Teacher accreditation requirements in NSW overhauled, five-year sign-off scrapped

From November, teachers in all NSW schools will no longer need to prove their worth every five years. See why the government has abolished the sign-off.

School principals have hailed the NSW government’s decision to scrap an “onerous” accreditation requirement for teachers amid an ongoing campaign to reduce paperwork and stem the tide of resignations.

Currently, teachers need to be signed off by their principal every five years as having met the NSW Education Standards Authority’s (NESA) requirements to be registered as a “proficient” teacher, but from November the rule will be abolished.

Teachers will still be required to complete 100 hours of professional development every five years.

Education Minister Prue Car said the paperwork and evidence of their competence teachers needed to produce to get their sign-off was “an onerous, offensive process” that isn’t necessary to maintain high standards.

Education Minister Prue Car and NESA CEO Paul Martin announce the changes to teacher accreditation at the University of Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

“Everywhere I go I am told by teachers that one of the main reasons they are considering leaving or … have left is because of the admin burden that has been placed on teachers and principals over the years,” she said.

“We came to government with a commitment to slash this, and this is a significant step in the right direction.”

NSW Secondary Principals’ Council president Craig Peterson also described the current system as “onerous, and in some cases confusing” for teachers and principals alike, and welcomed the change.

“There’s something like 49 different standards that teachers have to meet, and teachers would need to have evidence to prove they’re meeting all of them.

“It’s a significant reduction in workload, but it doesn’t reduce the rigour.”

Mr Peterson said there’s still work to be done to reduce accreditation policies that “haven’t added value” for teachers or their students, and noted if principals have concerns about a teachers’ performance, they take action long before NESA’s ‘maintenance period’ runs out.

“Whilst the concept of an accreditation process is admirable and the intentions are good, the reality is that … it hasn’t significantly increased the quality of teaching,” he said.

“It is quite appropriate that NESA takes this step to streamline the workload.”

NESA CEO Paul Martin was confident the mandatory hours of professional development alone will ensure educators are staying up to date and up to scratch.

“Teachers prove their worth every single day,” he said.

“They don’t need to do it again with an additional practice at the end of five years.”

The Education Minister has pledged to continue finding ways to cut unnecessary red tape from teachers’ daily lives. Earlier this year, the government announced it would fund 400 more administrative staff in schools to take the burden off educators, and the rollout of new curriculums has also been delayed.

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