Accreditation

Timeframe

All teachers accredited at Proficient Teacher career stage are required to maintain their accreditation in cycles of:

• 5 years for teachers employed in full-time roles; or
  
• 7 years for teachers employed in casual or part-time roles.

Required professional development

During the proficient maintenance cycle teachers must meet the maintenance requirements:

• demonstrate that their teaching practice continues to meet all of the Standards
  
• complete and evaluate 100 hours of professional development
  
• plan, implement and review their PDP annually with the support of their supervisor
  
• pay their accreditation fee by the due date each year
  
• hold a current verified NSW Working with Children Check (WWCC) clearance
  
• meet with their Teacher Accreditation Authority (TAA) within the last three months of the accreditation cycle to ensure sufficient time for them to review their maintenance requirements and make an accreditation decision prior to the due date
  
• confirm in eTAMS that they have maintained their practice at proficient and completed all requirements.
  

It is important to maintain your professional development hours and ensure your accreditation remains current in order to teach in any NSW school. For information on how to apply for reaccreditation, visit NESA’s website.

Timeframe

Teachers accredited at the Highly Accomplished teacher stage, who are full-time, maintain accreditation in 5 year cycles.

Part-time and casual teachers have 7 year cycles to maintain their accreditation.

NESA Maintenance of Teacher Accreditation Policy (2018), Section 5.

Required professional development

Teachers complete 100 hours of professional development at or above Highly Accomplished including:

• a minimum of 20 hours of NESA Accredited Professional Development at Highly Accomplished and Lead
• Elective Professional Development
• a minimum of 20 hours of professional commitment activities that support the professional development and practice of colleagues, such as: mentoring teachers, supervising teacher education students, provisional/conditional teachers or proficient teachers, leading professional development, developing and implementing projects and writing for publications.

NESA Maintenance of Teacher Accreditation Policy (2018) Section 4.2.

Finalising maintenance of accreditation

To maintain accreditation teachers must:

• demonstrate that their practice meets the Standards at Highly Accomplished
• undertake applicable professional development requirements
• pay the annual NESA accreditation fee
• hold a current NSW Working With Children Check (WWCC) clearance.

To maintain accreditation, Highly Accomplished teachers must be engaged in the delivery of curriculum and assessment.

In the final 3 months of each maintenance cycle:

• Highly Accomplished teachers complete and submit the NESA Maintenance of Accreditation Report in their NESA online account
• the principal and director verify whether the teacher's report accurately reflects their practice and if their performance is satisfactory.

NESA Maintenance of Teacher Accreditation Policy (2018): Section 4 - 4.1.2.

Timeframe

Teachers accredited at the Lead teacher stage, who are full-time, maintain accreditation in 5 year cycles.

Part-time and casual teachers have 7 year cycles to maintain their accreditation.

NESA Maintenance of Teacher Accreditation Policy (2018), Section 5.

Required professional development

Teachers complete 100 hours of professional development at Lead Teacher including:

• a minimum of 20 hours of NESA Accredited Professional Development at Lead
• Elective Professional Development
• a minimum of 20 hours of professional commitment activities that support the professional development and practice of colleagues, such as: mentoring teachers, supervising teacher education students, provisional/conditional teachers or proficient teachers, leading professional development, developing and implementing projects and writing for publications.

NESA Maintenance of Teacher Accreditation Policy (2018) Section 4.2.

Finalising maintenance of accreditation

To maintain accreditation teachers must:

• demonstrate that their practice meets the Standards at Lead
• undertake applicable professional development requirements
• pay the annual NESA accreditation fee
• hold a current NSW Working With Children Check (WWCC) clearance.

To maintain accreditation, Lead teachers must be engaged in the delivery of curriculum and assessment.

In the final 3 months of each maintenance cycle:

• Lead teachers complete and submit the NESA Maintenance of Accreditation Report in their NESA online account
• the principal and director verify whether the teacher's report accurately reflects their practice and if their performance is satisfactory.

NESA Maintenance of Teacher Accreditation Policy (2018): Section 4 - 4.1.2.

The Teacher Accreditation Authority (TAA) is responsible for deciding whether or not a teacher meets the requirements for mandatory accreditation.

• The TAA for teachers is the principal.
  

• The TAA for principals is the Director, Educational Leadership.
  

• Please contact the accreditation support team for advice on the TAA for Non-School Based Teachers (NSBTs) accreditation@det.nsw.edu.au.
  

For more information to support TAAs, refer to section 4, 5, 6 of NESA’s Maintenance of Teacher Accreditation Policy and NESA’s TAA Accreditation Decision Guide.

If you take leave from teaching, it is recommended you apply to NESA for a leave of absence from accreditation. A leave of absence can be granted for a period of 6 months up to 5 years.

For current or future leave you can apply through eTAMS. For past leave, a retrospective leave of absence application needs to be submitted via email to NESA – Retrospective NESA Leave of Absence application.

Some examples of when you might like to apply for a leave of absence from accreditation may include:

• maternity leave
  
• long-term sick leave
  
• extended leave (previously long service leave).
  

Whilst on a leave of absence you can continue to accrue any PD hours undertaken, provided they align to the Standards and meet NESA’s criteria for elective PD. Evaluated PD hours will count towards your current maintenance period.

You cannot teach in any NSW school or early childhood service while on a leave of absence and you do not pay annual fees.

You will need to complete and evaluate 100 hours of PD during each maintenance cycle:

• NESA Accredited PD – minimum 50 hours
  This includes any course delivered through an endorsed provider across NESA’s identified priority areas and aligned to the Standards. You must evaluate the course in your NESA eTAMS account.
  

• Elective PD – 50 hours
  This may include activities completed in or outside your school that contribute to your ongoing professional learning, such as educational leadership or mentoring. PD must meet NESA Elective PD criteria.

Two methods for logging Elective PD

Self-identified Elective PD

1. Log in to your NESA eTAMS account.
2. Select from the left-hand menu Maintenance of Accreditation > Elective PD > Add Elective PD.
3. Provide activity details.
4. Select Add Elective Activity.

MyPL PD

1. Log in to your NESA eTAMS account.
2. Select from the left-hand menu Maintenance of Accreditation > Elective PD.
3. Select any PD activity currently in draft status.
4. Follow the prompts to log activity.
5. Select Add Elective Activity.

For support evaluating PD, visit NESA's website.

It is important to maintain your professional development hours and ensure your accreditation remains current in order to teach in any NSW school. For information on how to apply for reaccreditation, visit NESA’s website.