Advice for applicants regarding documentation

A sample of the educational program you have delivered showing examples of teaching activities and records of progress and achievement

The purpose of this is to show what your child has been learning in each of the six key learning areas (KLAs).

The kind of samples you can provide are:

• a timetable your child may have followed
• a sample from a daily or weekly diary
• a list of the textbooks/resources you have been using in each KLA
• annotated copies of textbook content pages showing which activities have been completed
• a sample of a weekly/monthly overview dated and annotated
• any records you have kept of tests or student work.

An overview of the curriculum you will be providing in the next period of registration for each key learning area

You need to give a broad overview of what you are intending to cover in each of the KLAs. You can do this for the whole two years or just for the first six months or year.

The easiest way is to provide a ‘scope and sequence’ of no more than one page for each KLA that shows:

• the ‘units of work’ or topics you will be covering, eg in HSIE you may be doing a topic called ‘Explorers’ for six weeks. You can base these on the chapters or sections of the main textbook you will be using
• the sequence (order in which the units/topics/textbook will be taught)
• the outcomes from Board syllabuses that you will focus on in each unit/topic/section of the text
• the main texts and resources you will be using.

The period of time that the above overview covers

A sample of a timetable, diary or weekly planner to show how time will be allocated to cover the program.

A description of the methods used for recording learning activities and experiences

This should be a brief description of the ways you intend to record what you have been teaching, eg a diary, annotated contents pages from texts, dated work samples, weekly/monthly planner.

This may be the same as you are already doing. If so, you can refer to any samples you may have provided with the documentation for your current program.

A description of how learning is assessed and how progress and achievement are recorded

This should be a brief description of the ways you intend to record the progress of your child, eg you may intend to use:

• observation reports
• work samples
• comparison of your child’s work with ARC work samples
• a portfolio with samples of your child’s work over time
• a 10-week/semester report on progress in each KLA.

Again, this may be the same as you have already been doing.

Description of key resources in each learning area

Describe the typical resources you’ll use for each KLA, eg textbooks for Mathematics and Science, texts to be read/studied in English, web-based resources, local area resources, excursions, etc.

Summary

You do not need to provide a lot of detail. Most things you send in will be similar to what you would have ready if an Authorised Person were to visit. The documentation is mostly in the form of samples to show that you are organised and have a plan for the next period of registration. A guide to ‘how much is enough’ is that all your documentation should be able to fit into a single A4 envelope. If possible, emailed images of scanned documents, timetables, photographs, etc, are recommended. Email to: <homeeducation@bos.nsw.edu.au>.