Application to Transition from Provisional to Full Registration

General Information

These guidelines should be referred to by teachers preparing to complete an Application to Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration, and also by the evaluator and/or professional leader who will support the teacher through this process. The guidelines contain important information about the transition process and how to complete the application.

All of the following details, and the Application to Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration, can be accessed on the Teachers Registration Board’s (the Board’s) website at www.trb.sa.edu.au/transition-to-full-registration. Please contact the Board if you are unable to access an electronic copy of the application.

Please ensure your application is complete prior to submitting it to the Board. An incomplete application will not be accepted and will be returned to you.

You must submit your completed application to the Board within 6 months of the date it is signed by your evaluator and/or professional leader. If your application does not meet this requirement it will be returned to you, and you will need to complete a new application.

Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration

The majority of teachers are first registered with provisional registration. It is a condition of your provisional registration that you will move to (full) Registration as soon as possible.

You are expected to apply for (full) registration once you have:

completed one year of full-time (or part-time equivalent of 200 days) satisfactory teaching service in Australia or New Zealand within the last five years

AND

shared evidence with an evaluator to demonstrate meeting the Proficient level in each of the 7 Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. This must include observations of your teaching practice.

You will then need to complete an Application to Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration and submit this to the Board.

It is your responsibility as the provisionally registered teacher to initiate this process with an appropriate evaluator and ensure your completed application is submitted to the Board.

Conflict of interest

All participants in this process must ensure there is no real or perceived conflict of interest.

Why do I need to transition to (full) Registration?

The Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 (the Act) anticipates that teachers will not remain on provisional registration permanently, and it is a condition that all provisionally registered teachers acquire the necessary experience to become eligible for (full) registration.

In accordance with the 2011 Ministerial agreements for a nationally consistent approach to teacher registration, a teacher in South Australia can now only be provisionally registered for a maximum of two 3-year terms of registration. During this time they must meet the requirements to become eligible for (full) registration. Please refer to the Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration Policy for more information.

Moving to (full) registration is a continuum of professional growth for a teacher as they transition from the Graduate level of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers to the Proficient career stage.

Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration Summary

Prepare

Read the information about applying for (full) registration on the Board’s website and download a copy of the Application to Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration and the Guidelines.
Familiarise yourself with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) at the Proficient level.

Identify an evaluator

Your evaluator must be a person who holds (full) registration and is in a line management role to your teaching position. If you are a Temporary Relief Teacher (TRT), establish a rapport with a suitable evaluator at one of your regular host sites.
The evaluator should be familiar with your teaching practice and be willing to support you through the transition process. Inform them of your intention to transition so you can negotiate a process.

Gather evidence

Gather evidence to substantiate how you are working at the Proficient level of the APST.
Your evidence may be from a range of teaching roles and sites, and you can begin gathering it at any time. It must include evidence of students’/children’s learning and observations of your teaching by the evaluator.

Evaluation

Share your evidence with the evaluator to show them how you are working at the Proficient level. You may need to meet with them more than once in order to complete the process.
It is recommended you complete the Summary Record of Sources of Evidence document during this sharing process.
The summary would need to be submitted to the Board if you were selected to participate in a random audit.

Once you have completed one year of full-time (or part-time equivalent of 200 days) satisfactory teaching service in the last five years

Recommendation for (full) Registration

When your evaluator is satisfied you have met the Proficient level in all 7 APST they can complete the recommendation section of the application.
If your evaluator is not the Principal, Deputy Principal, Head of School, Campus Leader, or the Director of the pre-school or long day care site, your application must be counter-signed by one of those professional leaders.

Submit your application

Ensure all sections of the application are filled in, signatures are correctly dated and you have attached your statement/s of service.
Keep a copy for yourself but ensure you submit the original application to the Board in-person or by post within six months of the date of signing.

Application processing

You will be sent an automated email when your application is received by the Board.
If your application is complete it should be processed within four weeks.
You will receive another email advising when your application has been approved.
A certificate of (full) registration and an accompanying letter will be posted to your address.
If your application is incomplete it will be returned, or you may be contacted for further info

Timeframe for (full) Registration and the Modified Process

Provisionally registered teachers have up to two 3-year terms of registration in which to complete the required satisfactory teaching service and transition to (full) registration.

For clarification of your registration status please contact the Board.

Initial Grant of Provisional Registration

When a teacher is initially granted provisional registration, the term of registration is up to three years, with the condition that the following is included on the registration certificate:

You must acquire the experience and meet the requirements (prescribed by regulation, contained in standards for teachers or determined by the Board) necessary for you to be eligible for (full) Registration.

Renewal of Provisional Registration

Teachers who do not meet the experience and/or the requirements for (full) registration before their initial period of provisional registration is due to expire, may apply for a renewal of their provisional registration for one further term only.

