adelaide learning destination.

Supporting student digital wellbeing

This program includes three hours of professional learning through live webinar participation and the completion of a quiz.

All participants, and related staff, who complete the program will receive a summative infographic containing key learnings and a participation certificate.

To participate in ‘Supporting Student Digital Wellbeing’, register to attend each of the webinar topics during 2019 listed below.

After participating in all three webinars, you will be sent a 15-minute quiz to complete the three hours of activity.

Find out more here.

This survey explores Australian educators' understanding and support of students perceived as gifted in Australian schools. 

No specific knowledge in gifted education is required to undertake this 25 to 30-minute survey.

Further details available here.

(Approval No. HE18-009, Valid to 01/07/2019)

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership has developed tools for teachers and school leaders to reflect on and improve, their practice.

The School Leader Self-Assessment Tool to assist principals, school leaders and aspirants to locate their practice within the Leadership Profiles.

Identify your strengths and opportunities for development, view your developmental pathway and create a plan for your learning and growth today.

To help you determine where your practice sits in the Leadership Profiles, sign up, answer the short questionnaire and work out your next steps to improve your practice.

The Teacher Self-Assessment Tool will help you review your teaching practice and plan your professional development and provide you with resources to target growth areas.

The tools are free and easy to use.

The transition from initial teacher education to the classroom can be challenging. Learning from your peers in other schools is a great way to get ahead. The Induction Case Studies show induction in action across a range of contexts. Watch videos and download supporting documents on the AITSL website.

Focussing on beginner teachers My Induction is a free app from AITSL that supports graduate teachers make a strong start to their teaching careers by making it easy to:

• engage with resources and activities relevant to their early-career development
• access advice and solutions to common issues from expert teaching professionals
• track their wellbeing.

Download the app here.

Graduate to Proficient: Australian guidelines for teacher induction into the profession were developed in consultation with the profession.

The Guidelines outline the critical factors for high-quality and effective induction of early career teachers. Find out more about practice-focused mentoring, how effective induction can be embedded in daily practice, and what the four focuses of a good induction are.

Find out more on the AITSL website.

Have you checked out The Reflective Teacher podcast with Selen Woodward of Edufolios?

In these weekly podcasts, Selena discusses the different challenges facing teachers and ways to assist with your career. Available podcasts include the secret to documenting PD, planning for reflection, moving to the next career stage and the difference between Graduate and Proficient.

Listen for free on Spotify, iTunes or Google Podcasts. 

The One and All Sailing Ship, berthed at Port Adelaide, is seeking teachers to work as volunteer presenters to assist in the school children’s Education Program and ship Open Days. 

Volunteers must be active, confident presenters who can present to small groups (8-10) of schoolchildren and/or adults as well as answer questions.

The time commitment is on a random basis either weekly, fortnightly or monthly.         

If you are looking to be a teacher of English as a Second Language (TESOL) in Australia or overseas and wish to gain a qualification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), then this practical program is for you.

The CELTA is a teaching qualification that is accredited within Australia and is internationally recognised. It is the minimum required qualification for teaching English to speakers of other languages in many countries around the world including University language centres and private English colleges in Australia. Each course is accredited and moderated by Cambridge English Language Assessment, part of the University of Cambridge, UK.

The program can be undertaken as a face-to-face full time intensive over 4 weeks, face-to-face part-time over 10 weeks or in a blended delivery mode including both online and face-to-face components over 13 weeks.

For more information click here.