Modifications to a NESA syllabus
NESA may approve modifications to part of a NESA syllabus for use in a particular school as it considers necessary to enable any part of a key learning area, that appears to NESA to be incompatible with the educational philosophy or religious outlook of a registered non-government school, to be based on and taught compatibly with that educational philosophy or religious outlook.
Where a school considers that one or more of the outcomes of a NESA syllabus are incompatible with the school's educational philosophy or religious outlook for part of the school's curriculum, the school may apply to NESA to use modified outcomes for that part of the syllabus.
A school may be granted approval for the use of modified outcomes for part of a syllabus if NESA is satisfied that:
- the identified NESA outcome(s) are incompatible with the educational philosophy and/or religious outlook of the school
- the proposed modified outcome(s) are compatible with the educational philosophy and/or religious outlook of the school
- the proposed modified outcome(s) comply with the curriculum guidelines developed by NESA.
Modifications approved under this provision of the Act are not permitted to the curriculum for the Record of School Achievement or Higher School Certificate.
A registered non-government school seeking approval to use modified outcomes for part of a NESA syllabus must apply to NESA nine (9) months prior to the projected implementation date.
In the event that a recommendation is made to reject an application to approve a modification because of an inconsistency between the modification sought and the curriculum guidelines, the school may request a review of that aspect of the curriculum guidelines.
Evidence of compliance
Where NESA has approved the modification of an outcome(s) of a NESA syllabus for a particular school, the registered non-government school must maintain documentation that records:
- the specific NESA syllabus outcome(s) that have been modified
- the philosophical or religious reasons for modifying NESA syllabus outcome(s)
- the modified educational outcome(s) as approved by NESA
- how the modified outcome(s) approved by NESA comply with the curriculum guidelines developed by NESA and approved by the Minister.
In addition to the evidence of compliance required for the primary and/or secondary curriculum, the school must also maintain documentation for each calendar year of the current registration period that includes:
- how the modified outcome(s) approved by NESA are appropriate to the level of achievement and needs of the students
- timetables for each Year/class showing the allocation of time for the modified outcome(s) approved by NESA
- the overview of the school's educational program indicating where the modified outcome(s) approved by NESA occur in relation to the scope and sequence of learning/units of work in the primary and/or secondary school
- resources and equipment allocated to NESA approved modified outcome(s)
- an assessment plan indicating how student achievement of any modified outcome(s) approved by NESA are assessed, monitored and recorded.