Cairns School of Distance Education 2018 School-Based Handbook 1
2018 Handbook School-Based Learners Contact Information Address: 26-62 Hoare Street, Manunda, Cairns Qld 4870 Postal Address: PO Box 7092, Cairns Qld 4870 Phone: 07 4080 9111 Fax: 07 4080 9100 Email: admin@cairnssde.eq.edu.au www.cairnssde.eq.edu.au Disclaimer statement Information contained in this handbook is correct at the time of printing. Any updates to this information will be available on the Cairns School of Distance Education website. 2
Principal s Welcome The Cairns School of Distance Education has been providing education to families in Far North Queensland since 28 August 1972. As well as servicing our traditional and continuing client base, we also support students at Queensland Government and non-government school offering subjects to supplement core provision. For example, we offer language courses in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Indonesian and Japanese. By making these courses available, we are often able to help when students transfer between schools where available subjects differ, or where a specific subject will be of benefit for a student s future vocational pathway. Cairns School of Distance Education is proud of the teaching and learning programs that we provide. Our curriculum is at a national standard through the development of the Australian Curriculum learning materials for English, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography. We have a focus on the holistic development of our students through our wellbeing strategy. Our staff members are highly trained professionals who deliver an outstanding service to our students and home tutors. Our vision is to ensure that we provide individualised, flexible and dynamic support to students. Our method of teaching and learning allows for a unique learning experience. Our actions are underpinned by our core values: productive partnerships wellbeing open communication field services flexible, individualised learning high expectations Our explicit improvement agenda focuses our attention on the following: high quality teaching and learning knowledgeable and high performing teams quality learning relationships learning spaces for 21st Century Welcome to Cairns School of Distance Education. I trust that you will be able to find the details and information that you require. Kind regards Andrew Oliver Principal 3
Contents Contact Information... 2 Principal s Welcome... 3 What is a School-Based enrolment... 5 Enrolment eligibility... 5 How to enrol... 5 Finalising an enrolment... 5 The role of the base school... 6 Supervising Teacher... 6 School Visits... 6 Attendance... 7 Submission of work... 7 Assessment... 7 Assessment Policy... 7-10 QCAA Student Data Capture System... 11 Reports... 11 Loss or Damage of Returnable School Resources... 11 Fees and charges... 12 Subjects offered... 13 Vocational Education & Training (VET)... 14 Forms Nomination of Exam Supervisor Form... 15 Application for Assessment Extension... 16 Application for Special Provision... 17 Application to Revisit an Assessment Task... 18 4
What is a School-Based enrolment Cairns School of Distance Education (Cairns SDE) offers courses that are flexible, high quality and focused on the needs of students who are enrolled full time at Queensland Government and non- Government schools and who wish to study subject/s they are unable to study at their base school. Enrolment eligibility A school-based student may be enrolled in subjects with Cairns SDE if one of the criteria listed below is met. The criteria are: a subject not offered by a student s base school is a pre-requisite to a future course of study or vocation a student has transferred to a school where a previously studied subject is not offered or cannot be undertaken because of a timetable clash, preventing the student from pursuing a recommended pathway to meet their educational goal The subject is offered by the base school, but the student is unable to access it as a result of a timetable clash. Schools considering enrolling students at Cairns SDE should be aware of the following: Cairns SDE does not pay return postage for work completed by school-based students (except for students at other schools of distance education) Students are required to keep in regular contact with their teachers at Cairns SDE. Phone contact should be initiated by the base school (except for students at other schools of distance education). Resources will be supplied by Cairns SDE, however these are the responsibility of the base school to return when the student finalises. How to enrol School-based student enrolments must be at the request of the base school Principal. If enrolling more than one student into a subject, the bulk enrolment form for class groups can be used. Completed enrolment forms should be emailed to enrolments@cairnssde.eq.edu.au or faxed to 07 4080 9100. Finalising an enrolment School-based students may not finalise their enrolment with Cairns SDE without the approval of their Principal. Parents should address any requests for finalisation to the Principal of the student s base school. The base school Principal is required to advise Cairns SDE in writing if a student is finalising in a subject. 5
