More than 42,000 professional development courses for NSW teachers will be scrapped under a major shake-up of teacher training across the state.
Announcing the overhaul, NSW Education Minister, Sarah Mitchell, said the Department is “starting with a clean slate” to ensure greater quality and value of courses accredited by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) from 2021.
“Teachers should know that the courses they are taking are the best available, helping them to enhance their teaching practice to benefit our students’ education,” Mitchell said.
The move follows a review by NESA into the process for endorsing professional development providers and their courses.
Mitchell said that while NESA will still require teachers to do 100 hours of professional development for over five years to maintain their accreditation, 50 hours of these courses will now be undertaken in priority areas. The other 50 will need to meet an approved list of elective areas.
“As part of this overhaul, NESA will mandate priority areas of professional development teachers must undertake in Curriculum Delivery and Assessment, Mental Health, Disability, and Aboriginal education," Mitchell said.
"Teachers do an outstanding job when it comes to professional development, many completing more than double the required hours”.
Mitchell said the change is aimed at ensuring everything on offer is of a standard that will benefit them and their students in areas where additional support is needed.
"We will be the first jurisdiction in the country to mandate professional development for all teachers in supporting students with disability, managing mental health and education for Aboriginal students”.