Message from Interim Chief Executive

Dear colleague

Thank you for the generosity and openness you’ve shown in our recent engagements as we tackle this year’s challenges brought about by COVID-19, as well as our collective exploration of the complexities and opportunities underpinning the purpose and intended impact of the Thrive agenda.

The SACE Board’s Strategic Plan to shape education so that students thrive is heavily focused on transforming teaching, learning and assessment. We have a group of SACE Change Network schools that are partnering with us to achieve this mission.

As we near the completion of pilot programs in 2022 and commence the work of envisioning next steps in 2023, we have re-opened registrations for the SACE Change Network (see below). In addition, we are keen to direct relevant communications about our key strategic projects to the senior years teaching and learning leaders (also known as Curriculum Directors, Assistant Principal Curriculum, Director of Teaching and Learning). We recognise that this role is sometimes undertaken by the SACE Coordinator, however, if there is an alternative staff member in your school that undertakes this role, we would greatly appreciate it if you could provide us with their contact details by completing this simple online form.

As the year has progressed, school communities have continued to be impacted by disruptions caused by COVID-19. Recently we shared an important update outlining some additional measures the SACE Board has implemented in response to this ongoing challenge. Significantly, this includes extensions to submission dates and additional subject adjustments. These measures are summarised on our website here, and I encourage you to share this with your colleagues. As always, please don't hesitate to make contact if you have questions or need specific support.

Students who contract COVID-19 at a time that prevents them from attending their exams are eligible for special provisions using the existing illness and misadventure process. Please continue to follow SA Health advice and your existing school protocols to confirm their diagnosis.

We will continue to monitor the situation and remain ready to adapt quickly and be flexible should further changes be required.

Congratulations to the Stage 2 students who recently received their mid-year results, including 826 students who completed Exploring Identities and Futures and 725 who completed Activating Identities and Futures. I want to sincerely thank every marker, moderator and supervisor who contributed to the process, particularly given the challenges of this year. It is due to your expertise, contribution and commitment that we can deliver these results, and it would not be possible without the support of teachers, principals and school communities.

All the best

Michaela Bensley
Interim Chief Executive
SACE Board of South Australia

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Revitalisation of RP and PLP update

The first pilot for new subjects Exploring Identities and Futures (EIF) and Activating Identities and Futures (AIF) has now been successfully completed.

Thank you to all the schools, principals, teachers, students, and school communities involved in the pilot for their participation throughout Semester 1. Testing the new subjects within a live environment is an important step toward supporting students to recognise their strengths and see that the purpose and value of learning is more than knowledge and grades. Students participating in the pilot completed these new subjects as part of the release of the mid-year results on 26 July.

The SACE Board project team has commenced analysis and evaluation of the pilot. The insights and lessons learned will inform further development of the subjects in readiness for a second pilot in 2023, to progress towards an optimal model for broad implementation.

Whilst the Personal Learning Plan, Research Project A and Research Project B will continue to be offered in 2023, schools electing not to participate in the 2023 pilot will be provided with information and resources to engage with the value, purpose and direction of the new subjects.

The details of the scope and Terms of Reference for pilot 2 will be provided to SACE Change Network schools before the end of September. 

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Capabilities and Learner Profile update

The SACE Board is committed to supporting students to thrive through delivering its strategic priority of showcasing a holistic view of a student’s educational achievement through the assessment of capabilities and then represented in a Learner Profile. National and international directions in education consistently focus on the value and recognition of the development of student capabilities, alongside deep subject knowledge.

The assessment and visual representation of student capabilities through a Learner Profile is the beginning of a shift in the way schools, students and the community measure educational achievement and success. More equitable outcomes for all young people will be the result of focusing on student capability development and recognising these within the SACE certificate.

The SACE Board’s Capability and Learner Profile project is moving into the next phase of its first pilot this semester. We are continuing to work in partnership with over 30 pilot schools and 100 teachers to better understand the challenges and opportunities presented by the assessment of students’ capabilities and have them represented on a student’s Learner Profile.

The Learner Profile will provide valuable information to students and will help them make better decisions about their post-school pathways. To ensure student voices contribute to its development, the project team has conducted focus groups with students from the pilot schools to gather insights about its value and potential usage.

