BOSTES 12/16

Who needs to read this notice:
Principals and proprietors of non-government schools
Authorised delegates of TAAs for non-government schools

Effective: Immediately

From Friday 1 January 2016, BOSTES commenced implementation of a new regulatory framework for approving Teacher Accreditation Authorities (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.

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

Current TAAs will transition to the new regulatory process so as to align with the registration cycle of the TAA’s school(s) under the Education Act.

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

The deadline for submission of applications for TAA approval is Thursday 31 March 2016 for:

• renewal of approval as a TAA – for current TAAs of non-government schools with registration periods that expire at the end of 2016
• initial approval as a TAA – for new TAAs of proposed new non-government schools seeking to commence operation in 2017.

The requirements and processes for approval as a TAA under the TA Act are detailed in the Guidelines for the Regulation of Teacher Accreditation Authorities for Non-Government Schools and Early Childhood Education Centres (‘the TAA Guidelines’).

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 a self-audit proforma checklist that TAAs may find helpful in planning for renewal of TAA approval.

Online application forms for TAA approval are available on RANGS Online. Contact the School Registration and Accreditation Standards Directorate on (02) 9367 8432 if you need help to access RANGS Online.

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