The role of the base school Students at the base school need to have a supervising teacher who acts as a contact between Cairns SDE and the base school. It is necessary that the following are provided by the base school: a supervising teacher to assist the student/s with their work and ensure that they attend phone/collaborate lessons at the arranged time/s a quiet place to study access to a school phone and computer for student/s and supervising teacher contact with the Cairns SDE teacher co-ordination of regular contact between the student/s, the supervising teacher and the Cairns SDE teacher ensure that completed work is returned to Cairns SDE. A record of mailing should be kept by the base school. Supervising Teacher The supervising teacher does not need to have any knowledge of the subject for which a student is enrolled. The role of the supervising teacher is to provide support and encouragement and should include some or all of the following: facilitate school phone contact between the student/s and supervising teacher with the Cairns SDE teacher check materials received from Cairns SDE with the student/s and supervise the dispatch of completed work ensure that work is returned on a regular basis. A Work Rate Calendar for each subject is provided by the Cairns SDE teacher. The Work Rate Calendar enables students to organise their study program and to monitor progress and completion of the required work provide or arrange necessary supervision for summative assessment encourage the student/s to access the Cairns SDE library. The student/s should also make use of the local school library ensure that the student/s is prepared for lessons and has the correct materials. School Visits During the year, Cairns SDE staff may visit school-based students to discuss areas such as communication with the school, delivery of materials, organisation or work, assessment and reporting. School visits are also an opportunity to discuss issues relating to a student with members of the base school executive team and the student s supervisors. 6
Attendance Attendance at Cairns SDE is measured by work returns All students enrolled with Cairns SDE are required to submit work as per the Work Rate Calendar for each subject Failure to return work regularly will result in an attendance letter being sent to the Principal of the base school Students who fail to submit work for an extended period may have their enrolment finalised. Submission of work The Work Rate Calendar provides essential details of the year s work. Students must submit tasks according to the Work Rate Calendar for each subject Teachers will provide students and supervisors with a Work Rate Calendar at the beginning of each semester Students and supervisors are to keep this calendar with their learning materials as it gives dates for submission of formative and summative work The base school supervisor will be contacted to ascertain whether continued enrolment is appropriate should a student fail to submit work and complete the assessment as per the Work Rate Calendar. Assessment Students are assessed by Cairns SDE. Cairns SDE is responsible for developing and delivering the program of work and assessment for students, culminating in the issue of semester reports to the student. These reports are issued at the end of each semester and mailed to the Principal of the base school. Assessment Policy The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) defines assessment as the purposeful and systematic collection of information about students achievements. The purposes of assessment are to improve teaching, help students achieve the highest standards they can and provide meaningful reports to parents/carers on students achievements. Assessment is formative, diagnostic or summative according to the major purpose of the assessment. Formative Assessment (assessment as and for learning) The main purpose of formative assessment is to help students attain higher levels of performance. Formative assessment provides continuous feedback to teachers and students and enables them to monitor progress and improve learning. Students are required to send formative assessment tasks to their teacher/s as per the Work Rate Calendar for each subject. Formative assessment tasks are work returns that do not have an attached Guide to Making Judgement or criteria sheet. Work returns are also used to measure attendance. Formative assessment involves students knowing the intended learning outcomes, receiving constructive feedback and acting on feedback for further improvement. Key feedback to students occurs during the performance, hence the importance of marking, drafts, online lessons, questioning and feedback after submission of tasks. Rather than remaining exclusively teacher directed, peer and self-assessment ensures student reflection and self-evaluation and is integral to Cairns SDE s student goal-setting process. 7