The SACE Board has been working closely with South Australian employers, Industry Skills Councils, universities and TAFE and they have all expressed their support for the value the capabilities data will provide when recruiting SACE graduates to their organisations and future pathways.

We continue to support SATAC and the tertiary sector’s exploration of how this capabilities data might complement the variety of other university entry models and the existing range of alternative admission pathways. The 2023 SATAC guide also provides further information about these existing admission pathways.

Assessment of student capabilities is a complex process, and we are working closely with the Assessment Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. The SACE Board is also working with peers on the Australian government’s project into the proposal to introduce a national senior secondary learner profile.

Although there are many challenges and complexities in implementing capability assessment in schools, the project team is developing professional learning support for pilot schools, who through their participation, will be at the forefront of educational reform.

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Join the SACE Change Network

During 2022, over 80 SCN schools have been involved in testing new ideas across a range of pilot projects. The projects we are continuing to pilot in 2023 are:

• Capabilities and Learner Profile project 
• Revitalisation of the PLP and RP
• Aboriginal Education Project

If your school would like to partner with us to bring about change, we invite you to join the SCN now. Our interest register explains more about the different levels of commitment you can make in any of the above projects. Registration takes about five minutes. Please register before 16 September 2022 and we'll keep you updated about how you can contribute.

We are also pleased to offer an invitation for interested SACE Change Network schools to pilot and test an additional project for 2023 – Emerging Industries: Cyber Studies. This project aims to explore how the SACE curriculum can support and respond to emerging industries that are identified nationally or at a local site or region. Participating schools will focus on testing a Cyber Studies curriculum and consider the opportunities and challenges to develop and scale an industry framework curriculum across the system. 

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COVID Responsiveness

The SACE Board has been monitoring the continued impact of COVID-19 on students and schools. Our response to previous subject adjustments has been to maintain consistency across the whole education system while supporting your students to access the teaching, learning and assessment to the fullest extent. 

Recently we sent an important update regarding extensions to submission dates and additional subject adjustments. The bulletin also provided detail about the existing SACE flexibilities, Special Provisions and VET resulting. Please share this information with colleagues in your school community.

In addition to these measures, we have increased the pool of markers and moderators to alleviate workload and revised our marker and moderator training in the context of these adjustments. 

Our Lead Practitioners, supervisors, markers and moderators perform a vital function in supporting the processing of assessment and results. We appreciate their continued support of students and the SACE Board.

We will continue to monitor the situation in case additional considerations are required.

If you need further support, please contact the askSACE team via email or phone 08 8115 4700 between 8.30 am — 5 pm, Monday — Friday.

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Fees for late Stage 2 changes in 2023

Firstly, we apologise for the confusion our recent communication caused. The purpose of this advice is to provide greater clarity regarding the types of administrative errors that may incur a fee from 2023. 

As you would appreciate, adherence to SACE deadlines is critical to support the marking and moderation process and to meet our results processing and release timelines. 

In that context, the types of late changes that may incur a fee are those that are requested after Results Sheets have been submitted and access to Schools Online is removed, and aren’t covered by the Exceptional Circumstance process. Typically, these are few in number, involving a small number of schools. The vast majority of late changes from schools are managed via the Exceptional Circumstance process, where an incident has occurred that is beyond the school’s control, such as a teacher being unwell. These changes will not incur a fee. 

Given the introduction of these fees is new, in 2022 we will work closely with those schools who request late changes so they can better understand their cause and put systems in place to avoid it reoccurring. 

These fees come into effect from 2023. Schools with late administration changes of this type may be offered either a reduction or full waiver of these fees. 

Details of all the SACE Board’s fees and charges can be found here SACE Board of South Australia (Fees) Notice.

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Mid Year SACE Results

The 2022 Semester 1 SACE and NTCET results were released in Students Online on Tuesday 26 July.

On the day 4,774 students logged on to Students Online to view their results, with the highest level of activity logged in the morning.

32,335 students received a Stage 1 result, and 8,379 students received a Stage 2 result.

772,555 Stage 1 enrolments were resulted across South Australia, Northern Territory and Asia.

