Effective on and from 1 January 2016

Regulation of teacher accreditation authorities (TAAs)

From 1 January 2016 BOSTES will introduce a new regulatory framework for approving TAAs for non-government schools and early childhood education centres (ECECs) to make accreditation decisions at Proficient Teacher level.

This is in accordance with changes to the Teacher Accreditation Act 2004 (‘the TA Act’) providing for BOSTES to have a greater role in regulating TAAs, which were passed by the NSW Parliament in 2014.

TAA Guidelines

Recently, the Minister approved the BOSTES Guidelines for the Regulation of Teacher Accreditation Authorities for Non-government Schools and Early Childhood Education Centres (‘the TAA Guidelines’).

These contain the BOSTES rules for regulating TAAs under the TA Act. They provide information about the requirements and processes for BOSTES approval of a TAA to make accreditation decisions at Proficient Teacher level.

The TAA Guidelines become effective on and from 1 January 2016.

Transitional arrangements

For non-government schools, the new regulatory framework will operate alongside existing BOSTES processes for non-government school registration.

Non-government schools seeking initial registration or renewal of registration in 2016 will be required to have a TAA approved under the TAA Guidelines, with approval commencing from 1 January 2017.

BOSTES will write to these schools before the end of this year, with specific advice regarding the 2016 application process. Other non-government schools will require a TAA approved under the new regulatory framework when seeking initial or renewal of registration.

TAAs for ECECs will have a longer transition period as accreditation of early childhood teachers is due to commence for the first time in 2016. BOSTES will provide further guidelines and support in response to issues that emerge.

Applications for the approval of new TAAs for non-government schools or ECECs received by BOSTES on or after 1 January 2016 will be assessed in accordance with the TAA Guidelines.

Briefing sessions

Briefing sessions for current and prospective TAAs will be conducted in Term 4 2015 and Term 1 2016. The sessions will be held in metropolitan and regional locations across NSW. Details of the briefings will be available shortly.

Future briefing sessions will be held annually.

Further information

The TAA Guidelines are available to download from the Regulation of Teacher Accreditation Authorities section of the BOSTES website. This section also contains information about the transitional arrangements for the new regulatory process and briefing sessions for current and prospective TAAs.

For more information, contact:
Caraline Cloke
Board Inspector, Registration and Accreditation
caraline.cloke@bostes.nsw.edu.au
(02) 9367 8170