Before I introduce myself, I would like to acknowledge and thank all teachers for their work and personal commitment to providing teaching services over the past few months. It has certainly been an interesting and challenging time!

Regardless, the Board continued to provide all services to our teachers despite our foyer being closed to the public on the advice of health officials. However, thanks to the positive health outcomes currently enjoyed by South Australians the foyer was re-opened last Monday 15 June and will be open between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm Monday to Friday.

My tenure as Registrar of the TRB commenced at the beginning of March and the past three months have been busy as I connect with our stakeholders and settle into the role. We are focussed on working with our stakeholders to shape a modern regulatory space based on national educational standards that best serve the needs of South Australian teachers.  

This is an interesting time for the South Australian education sector as the Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 (the Act) under which the TRB operates is undergoing amendment and which proposal is currently before the South Australian Parliament after a year of consultation. Upon passing the Parliament, I look forward to sharing with you how the amendments will address important matters for teachers, the community, and the wider education sector.

Some of the proposals include introducing a five-year teacher registration term with the option of paying fees annually as well as measures that will strengthen protections for children. The Act is an important piece of legislation as it safeguards the teacher registration system by ensuring that professional standards are maintained and confirming members are competent educators, and fit and proper person to have the care of children.

We will keep you up-to-date on all aspects of these changes and provide you with comprehensive details on how these may affect South Australian teachers as soon as we can.

In the meantime, as this term draws to a close I hope you enjoy your upcoming break. 

Leonie Paulson

Registrar          

Teachers Registration Board

All renewing teachers need to be aware of mandatory requirements that have commenced since their last renewal.

In order to renew your registration, you need to have completed all of your renewal requirements and submitted your form by 31 December 2020.

This year additional items you will need to provide are:

• proof of your identity with your application
• a Working with Children Check (WWCC)

To assist the timely processing of your renewal of registration this information can be provided to us before the renewal period.

Identity requirements

You must provide your proof of identity document(s) photocopied on to a Linkage Verification form. You must then take these to a Justice of the Peace together with the original documents and have these certified and your ID linkage acknowledged. You can find examples of identity documents and the Linkage Verification form under Proof of Identity on the Renewal Requirements page on the TRB website. Please send your completed ID linkage form to renewal@trb.sa.edu.au.

Working with Children Check

From 1 July 2019, the Working with Children Check (WWCC) became a mandatory requirement for anyone in South Australia who works with children. You can find out more about the WWCC on the TRB website.

This mandatory requirement is being transitioned for teachers as they renew.

You will need to apply for a WWCC through the Department of Human Services.

We recommend you apply for a WWCC early as the processing time on a WWCC can be up to six weeks and in certain circumstances longer. Please forward the outcome email received from DHS to renewal@trb.sa.edu.au.

All teachers were sent an email regarding all of the renewal requirements in April 2020. If you did not receive the email or you have any specific questions please ring 8253 9700 for more information.

Each year the Educator Magazine holds the Australian Education Awards which celebrate the outstanding achievements of the country’s top-performing schools, principals, department heads and teachers.

Congratulations to the South Australian finalists for 2020 listed below.

School Principal of the Year - Government
Maxine McSherry, Kangaroo Island Community Education

Regional School of the Year 
Kangaroo Island Community Education

Primary Principal of the Year - Government

• Julie Murphy, Elizabeth Vale Primary School
• Marg Clark, Prospect North Primary School

Primary School of the Year - Government
Prospect North Primary School

Department Head of the Year
Scott Dirix, Salisbury East High School

The awards will be announced in Sydney on Friday 6 November 2020.

Find out more about the awards here.

This rapid research information brief from the Australian Academy of Science brings together the evidence on differential learning outcomes for online versus in-class education. Its findings include that remote learning arrangements have the potential to result in poorer educational outcomes for almost half of Australian primary and secondary students if continued for an extended period and determine there are different implications for students in metropolitan, remote, rural and Indigenous communities.