Teachers will need to have met all other renewal requirements, including the completion of 60 hours of professional learning, to be eligible for renewal of provisional registration.

Provisionally registered teachers may have up to two consecutive terms, i.e. a total of up to six years to acquire the necessary requirements for, and successfully transition to, (full) registration.

It is expected that teachers will complete the required teaching service and achieve (full) registration status prior to their next registration expiry date.

The following condition applies to provisional registration and is included on the registration certificate: “You must acquire the experience and meet the requirements (prescribed by regulation, contained in standards for teachers or determined by the Board) necessary for you to be eligible for (Full) Registration, and submit an application to transition from Provisional to (Full) Registration at least three months prior to the expiration of your term of registration.”

If teachers are unable to meet the conditions of their provisional registration within two 3-year terms they will not be able to renew their registration again, but instead they will need to apply for provisional registration under a modified process.

Re-application for Provisional Registration (Modified Process)

Teachers will need to make a new application for provisional registration and will be required to provide an explanation as to why they have not complied with the condition of their previous provisional registration to meet the requirements for (full) registration.

Teachers applying for provisional registration under the modified process must have completed 60 hours of professional learning referenced against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Teaching experience remains current for five years only.

The Board will consider the individual merits of each application under the modified process to determine whether or not to grant provisional registration. The Board will look at the efforts taken by a teacher to attain the experience and/or requirements for (full) registration during their previous terms of provisional registration, together with any explanation as to why the teacher has been unable to successfully transition to (full) registration.

In some circumstances, an application will be placed before a sub-committee of the Board for hearing and determination. In such circumstances the teacher is entitled to appear before the Board and make submissions. If the Board does grant an applicant provisional registration it will be an expressed condition of the grant that the teacher acquire the necessary experience and/or requirements to move to (full) registration. Further conditions may also be imposed.

If a teacher does not transition to (full) registration within the term of this registration, they will again need to re-apply for provisional registration under this process.

Exceptional Cases

It is an expectation that all provisionally registered teachers will transition to (full) registration in the expected timeframes.

However, the Board acknowledges that there may be exceptional cases that warrant the exercise of its discretion to depart from policies and practices.

Examples of when the Board’s discretion may be used include where teachers are:

unable to gain regular employment as a teacher, such as those who are working on a temporary, casual or part-time basis;

in remote areas or across different settings;
on extended leave, or unable to work due to illness or disability.

The manner in which the Board may exercise its discretion will also depend on the circumstances unique to an individual.

Satisfactory Teaching Service for (full) Registration

To be eligible to apply for (full) registration you need to have undertaken at least one year of full-time (or part-time equivalent of 200 days) satisfactory teaching service within the five years prior to the date you lodge your application.

For registration purposes, teaching service is considered to be employment as a registered teacher in a school or pre-school setting in Australia or New Zealand.

Please note: registration must be recognised under Mutual Recognition.

These are the roles for which teacher registration is required by legislation. No other employment can be considered towards the requirements for (full) registration.

For your experience to be counted towards the teaching service required for (full) registration you must ensure that you are employed as stated above. Please check with your employer or request a statement of service from them if you are uncertain about how you are employed.

Statement of Service

When you lodge an Application to Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration you will need to attach one or more statements of service verifying your completion of at least one year of full-time (or the part-time equivalent of 200 days) satisfactory teaching service within the last five years.

If you have worked in more than one site it is expected that you will provide a statement of service from the site where your evaluation was completed. If this does not cover the required satisfactory teaching service you will need to provide statement/s of service from your other sites as well.

Statements of Service from SA government sites

All of your employment in SA government sites will be recorded by the South Australian Department for Education.

If you go to the Department for Education website www.education.sa.gov.au and click the ‘Intranet’ button you will be directed to LearnLink. Once you have logged on to LearnLink, navigate to the Employee Information Kiosk (EIK). Within the EIK you can download your statement of service as a PDF file that can be printed and attached to your application.

If you are unable to access your statement of service this way, please contact the Department for assistance.

Statements of Service from other employers

For employment in Catholic schools, independent schools, and long day care centres you will need to ask the appropriate person (e.g. Finance Officer, Human Resources Officer, Deputy Principal, Director) at each site for a statement of service.

The statement of service needs to be printed on the site’s official letterhead and reflect:

Your full name and registration number
Your position title/s
Start date, end date, and fraction of time (FTE) for each of your appointments (temporary relief teaching service can be reflected as the total number of TRT days worked per year)

Any periods of leave without pay taken during your employment

Name, title and dated signature of the person who prepared the statement.

If you are teaching in another Australian state or territory or in New Zealand please check with the relevant local authority about gaining a statement of service from your employer/s.

Role of the Evaluator and/or Professional Leader

After you have completed one year of full-time (or the part-time equivalent of 200 days) satisfactory teaching service within the last 5 years, an appropriate evaluator can recommend you for (full) registration.

