Special Education Needs
Supporting teachers of students with special education needs
Years 7-10
School Certificate Requirements(MS PowerPoint; 508KB)
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School Certificate Credentials and the Profile of Student Achievement
Introduction
Students who undertake Life Skills outcomes and content and satisfactorily complete all mandatory School Certificate courses are eligible for the following credentials:
- the School Certificate testamur
- the School Certificate Record of Achievement
- a Profile of Student Achievement.
To view a sample School Certificate Credential, including a Record of Achievement for a student undertaking courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content, click on the link below.
www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/schoolcertificate/sc_portfolio/sc_portfolio.html
Profile of Student Achievement
The Profile of Student Achievement provides details of the specific syllabus outcomes achieved by a student undertaking one or more courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content. The school records these outcomes at the time of the collection of School Certificate grades. The Profile of Student Achievement is intended to be a permanent record of all the syllabus outcomes achieved by a student undertaking Life Skills outcomes and content in one or more courses in Years 9 and 10.
The school records the outcomes achieved by the student via Schools Online and generates a Profile of Student Achievement. Students may achieve outcomes independently or with support.
The school will generate the Profile of Student Achievement and issue it to the student before the end of Year 10.
Record of Achievement
Courses studied in Years 9 and 10 for which the student has met the course completion criteria are reported on the Record of Achievement as 'Completed'. This includes any additional or elective courses studied by the student.
All students must be entered for the mandatory curriculum requirements to be eligible for the School Certificate. The mandatory curriculum requirements listed on the Record of Achievement for all students are Languages, Technology, Music, Visual Arts and Personal Development, Health and Physical Education. It would normally be the case that the mandatory curriculum requirements of Languages, Technology, Music and Visual Arts are met by students in Years 7 and 8.
How is the Profile produced?
A Profile of Student Achievement is generated by the school for each student enrolled in one or more courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content in Years 9 and 10. The Profile is generated through Schools Online using the Life Skills outcomes recorded by the school as achieved at the time of entry of School Certificate grades.
For all courses recorded as completed on the Record of Achievement, students will have achieved outcomes that are to be reported on the Profile of Student Achievement. The Profile should provide the most complete picture of the student's achievement at the end of Stage 5. For this reason schools may record outcomes achieved in Years 7 and 8 for courses that are further studied in Years 9 and 10.
Where students have achieved outcomes drawn from additional syllabuses to supplement courses on the Record of Achievement, these should also be recorded and appear on the Profile of Student Achievement.
When entering outcomes for the Profile of Student Achievement, schools should:
- select the outcomes achieved from the syllabus for each course undertaken based on Life Skills outcomes and content
- select any outcomes achieved from additional syllabuses
- for each outcome achieved, indicate whether the outcome was achieved independently or with support.
Schools select the relevant option in 'My Reports' on Schools Online to generate the Profile of Student Achievement.
The school principal will verify the Profile of Student Achievement as a true and accurate record of learning outcomes demonstrated by the end of Stage 5.
Life Skills outcomes worksheets
The Life Skills outcomes worksheets have been provided to assist schools in collecting information on the Life Skills outcomes that a student has achieved before recording them in Schools Online.
Personalised worksheets are available on Schools Online for each student, listing the outcomes for the courses based on Life Skills outcomes for which they are entered. Worksheets listing the Life Skills outcomes for each Years 7-10 syllabus are also available, with the Years 7-10 syllabus support documents.
The worksheets have five columns:
- Syllabus Outcomes
- Achieved Independently
- Achieved with Support
- Date
- Signature.
The Syllabus Outcomes column lists each of the Life Skills outcomes contained in the syllabus.
If students achieve a syllabus outcome independently, teachers should indicate this in the Achieved Independently column next to the outcome.
Where a student demonstrates achievement of an outcome with support, the appropriate teacher(s) should indicate this on the worksheet in the Achieved with Support column. The teacher may wish to keep a record of the types of support necessary for the student to demonstrate achievement of the outcomes. Examples of the types of support that may be recorded are:
- verbal, visual and/or physical prompts and/or physical assistance
- adjustments to the environment based on the student's specific needs
- technological aids.
The columns titled Date and Signature are provided for teachers to date and verify when a student achieves outcomes independently and with support.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What is the limit of outcomes that can be entered for a student undertaking a course based on Life Skills outcomes and content?
- A: There is no limit. Schools should enter all the outcomes the student has achieved in courses studied in Years 9 and 10.
- Q: How would the study of Italian based on Life Skills outcomes and content in Year 8 be recorded for the School Certificate?
- A: As with all students, the study of Italian in Year 8 meets the mandatory curriculum requirement for the study of a language. The mandatory curriculum requirement of Languages will appear as 'Completed' on the Record of Achievement. Outcomes would not be recorded on the Profile of Student Achievement as the course was studied in Year 8, but not in Years 9 and 10.
- Q: The student has been undertaking Life Skills outcomes and content for English since Year 7. The student demonstrated the achievement of some of the English outcomes in Years 7 and 8. Should these be entered on the Profile of Student Achievement?
- A: Yes, outcomes achieved for courses studied in Years 9 and 10 should be recorded regardless of when they were achieved. The Profile should give the most complete picture of outcomes demonstrated for courses studied in Years 9 and 10.
- Q: The Mathematics program for a particular student in Year 10 was supplemented with some outcomes from the Commerce syllabus for a unit of work on money. The student has achieved two outcomes from the Commerce syllabus. Should these be recorded on the Profile of Student Achievement?
- A: Yes, these should be recorded, and should appear under the heading 'Commerce' on the Profile of Student Achievement.
- Q: A student is studying a combination of courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content and courses based on regular outcomes and content. How is this recorded on the Profile of Student Achievement?
- A: Only outcomes achieved for the courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content are recorded on the Profile of Student Achievement. The other courses will be reported with a grade on the Record of Achievement.
- Q: Can a student be entered for both Science and Science based on Life Skills outcomes and content?
- A: No, where a student is entered for a course based on Life Skills outcomes and content from one or more syllabuses, the student cannot be entered for any other courses drawn from the same syllabus(es).