To be eligible for a Beyond the Line school visit study tour, applicants must be:

• a second or third-year initial teacher education undergraduate at a NSW university

• a domestic student or permanent resident

• able to satisfactorily meet performance/conduct probity requirements/prerequisites

Participating teacher education students are selected on the basis of subject area, year of completion of study, and being willing and/or interested in non-coastal rural teaching and committed to a public education career. The selection process will consider staffing priorities (eg, prioritise applicants studying in subject areas of high demand, including technological and applied studies, mathematics and science). Steps involve:

1. Applicant applies online and provides information and documents:

• Personal details: incl name, personal email, mobile phone

• University details: incl student ID number, Uni email, course information

• Prerequisites: WWCC, Anaphylaxis, Child Protection training.
  
• ?Health declaration? Pre-Employment Health Declaration (nsw.gov.au)????

2. DoE team does due diligence checks: WWCC, EPAC, Health Dec (Uni check)

3. DoE team sends a list of applicants to respective university (via Professional Experience Coordinator or similar role) to advise numbers and seek advice if need to reconsider any student (eg concerns about demonstrating satisfactory performance in their study, or personal / professional suitability to participate).

4. Selection occurs and participants are notified. Participants will then provide:

• Confirmation they have completed anaphylaxis e-learning training and child protection training (see through the ASCIA website and print copy of certificate?).

• Signed authority to publish form

• University student travel card number / information

• Emergency contact and any dietary requirement information

• Direct deposit form (for deposit of meal allowance)

The visit will be conducted in accordance with the WH&S act, which notes that everyone has a duty of care, a responsibility, to make sure that they and other people are safe in the workplace. Instruction and supervision will be provided as required.

Costs. Costs for transport, accommodation and school visits will be covered by the DoE.

Meals. Participants will be provided with breakfast lunch and dinner for each day they are on the tour, with the exception of day 5, dinner will not be provided as the coach will return to Parramatta state office at 5pm. Any additional expenditure will need to be covered by the participant.

Transport. Coaches, when necessary, will be selected with their risk management plan being one of the considerations. Risks and incidents that occur associated with the transport will be referred back to the provider.

Accommodation. Accommodation will be selected with reference to reasonable amenities. Room allocations will be organised on a shared basis. Participants are responsible for bringing their own extra personal items as required (eg, toiletries, medication). Risks and incidents that occur associated with accommodation will be referred back to the provider.

Health. Risks and incidents that occur with regard to participant health will be managed through local healthcare.

School visits. School inductions will occur as appropriate. Risks and incidents that occur during school hours and on school grounds will be covered through the individual school’s risk management plan.

Participants are not on a practicum – their role is observation and general classroom assistance. Consequently participants do not need to bring teaching resources, but a lesson or two may come in handy. Note: Some schools will provide a scheduled daily school experience and others will be more flexible. If there are classes/activities participants would like to participate in or observe, they should discuss with the mentor teacher in an appropriate way and at an appropriate time.

General. Participants accept certain responsibilities, including that they will:

• notify in writing the Beyond the Line team (and their University’s Professional Experience Coordinator as required) of changes to their availability by supplying a reason and supporting evidence such as a medical certificate – being mindful that cancellations create a costly inconvenience for all stakeholders involved.

• engage in conduct throughout the experience that is consistent with a professional approach and the DoE’s Code of Conduct

• act ethically and responsibly at all times

• be accountable for their actions and decisions, and be responsible for their own health and safety, particularly outside of school visit hours.

• follow reasonable instructions given by the BTL Coordinator and/or other DoE staff members

• be courteous and responsive in dealings with co-participants, DoE staff members and members of the public

• work collaboratively and harmoniously with participants on the program

• be mindful of the safety of self and others and the protection of school students

• not undertake any illegal or unsafe actions, including illegal and/or unsafe use of drugs

• not consume alcohol on DoE premises at any time, nor during working or travelling hours, nor in excess at any other time while on the BTL program. Consumption of alcohol is at participant discretion. School community visits are a DoE initiative and as a potential future employee, participants should consider the possibility of a negative reflection if their conduct is inappropriate.

• not smoke in any DoE buildings, enclosed areas or on DoE grounds. This includes all buildings, gardens, sports fields, car parks and transport.

• consider that dangerous activities during the visit will be at the participant’s discretion and liability. When possible participants should minimise involvement in these activities. For example: canoeing, horseback riding, shooting, riding and operating heavy machinery such as tractors, riding quadbikes etc.

• be mindful that participants should dress neatly and professionally, with the expected dress code being smart casual, e.g. males – collared shirt.

Accommodation. Participants accept responsibilities regarding accommodation:

• No other participants or facilitators are to enter another room without the expressed permission of the room occupants. The exception to this is when, but not limited to: Emergency situations; Inspection of rooms; or Complaints received by the facilitator which requires immediate action.

• All in-room expenses including damage to property will be the responsibility of the occupants and expenses incurred in addition to the overnight stay covered by the DoE will be paid for by the occupant/s before check-out. This is not negotiable. Eg: Bar charges; Breakfast (if explicitly advised by the facilitator that it is not included in the accommodation arrangements); Charge back facilities from local vendors; Telephone charges; Entertainment/ television charges; Internet/ Wi-Fi charges.

• If, after check-out, the accommodation provider reports damage to their property suspected to be caused by the occupant/s, this will not be covered by the DoE. The occupant/s contact details will be provided to the accommodation provider for their further action.