Summative Assessment (assessment of learning) Summative assessment is any task that has an attached Guide to Making Judgement (GTMJ) or criteria sheet. Students receive a written school report at the end of each semester. The level of achievement awarded for each subject is based on a student s summative assessment results. Therefore, the main purpose of summative assessment is to grade a student s achievement against standards at particular points in their schooling. To provide teachers with sufficient evidence to award a level of achievement, students are required to complete all summative assessment tasks as outlined in the Work Rate Calendar for each subject. NB. Levels of achievement in each subject are rated on a 5-point scale A, B, C, D and E, against National Standards. The exception to this is VET Certificates where students are awarded NC - Not Competent, WTC - Working Towards Competency or CA - Competency Achieved. Special Provision for Assessment Special consideration may be given to students in certain circumstances. These circumstances may relate to a medical or physical impairment, socio-economic, cultural or linguistic circumstance resulting in an educational disadvantage. Reasonable Adjustment of Assessment A reasonable adjustment involves varying the conditions under which assessment occurs to enable students to have opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a course of study. An example of this is allowing the use of specialised equipment to accommodate a student s disability. Exemption from Assessment An exemption may be approved where a student has missed an assessment instrument due to illness or because of some other legitimate absence, and completing the assessment would place an unreasonable burden on the student. A student can be granted an exemption from an assessment instrument provided that they are able to meet the mandatory requirements of the syllabus. An exemption will only be approved when there is sufficient alternative information to make a judgement about an exit level of achievement. An exemption will not be approved if reasonable adjustment of an assessment instrument is appropriate. An Application for Special Provision should be submitted to the Cairns SDE Deputy Principal. To support students to complete all assessments on or before the due date, Cairns SDE has established the following guidelines: Year 5-6 The base school is to contact Cairns SDE if their student is unable to complete an assessment task by the due date so that a new date can be negotiated. An N (Not Rated) will be awarded for any assessment task that is not submitted or is not submitted by the due date. Frequent nonsubmission of assessment tasks may result in the teacher/s having insufficient evidence to award a semester level of achievement. Year 7 12 Assignment Drafts All assignments will have at least one draft submission date, unless stated otherwise. This date will be at least one week before the final assignment is due in order for students to receive appropriate feedback from their teacher. Teachers will contact the base school if a draft is not submitted by the due date. 8
Year 10-12 Supervised Assessment Tasks Year 10, 11 and 12 students are required to complete assessment tasks under supervised conditions. Upon enrolment, Year 10, 11 and 12 students are required to complete a Nominate Exam Supervisor form. NOTE: All supervised assessment tasks must be completed in one sitting. Students are not to complete part of a task one day and return to finish the task the next day. Application for Assessment Extension of the Due Date Year 7 10 Reasons for requesting an extension include illness, representation at a sporting or cultural event, family circumstances and bereavement. An extension of up to one week can be negotiated by the teacher, student and home tutor. An N (Not Rated) will be awarded for any assessment task that is not submitted. Frequent nonsubmission of assessment tasks may result in the teacher/s having insufficient evidence to award a semester level of achievement. Year 11-12 If unable to submit a summative assessment task by the due date, Year 11 and 12 students are to submit an Application for Assessment Extension form. The form should be submitted at least one day before the due date. In exceptional or unexpected circumstances, the form should be submitted as soon as possible. If the reason for extension is due to illness, students in Year 11 and 12 are required to supply a medical certificate when submitting their Application for Assessment Extension form. All Year 11 and 12 Term 3 and Term 4 assessments must be completed before Wednesday of the final week of each term. Applications for Special Provision and Assessment Extensions will not be approved during the final three days of Term 3 and Term 4. Late or Non-Submission of Assessment Year 7 12 When an assignment is not submitted or is submitted late, the assessment result will be based on the draft submitted. The only exception to this is if an extension has been granted. Failure to complete an assignment on time or failure to sit for a supervised exam may mean that course requirements for that subject have not been met and a level of achievement may not be awarded for that semester. Year 11 and 12 Failure to complete assessment in Years 11 and 12 subjects may result in teachers having insufficient evidence available to award a level of achievement. Year 11 and 12 students who are awarded an N for any given semester of a subject will not gain QCE credit for that semester and their QCE and/or OP eligibility may be affected. If, due to frequent non-submission of assessment tasks, a student does not meet the mandatory requirements of the syllabus, the student will be advised that no result for that subject will appear on the student s Senior Statement. Where mandatory requirements for a subject have been met, but the assessment requirements outlined in the relevant Work Program have not been satisfied, then a student may receive a Level of Achievement; however, the number of semesters may be reduced. For example, the student may receive a Sound Level of Achievement, but for only three semesters rather than for four semesters. QCAA policy states that students will not be rated on assessment tasks that are submitted late without reasonable cause. Non-submission of assessment in VET subjects will prevent the student from obtaining his/her qualification and QCE credit. Repeated non-submission of VET assessment may result in finalisation in the course. 9
