Headmaster's

Message

Regulation to Regulation

Four weeks into lockdown and two weeks into Term 3, I have just posted another video communication to our School community thanking everyone for their cooperation and encouraging us all to keep moving. Please take a look once you finish reading this article.

Quite apart from the current requirement that we comply with ever changing COVID-safety requirements, schools are immersed in a strongly regulated environment that has various annual accountabilities. In addition, every five years, each Independent school must demonstrate to the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) that it is compliant with their regulations and the suite of NSW and federal legislation to which we are subject. With our last inspection in 2016, amidst the complexities of COVID-Safety constraints, the incredible staff of this School spent the end of last year and the beginning of this preparing for another.

NESA is the formal publisher of the NSW Curriculum and the authority that accredits schools to deliver their courses in both Primary and Secondary educational settings. For this reason, NESA is very interested in the quality of each school’s curriculum and teaching practice, as well as the learning experiences of their students. NESA are also the authority that registers schools to operate and therefore give attention to a much wider range of regulatory requirements, including those that relate to the operation of any governing body (the School Board), our premises and facilities, financial management, privacy of information, and the qualifications and capabilities of teaching staff. Schools are also required to demonstrate that they provide for their staff, students and parents, a safe and supportive environment. This requires schools to have policies pertaining to enrolment, safety, student wellbeing, child protection, student attendance, student behaviour management, making complaints, appealing decisions, as well as the prevention and management of harassment. The policies relevant to parents and students of our School are available on our website. For the benefit of students and parents, I plan to write about each of these in my Pulse articles over the coming weeks.

I began corresponding with the NESA inspector in 2020, completed our Applications in March of this year, provided him with all the Evidence of Compliance he required and then greeted him at Coorah in mid-June. On the day, I made accessible a range of further documentation he required and left him to become yet more familiar with this documentation. Just prior to leaving he commended the School for the quality of many of our documents and processes and the spirit with which we participated in the inspection process. He also made a few helpful suggestions of where and how we might improve; advice that we consider an invaluable gift.

Just a few weeks later I received official letters that advised me that we have been granted another five years registration (so we can stay open) and accreditation (so we can keep teaching our students). Whilst, well planned for and wholly expected, these are outcomes that ought to be celebrated. So too should we celebrate the hardworking staff who deliver the quality of work that has been recognised by NESA. 

Well done and thank you to all!

Mr Ian Maynard

Headmaster