Progress Report on the Review of Vocational Education and Training in ACT Public Schools

Progress Report on the Review of Vocational Education and Training in ACT Public Schools and Longitudinal Study of School Leavers

August 2016

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© Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, 2016

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act1968, with the exception of reproductions for the purpose of non-government school registration processes in the ACT, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the ACT Government’s Education Directorate.

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Accessibility

The ACT Government is committed to making its information, services, events and venues, accessible to as many people as possible.

If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, such as large print, please telephone (02) 6205 9423.

If English is not your first language and you require the translating and interpreting service, please telephone 131 450.

If you would like to receive an electronic copy of this manual, or to obtain one of the required application forms, please contact the Manager of the Liaison Unit.

For further information

Manager, Liaison Unit

ACT Education Directorate

GPO Box 158

Canberra ACT 2601

Online:ACT Education Directorate Contact Form

This online web form can also be found on the Contact Us page of the Directorate’s web site:

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Introduction

In late 2014, the Council of Australian Governments’ Education Council released a new national framework for Vocational Education and Training (VET) for secondary students, Preparing Secondary Students for Work. This new national framework signalled a commitment by all states and territories to making improvements in four fundamental components of VET delivery:

• clarity of purpose
• collaboration between VET stakeholders
• confidence in the quality of VET delivered to secondary students
• the effective operation of core underpinning systems.

Drawing on the impetus of this national work, in 2015 the Education Directorate(the Directorate) commissioned the Centre for International Research on Education Systems (CIRES) from Victoria University to conduct a Review of VET in ACT Public Schools.

The review successfully identified best practice educational and resource effective approaches and proposed future directions for consideration by the Directorate to strengthen VET provision, supported by evidence.

The final CIRES report, Review of VET in ACT Public Schools, and the Directorate’s response, VET for Secondary Students in ACT Public Schools, were tabled in the ACT Legislative Assembly on 15 September 2015 and subsequently published on the Directorate’s website.

The CIRES report proposed seven future directions for the Directorate to consider regarding systems, processes, infrastructure, policy, funding mechanisms, provision planning, communication framework, capability building, and strategic partnerships. The Directorate agreed to all seven future directions in its response.

This document provides a progress report on the Directorate’s implementation of reform against future directions outlined in the Review of VET in ACT Public Schools.

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progress report on fUTURE DIRECTIONS

1. Improve clarity and confidence for key stakeholders through collaborative articulation of the goals, vision and purpose of VET for ACT secondary students.

In response to calls for greater clarity highlighted in the Review of VET in ACT Public Schools, the Directorate has worked with key stakeholders across the public and non-government school sectors, including the Catholic Education Office and the Association of Independent Schools of the ACT, to develop a vision statement for VET for secondary students across all ACT schools.

Representatives across a range of organisations and community groups were consulted in the development of this vision, including all public college principals, the Board of Senior Secondary Studies (BSSS), peak parent associations, the Canberra Business Chamber, further education providers and the Australian Education Union.

In July 2016, the Directorate published the final Vision Statement for VET for Secondary Students:

VET provides a recognised learning opportunity for ACT secondary school students to access relevant, high quality, nationally recognised qualifications that strengthen their pathways to further education and employment.

The quality and value of VET for secondary school students across the ACT is acknowledged and recognised by students, parents, employers, education and training providers and government.

The vision is now available on the Education Directorate website.

2. Improve collaboration with business, industry and vocational and further education providers, thus building the confidence of employers, students and parents.

In response to the Review, the Directorate is transitioning away from a model of all nine colleges as individual RTOs to an amalgamated approach to VET provision that builds on the existing structure of the four public school networks. As ACT public schools transition to network VET provision in 2016, the Directorate is guiding planning activity to ensure RTOs have effective industry engagement to support their operations.

A revised planning process for VET has been introduced inpublic colleges. This encourages colleges to consider scope for qualifications in ACT skills needs areas, as well as the school level courses that make up the tertiary pathways into those vocations. These are the industry areas and occupations most in demand for skilled workers in the ACT and are most likely to lead to successful transitions to employment for students.

In addition, the Directorate has established a VET Provision Plan Consultation Group to further prompt schools to consider ways to improve industry collaboration, training to meetlocal demand, teacher vocational experience and industry liaison activities. The membership of this group currently includes the Canberra Business Chamber, CIT, Skills Canberra, the BSSS,the Australian Education Union and college principals from each school network.

The VET Provision Plan Consultation Group first convened in March 2016 and will continue to provide expertise and support for schools during the planning of Network VET provision in 2016.

3. Rationalise the number of Registered Training Organisations to:

• implement a network approach to planning and provision

• reduce costs
• reduce red tape
• increase efficiency and effectiveness.

The ACT’s nine public senior secondary colleges have historically maintained individual RTO status in their own right. In response to the Review, the Directorate istransitioning to more efficient and effective models of VET delivery by amalgamating school RTO operations under existing school network structures. This is aimed at reducing administrative duplication across school sites, increasing access to VET programs for students and providing a platform for greater sharing of resources.

In November 2015, the Directorate liaised with the national regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), to gain input to this transition process and potential registration and regulatory obligations impacted by the amalgamation process.

In April 2016, the Tuggeranong school network successfully transitioned to a single RTO arrangement. The single Network RTO, ACTIVE Tuggeranong, now effectively operates as one training organisation delivering a broad range of VET opportunities to students across a consortium of school sites in the Tuggeranong school network including Erindale College, Lake Tuggeranong College, Calwell High School, Caroline Chisholm School, Lanyon High School, Namadgi School and Wanniassa School.