Revisiting an Assessment Task within a Semester Year 11 and 12 Students in Years 11 and 12 are able to revisit an assessment task. Revisiting allows the submission of a new assessment task which is of a similar nature and completed under similar conditions. Students must submit an Application to Revisit an Assessment Task form to the Cairns SDE within one week of an assessment task result being received. Revisiting an assessment task does not apply if a student is absent at the time of assessment or fails to submit assessment by the due date. Approved applications will be included in the student s subject folio. The student s folio is updated based on the new assessment evidence. Plagiarism and Cheating Plagiarism is the use of another person s ideas, work, or research data and representing them as your own, without acknowledgement. Plagiarism is dishonest, unethical, may be illegal and is regarded as a serious act of academic misconduct. A student found guilty of deliberately giving another student their work is also guilty of academic misconduct and subject to penalty. Plagiarism includes; Word for word copying of sentences or whole paragraphs from one or more sources such as books, articles, Internet sites without referencing Using very close paraphrasing of sentences or whole paragraphs without due acknowledgement to the original work (referencing). Submitting another student s work in whole or in part; Submitting work which has been written by someone else on the student s behalf; Collaboration on a piece of work designed for individual assessment by two or more students Cairns SDE will refer suspected incidences of plagiarism or cheating to the KLA Head of Department via OneSchool. KLA Heads of Department will contact the base school with regard to any suspected of plagiarism or cheating. Students found guilty of plagiarism or cheating may:- be required to resubmit the assessment task (or an alternative task) be awarded an N (Not Rated) for the assessment task All incidences of plagiarism and cheating are recorded in OneSchool as an Academic Infringement. This policy is based on the policies* of the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Aurthority. It considers the circumstances of individual students; however, it also expects all students to carry out their responsibilities to the best of their abilities. All associated forms can be accessed on the school website. *For further information regarding QCAA Assessment Policies, visit: http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/approach/qsa_assessment_policy.pdf Assessment Forms Application for Special Provision (P - Year 12) Nominate Exam Supervisor (Year 10 12 students only) Application for Assessment Extension (Year 11 and 12 only) Application to Revisit an Assessment Task (Year 11 and 12 only) 10
QCAA Student Data Capture System Details of all subjects and the number of semesters studied with Cairns SDE must be recorded on the base school s Student Data Capture System (SDCS). Upon the receipt of written notification of the termination of enrolment or in the event of Cairns SDE terminating a student s enrolment due to non-participation in the course of study, the student s base school is provided with an S1 equivalent. The base school is responsible for the collection and entry of this information into the Student Data Capture System. Variable Progression Rate Students who have completed their study of a senior subject in the year prior to their completion of Year 12 or an S1 equivalent will receive from Cairns SDE an S1 and the photocopied VPR Form R6 signed by the relevant Panel Chair in the year that their course of study is completed. Student folios are provided upon request. The base school s responsibilities are: to enter school based students on SDCS at their base school, SDE should be noted on the subject page to explain any additional names added to the R6 to the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA), so it will match the copy submitted by Cairns SDE. Cairns SDE s responsibilities are: to complete an R6 showing the Level of Achievement and the rung position (authority subjects) to fax or email the R6 to the base school in time for results to be included on Disk 5 to provide relevant information to the base school for students terminating their enrolment in the subject before course completion. The provision of SDCS information related to school based students is based on the notion that once a student s Cairns SDE enrolment in any particular subject is officially terminated, the student is seen as a transfer student to their base school. Reports Base schools can request interim level of achievement from the Cairns SDE teacher. Semester 1 reports are issued Week 3 of Term 3. Semester 2 reports are issued at the end of Term 4 with the exception of Year 12. Interim reports for Term 3 are available via Qparent. Teachers are able to report on the student s progress up to the time when information for reporting is collected. Students who adhere to the Work Rate Calendar for each subject will satisfy work requirements for reporting processes. Semester 1 and 2 report cards are emailed to the base school for printing and distribution. Loss or Damage of Returnable School Resources Loss of learning materials or materials returned in an unacceptable state will incur a replacement cost. Base schools must accept full responsibility for the payment of any replacement costs and will be invoiced for any loss or damage. 11