You can read the full report here.

Congratulations to three South Australian teachers who are among the 12 inspiring teachers and school leaders who were awarded a Commonwealth Bank Teaching Award earlier this year for their exceptional work in the profession. 

Pictured left to right above are:

• Scott Dirix, Senior Leader of Alternative Programs, Salisbury East High School
• Julie Murphy Principal, Elizabeth Vale Primary School
• Warren Symonds Principal, Mount Barker High School

Warren Symonds and his Mount Barker staff are recognised as leaders in Positive Education and have provided professional learning to over 315 teachers throughout SA, ACT and WA.

Julie Murphy is relentless when it comes to giving marginalised learners the best opportunities possible and is committed to a career as a school leader in low socio-economic areas.

Scott Dirix thinks of himself as a rogue in education whose aim is to make school work for disengaged students marginalised both in society and on campus. He is driven to stop student development being shackled by regimented systems.

The TRB congratulates our three SA winners and appreciates their tremendous contributions to the teaching profession. Scott and Julie have also been announced as 2020 finalists in the Australian Education Awards.

Follow the link to read their stories. https://teachingawards.com.au/

Self-paced online learning from Behaviour Help.

Strategies for Students with Anxiety

All of us experience some degree of anxiety (i.e. fear and worry) from time to time. When faced with a stressful situation (e.g. first day of school, giving a job interview or preparing for an exam) it is expected, normal and useful that we experience a little bit of anxiety. Anxiety increases our alertness, energy and focus which improves our performance. Anxiety experienced within the normal range is short-lived and we return to a calm state when the stressful situation is over.

Strategies for students with oppositional and defiant behaviours

Positive Behaviour Support Strategies for Students with Oppositional and Defiant Behaviours is an online, self-paced course that will equip you with a toolkit of practical strategies to help your student achieve better communication, social, emotional, behavioural and learning outcomes. You’ll also learn a range of behaviour management strategies to effectively respond to challenging behaviour and develop a prevention plan with the Behaviour Help app.

Find out about more positive behaviour support courses.

Evidence for Learning webinars

Improving Literacy - 22 June

Educators in this webinar will learn about how to improve the literacy of their students. You will investigate the three Evidence for Learning Guidance Reports dedicated to literacy along with the evidence from the Teaching & Learning Toolkit. This webinar will look at practical recommendations for primary and secondary school educators and school leaders, with a focus on those approaches that have particular value in different stages of schooling.

Effective Student Collaboration - 4 August

Educators in this webinar will learn about effective student collaboration by investigating the evidence about collaborative learning within the Teaching & Learning Toolkit (the Toolkit). A collaborative (or cooperative) learning approach involves students working together on activities or learning tasks in a group small enough for everyone to participate on a collective task that has been clearly assigned. Students in the group may work on separate tasks contributing to a common overall outcome, or work together on a shared task. Approaches that promote talk and interaction between learners tend to result in the best gains.

Feedback to increase learning - 18 August

Providing high-quality feedback to students is integral to effective teaching. Equally, gathering feedback on how well students have learned a topic is important in enabling teachers to address any misunderstanding and provide the right level of challenge in future lessons. Educators in this webinar will learn about effective approaches in feedback, particularly drawing on the recommendations of the upcoming Guidance Report on Effective Feedback.

Unpacking the effective use of Teaching Assistants - September 15

Teaching Assistants (TAs) are an invaluable resource in Australian schools supporting teachers in the classroom, TAs are a 90,500‑strong workforce. In 2017, on average, there were 10 teaching assistants in every school. During this webinar, educators will learn about practical, evidence-based guidance to help primary and secondary schools make the best use of Teaching Assistants (TAs). Looking beyond the recommendations set out in E4L’s Guidance Report Making best use of Teaching Assistants, you will explore practical examples of where TAs have been essential in improving outcomes for students.