The learnings from the process of RTO amalgamation the Directorate has undergone with the Tuggeranong school network will guide the wider implementation of RTO amalgamation across the Belconnen, North/Gungahlin and South/Weston school networks in semester 2, 2016.

4. Improve core systems and business processes to ensure and maintain compliance with the ASQA Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015.

The Directorate is assisting schools to maintain compliance with increased regulation and the requirements of the ASQA Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015.

The transition to network based VET provision across ACT public schools in 2016 has been underpinned by a comprehensive approach to quality assurance.In November 2015, the Directorate engaged with ASQA on the approach to the Tuggeranong school network amalgamation pilot in order to identify potential issues and maintain compliance with the 2015 RTO Standards.This included compliance management processes, the amalgamation and data transfer process, and system requirements to be managed with the BSSS under the Australian Vocational Education and Training Management Information Statistical Standard.

In early 2016, the Directorate engaged an external consultant from the Centre for Learning Advice and Strategy, CIT Solutions, to facilitate VET planning sessions with each School Network. The consultant is currently providing guidance to support a risk management approach to compliance with the ASQA Standards through quality improvement processes in areas of national compliance.

5. Increase collaboration by working in partnership with CIT to explore, identify and implement strategies that support:

• maximising access to shared facilities
• broadened offerings
• refined scope
• reduced risk
• reduced costs.

In partnership with the CIT and other external RTOs, the Directorate is developing and implementing innovative models for VET for secondary students.New modes of delivery have now been established in the Tuggeranong school network as part of their amalgamated RTO operations.

These opportunities have enabled greater access to VET for students across a broader and deeper range of offerings through models including:

• Student access to CIT units and qualifications at CIT’s new Tuggeranong facility
• Greater articulation and credit transfer arrangements between BSSS accredited courses at school and nationally recognised qualifications at CIT
• Broadened course offerings through partnerships with external RTOs.

Additionally, further exploration of shared facility use is being undertaken with a view to student access to CIT units and qualifications delivered at school sites.

With the new CIT Tuggeranong opening in semester two of 2016, courses on offer will cover a range of vocations and disciplines, including business, accounting, legal, tourism, childcare, community services and information, communication technology.The Tuggeranong school network and CIT continue to maintain monthly meetings to further develop these models and address any challenges to co-delivery as they arise.

These new models of delivery with CIT and other external RTOs will be further explored as the Belconnen, North/Gungahlin and South/Weston school networks move to network VET provision in semester two, 2016. Consideration of the expansion of existing successful relationships with external RTOs will also be explored.

6. Investigate the core system interface with the BSSS related to data processes, course recognition and certification.

The BSSS is the statutory authority responsible for the certification of senior secondary school studies and management of VET data across all sectors of ACT school settings. The BSSS has historically undertaken a number of certification, reporting and records management functions on behalf of both government and non-government college RTOs. As such, the BSSS has been a key partner of the Directorate in implementing to VET delivery through amalgamated RTOs.This partnership has been strengthened by the involvement of the Director of the Office of the BSSS in the VET Directions Implementation Steering Committee and representation from the Office of the BSSS on the VET Provision Plan Consultation Group.

From late 2015 to early 2016, the BSSS progressed a significant upgrade to the ACT Certification System(ACS) to enable the transition from school-based RTOs to amalgamated school network RTO arrangements.Throughout semester 1 of 2016, the BSSS regularly provided input to the Directorate’s communication to schools, providing school-based personnel with updates on the implementation of these core systems improvements.

In April 2016, this upgrade to the ACS was successfully released to coincide with the transition to amalgamated RTO provision in the Tuggeranong school network.Furthermore, this upgrade provides all the enabling systems capability required for the Belconnen, North/Gungahlin and South/Weston school networks to transition to amalgamated VET provision in semester two of 2016.

7. Explore options for the use of resourcing allocations to further enable access to quality provision through:

• reviewing existing funding distribution arrangements
• implementing flexible network provision
• accessing centralised procurement
• incentivising preferred policy outcomes.

The Directorate’s reform of VET for secondary students is being implemented to ensure schools are adequately supported to adapt to new models of VET provision that continue to be sustainably resourced into the future.

The Directorate has directed temporary additional resources to support this implementation activity through project management support, quality assurance expertise and planning facilitation.

In 2016, in consultation with public college principals, the Directorate will commence reviewing existing funding distribution arrangements for VET in ACT public secondary schools. The review willbe focused on sustainable resourcing for schools to support growth and innovation in the future model of VET for secondary students. This work will be progressed during the remainder of 2016.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In 2015 the Education Directorate conducted the annual survey of 2014 ACT year 12 graduates and school leavers (approximately 6 months after leaving school) and the longitudinal survey of 2013 year 12 graduates and school leavers (approximately 18 months after leaving school). The key results from these two surveys are showcased in a report, ACTpost school destinations and pathways in 2015.

The report shows that more than 90 per cent of young people in the ACT who completed an ACT Year 12 certificate in 2014 were employed and/or undertaking further study in 2015. The report also shows that the percentage of 2013 year 12 graduates studying has increased from 60 per cent in 2014 to 76 per cent in 2015. The survey also found that 86 per cent of the 2013 year 12 graduates who deferred university in 2014 were attending university in 2015.

The report will be released on the Education Directorate’s website shortly.

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