PD provider plans on hold as NESA reviews endorsement application process

The New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) this week announced plans to review the NESA Endorsement Application process, and, as such, have paused all pending applications for endorsement until the process is completed. 

NSW Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning, Sarah Mitchell, said that from 2021 each individual course will need to demonstrate “a genuine focus on improving teaching in the classroom through best practice to receive NESA accreditation”, with the “quality of externally run professional development courses for teachers in NSW under the microscope.”

Currently, NESA only accredits providers of professional development as a collective, and does not accredit individual courses. NSW teachers must complete 100 hours of professional development over a five year period, and it is “crucial that this time is spent productively” Ms Mitchell said. 

Ms Mitchell has asked NESA to undertake an immediate review of their process for professional development provider accreditation and their courses, to ensure teachers are engaging in activities that “actually help their practice”.

“I want our teachers to be able to access the best professional development courses possible, providing them ongoing improvement in their vital role as educators for the students of NSW.”

There are 782 providers with over 42,000 active professional development courses accredited under NESA as of 23 June 2020.

The review has an aim of “reducing the number of courses on offer, while increasing the overall quality”, Ms Mitchell said. 

The review anticipates completion by the end of 2020 with the new standards to apply from 2021.

For more information, please review the full statement, here.