Fees and charges Information on enrolment fees and subject charges can be found at https://cairnssde.eq.edu.au/enrolments/enrollingatourschool/pages/2017-school-based.aspx The base school will be sent an invoice for all students enrolled with Cairns SDE. Payment must be made for all students who have been enrolled even if the student s enrolment has subsequently been finalised. Please note that VET course fees are non-refundable. 12
Subjects offered in 2018 Languages Subjects Year Levels 5-6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Chinese Extension Chinese French German Indonesian Italian Japanese Subjects other than Languages Subjects Year Levels 7 8 9 10 11 12 Ancient History Art Biology Chemistry Dance Drama & Media Arts English English Communication English as a Second Language Food Studies Geography History Home Economics HPE Digital Technologies IPT Maths Advanced Maths* Maths A Maths B Maths C Music Physics Prevocational Maths Science Science in Practice *Short Course Literacy *Short Course Numeracy Social and Community Studies Tourism Visual Art Visual Arts in Practice *offered in Semester 2 only. *Advanced Maths is available for students achieving an A or B on their last semester report and are intending to study Maths B, Maths C, Physics or Chemistry. 13
Vocational Education & Training (VET) Vocational education and training (VET) is education and training for work. It exists to develop and recognise the competencies or skills of learners. These work related skills provide a wide range of options for students while they are still attending school and for post school, as they transition to their career pathways. VET provides students with a start to their careers by acquiring work related knowledge and skills. Students can study Certificate I to IV levels at school and can progress as far as a degree with recognition of achievement throughout. Alternately, students can enrol in VET courses after leaving school. VET at Cairns School of Distance Education Cairns SDE offers VET courses to students in Year 10 to 12 at Certificate I, II and III level. Students may access these certificate levels or higher VET qualifications through TAFE, other recognised Registered Organisations (RTOs), or through another school of distance education. Qualified trainers/assessors at Cairns SDE deliver the courses to students under the requirements of the RTO, ensuring that courses meet the standards of the Vocational Qualification Framework (VQF) and National Skills Standard Council (NSSC). VET course enrolment and fees Students may need to participate in an interview with the VET Head of Department or teacher to ascertain course suitability prior to enrolment. VET course fees are set at the time of enrolment and are non-refundable as Cairns SDE delivers certificate courses through external RTOs Please refer to the course overviews on the school website for cut-off dates for enrolling in VET courses. VET Subjects Subjects Year Levels 10 11 12 Cert I Business Cert III Business Cert III Early Childhood Education and Care Cert II Hospitality Cert I Information and Digital Media Cert II Information and Digital Media Cert II Career Aspirations 14
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Cairns School of Distance Education Application for Assessment Extension (Year 11 and 12 Students only) Part A. To be completed by student Student Name Year Level Subject Assessment Task Due Date of Assessment Reason/s for requesting and extension Student Signature Parent/Guardian Signature Date Part B. To be completed by KLA Head of Department Extension Granted Subject Teacher s Signature KLA Head of Department Signature Due Date of Assessment Task Date 16
Cairns School of Distance Education Application to Revisit an Assessment Task (Year 11 and 12 Students only) N.B. This form must be submitted to the KLA Head of Department no later than one week after you received your assessment result. Part A. To be completed by student Student Name Year Level Subject Assessment Task Assessment Result Date Assessment Task was received Reason/s why you wish to revisit the assessment task Student Signature Parent/Guardian Signature Date Part B. To be completed by KLA Head of Department Approval Granted Subject Teacher s Signature KLA Head of Department Signature Due Date for Revisited Assessment Task Date 17
Cairns School of Distance Education Application for Special Provision (Prep - Year 12 Students only) Part A. To be completed by student Student Name Year Level Special Provision is being requested (reasonable adjustment or exemption) Reason/s for requesting Special Provision Student Signature Parent/Guardian Signature Date Part B. To be completed by KLA Head of Department Special Provision Approved Details of Special Provision Subject Teacher s Signature KLA Head of Department Signature Due Date of Assessment Task Date 18