The end of Semester 1 saw 9 students completing all requirements of the SACE and 7 students completing all requirements of the NTCET.

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Examination Timetable

The examination timetable has been updated to include dates and times for CCAFL subjects and languages which are scheduled by the Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority and NSW Education Standards Authority. These subjects are highlighted in red on the timetable.

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Special Provisions - SACE Board approved adjustments

Some students with pre-existing conditions may require reasonable adjustments that affect the production of Stage 2 examination papers and/or materials. For these students, schools must submit Form 31 – Special provisions - Request for external assessment adjustments by Friday 16 September to ensure required adjustments are in place for examinations.

For further information please see the SACE website.

For any further assistance, contact the askSACE team via email or phone 08 8115 4700 between 8.30 am — 5 pm, Monday — Friday.

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Students Online reminder

Did your students have difficulties finding out their mid-year results because their Students Online account was not up to date? Make sure they can access their accounts in readiness for the release of their end-of-year results.

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Calling for Student Success Stories

Every year we feature student success stories as part of the promotion of SACE results release, as well as sharing on our website and social media.

The student success stories are designed to showcase a range of diverse SACE experiences that provide inspiration and encouragement for students. These stories are not necessarily focused on academic brilliance but are more about showcasing the whole student, their learning journey and how they have overcome challenges to succeed.

We need your help to identify students who will be completing their SACE this year. Do you have students that are thriving learners who would be interested in sharing their story?

Interested? Please contact Victoria Goodyear, Media and Communications Officer or call 0448 677 050 to discuss.

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Star in our Class of 2022 video

Schools are invited to send images of Year 12 SACE students for inclusion in our popular end-of-year video celebrating the achievements of the Class of 2022.

The completed feel-good video will be the highlight of the SACE results release promotions later in the year and will be shared on the SACE Board’s website, YouTube channel and social media.

The deadline for submission of images is Friday 14 October.

Find out how your school can feature in the SACE Board’s Class of 2022 video.

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Working at SACE Board

If you’ve been thinking about how you can contribute to leading educational change and student transformation, opportunities at the SACE Board are advertised on our Careers at SACE Board web page and the I WORK FOR SA Online Jobs Board.

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SACE International

Northern Hemisphere - Welcome to the new school year

Welcome to the start of the new school year for all schools following our mid-year intake (Northern Hemisphere Assessment Cycle).

Thank you for selecting the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) as your secondary school program. We offer a well-established program that is designed to unlock every student’s potential. Since 1982 SACE International has delivered a world-class qualification to over 40,000 SACE graduates.

Our globally recognised program opens up a world of possibilities and provides access to the top universities across the globe, including those located in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Malaysia and Singapore.

We wish you and your students all the best in their studies in the year ahead.

If you have any enquiries regarding registration, enrolment or if you are considering offering an additional intake, please contact askSACE via email or phone +61 8 8115 4700.

Welcome to our new Director

Matthew Taverner has recently joined the SACE International team as the new Director.

Matthew has been working in the field of international education since 1998. He was most recently the Director International Engagement at Flinders University, and was responsible for the identification, creation and management of strategic international relationships in education and research, sponsored student relations and recruitment, international student service support and outbound student mobility programs.

His experience includes working at the University of South Australia as Manager of International Relations, managing the delivery of development aid projects, short course training and international events.

Matthew is completing a Master of Evaluation at the University of Melbourne and has a Graduate Diploma in Languages from Flinders University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Urban and Regional Planning from the University of South Australia.

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Upcoming Prescient events

Thanks to all the educators who attended the sold-out Student Agency in Education with Charles Leadbeater. It was a thought-provoking session with plenty of key takeaways for attendees.

Further exciting Prescient events are scheduled in the months ahead. Join Jeremy LeCornu for the return of two popular face-to-face workshops:

Using Video to enable Active Learning

An interactive, practical and hands-on workshop that will provide tools and strategies for engaging students more deeply in their learning by using video. This workshop is scheduled during the October school holidays, for ease of access for busy teachers. Find out more

Maximising Challenge and Active Learning

A highly interactive and engaging workshop where participants will develop their knowledge and skills in using technology for active learning. Find out more

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