Feedback and social media. The program values participant observations and insights during the immersion in rural schools and lifestyles. Participants must use social media responsibly and must not post/upload messages that are in any way harassing, defamatory, threatening, abusive or obscene, or could otherwise cause upset to others involved in the program, or to any staff member or member of the community in line with the DoE social media policy. Participants are to use social media in a positive way to outline positive experiences, which may then be used to assist in attracting future BTL participants. Participants will:

• Ensure there are no images of students, teachers, parents without their specific written permission – school policy can be checked with host principal.

• Choose self-shots and scenes that best represent their experience.

• Remember they are valued guests in the school community, and as such, should be positive and highlight strengths, avoiding negativity

• Consider (before uploading) that photos, videos and comments will be public, and will be shared, linked, retweeted and recorded for posterity.

• Remember to be creative, and that quality always trumps quantity.

Participants will help create a BTL digital community – which aims to connect participants in every host school during the week, connect host schools with other schools and Teach NSW friends across NSW, and connect with university colleagues, friends, and families through social media. Participants will thoughtfully and creatively share their experience and learning via a public photo or video diary linked to Teach NSW’s social media platforms, as follows:

• Choose a social media platform to deliver their positive message: facebook.com/teachnsw, twitter.com/teachnsw, instagram.com/teachnsw, teachnsw.tumblr.com and/or personal blog

• Choose to create and upload as an individual or as a school group … or both

• Share their new experiences, learning, insights, attitude change, fun and excitement and tag or mention #Teachnsw

• Like, follow or share daily

Other feedback requirements include:

• Complete evaluation and hand to school coordinator or principal prior to departure.

• Consider the program-provided observation questions during school visits.

• Attend presentation evening.

• Develop/provide an optional short group participant presentation to the host school prior to departure, outlining observations and learning. This would be creative – using drama, media, poems or whatever else communicates a positive message about the school and its community – and would be arranged with the local school coordinator or principal as a valued thank you gift.

General. Host schools will:

• Facilitate school activities and extra-curricular social activities as appropriate to help provide a snapshot of teaching and community life in a rural and remote school, and to promote employment and lifestyle opportunities available to early career teachers.

• Provide participants with the opportunity to engage in professional conversations with executive and staff, observe a range of classes, support teaching in the classroom, and undertake daily school duties.

• Be responsible, where needed, for transporting participants to/from school if required and some after school activities. Where more than one school is hosting participants in a town, joint or merged social activities may assist in sharing the load.

• Engage as desired in social media activity to support the program.

• Request up to one relief day per visit toward a coordinating teacher (and submit other expense claims not to exceed the maximum allowed).

• Complete an evaluation form.

Visit structure. Host schools should ideally identify a teacher to coordinate all aspects of the short visit and ensure staff members are informed about the program, the structure of which might include:

• On arrival: Teacher education students are met in the school foyer by the principal, coordinating teacher and/or student ambassadors. Site induction provided.

• Briefing or structured presentation: The principal, executive or coordinating teacher may provide an overview of the school which could include: socio-economic and cultural backgrounds of the school community; school class/grade/faculty structure; student and school achievements; communication structures within the school and with the wider school community; student welfare or pastoral care programs; available resources; professional development; benefits and incentives; opportunities in the school for casual and temporary employment.

• Professional dialogue: Visits are enhanced when students have the opportunity to talk with teachers about experiences of teaching in a rural location, their backgrounds, country lifestyle in general, and employment opportunities/benefits. This could occur during a morning/afternoon tea or lunch/dinner event with staff.

• School tour and observation of classes. This may occur through arranging a mentor teacher for each student (students will spend time with the mentor teacher in classrooms) to host and help students during their visit.

Host school Emergency and Incident reporting procedures. These are to be employed by schools if an emergency, accident or incident occurs in connection with BTL.

• The NSW Department of Education has Emergency Management Guidelines and an Incident Reporting Policy to indicate what schools and their staff should do if a serious accident or illness or death should occur on site or on an excursion. https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/adminandmanage/ohands/safeworklearn/index.htm

• When an emergency or serious incident occurs, contact local emergency services, such as police or ambulance on Triple-0, as a matter of priority.

• Principals report the incident in accordance with the DoE’s Incident Reporting Policy.

• Call the WHS Directorate for a serious WorkCover Notifiable Incident or the Incident Hotline for any injuries or hazards that have arisen from an identifiable hazard.

• Incident Notification Hotline: Phone: 1800 811 523 within 24 hours to report an injury or hazard. Paper based non-employee incident or injury notification forms are accessible on the internet if a hotline report cannot be made.

• School staff (e.g. mentor teachers, billet hosts) should report the incident as a matter of priority to School Principal, who is responsible for implementing the DoE’s Incident Reporting Policy.

The B&P team will:

• Develop and coordinate the Beyond the Line program including facilitating program and participant logistics such as the below:

  1. manage the application and selection processes

  2. liaise with rural & remote schools to arrange visit locations.

  3. liaise with Universities (eg, via Professional Experience Coordinators) to promote the program, provide advice to their students regarding participation, and provide applicant endorsements as necessary.

  4. ensure the program content is appropriate to WH&S and travel policy guidelines.

• Strategise and implement promotional activity for the program including:

  1. Updating program page content

  2. implementing paid digital campaign

  3. promoting the program across Teach NSW organic channels