An appropriate evaluator is a person at your site who:

Holds (full) Registration;
Is in a line-management role to your teaching position e.g. direct line-manager or a person in leadership;
Has sufficient familiarity with your teaching practice to make an holistic judgement about your eligibility for (full)Registration; and
Is willing to support you through the evaluation process.

If you are a temporary relief teacher (TRT) it is recommended that you complete the evaluation in a site you work with regularly. It is suggested that you establish a rapport with an appropriate person at that site e.g. Coordinator, Assistant Principal, Deputy Principal to negotiate a process.

Evaluator’s Recommendation for (full) Registration

You will need to share multiple forms of evidence with your evaluator to demonstrate to them how you have met the Proficient level in the 7 Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST). It is expected your evaluator has sufficient familiarity with the APST and has made observations of your teaching practice to be able to undertake this process.

Your evaluator will make a summative judgement about the evidence you share with them, and indicate on the application form whether they are satisfied that you are working at the Proficient level in each of the APST. They will also need to complete the section stating whether or not they recommend that you should be granted (full) Registration status.

Refer to Evidence of Meeting the Proficient Level (page 7 of the guidelines) for further information.

Important: You can commence the process of sharing evidence at any time, but the evaluator’s recommendation for (full) Registration cannot be made until you have completed at least one year’s full-time (or the part-time equivalent of 200 days) satisfactory teaching service within the last 5 years.

Should you not be recommended for (full) Registration you may need more time in order to complete the process. However, if you still wish to submit the application you, your evaluator and/or site leader will need to attach explanations in envelopes marked “Private and Confidential” addressed to the Registrar. The decision to grant (full) Registration ultimately rests with the Board.

Role of Professional Leader

The application must be counter-signed by a professional leader with direct responsibility for teachers at the site:

Principal
Deputy Principal
Campus Leader
Head of School e.g. Junior School Principal
Director (of a pre-school or long day care service).

If your evaluator does not hold one of the above titles then your application must be counter-signed by one of them.

The professional leader is:

endorsing the evaluator’s recommendation to transition to (full) registration; and
acknowledging that the teacher has undertaken a process with their evaluator, including observations of their teaching practice and the sharing of evidence to demonstrate that they have met the 7 Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at the Proficient career level.

You must submit your completed application to the Board within six months of the date it is signed by your evaluator and/or professional leader. If your application does not meet this requirement it will be returned to you, and you will need to complete a new application.

Evidence of Meeting the Proficient Level

You will need to share evidence with your evaluator that demonstrates how you are working at the Proficient level in each of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST).

This could include:

Planning and programming documentation
Resources modified to suit a range of learning needs (differentiation)
Annotated samples of students’/children’s work over a period of time
Performance development processes
Reflections on the impact your professional learning has on your teaching
Collaborations and communications with parents, carers and the community
Professional observations and collaborations with colleagues.

The process must include the evaluator’s observations of your teaching practice and evidence of students’/children’s learning.

There are many more examples in the Documentary Evidence Examples: Proficient Teachers resource on the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) website: www.aitsl.edu.au.

You can start gathering your evidence at any time once you begin teaching. You should collect multiple pieces of evidence for each of the APST, but can also use one item as evidence for several of the APST.

It is highly recommended that you complete the Summary Record of Sources of Evidence document during the evaluation process. See page 8 of the guidelines for further detail.

Sharing Evidence with an Evaluator

To be recommended for (full) registration your evaluator must be satisfied that you meet the Proficient level of all seven APST.

It is up to you, as the applicant, to take professional responsibility for the process itself. Therefore, you should discuss with your evaluator what types of evidence may be required, how much information you should provide, and how you will be sharing your evidence (e.g. hard-copy documents, e-portfolio, professional discussions and observations).

Please note: Although there are 37 focus areas and descriptors listed within the APST you are not required to have a specific piece of evidence for each focus area. The focus areas are there to clarify and unpack each Standard as a whole. Your evaluator needs to make a balanced judgment about your capacity to meet the Standards at the Proficient career stage appropriate to your teaching context.

Summary Record of Sources of Evidence

It is recommended you use the Summary Record of Sources of Evidence document to record the types of evidence you shared with your evaluator during the transition to (full) registration process.

This is a useful tool to map your evidence against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) and may help you identify areas where further evidence is required.

Please do not submit your summary record with the Application to Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration unless you are an Early Childhood Teacher without a registered Director.

Completing the Summary Record

You can either download a template Summary Record of Sources of Evidence from the Board’s website http://www.trb.sa.edu.au/tpr-summary-record-evidence or access it from your Teachers Portal home screen. Please ensure you use the Board’s current template as other forms of summary record will not be accepted in the case of an audit.

When you complete the summary record you will need to outline the types of evidence you shared with your evaluator to substantiate meeting the Proficient level of each APST. Your explanations need to be explicit and clearly indicate what the evidence was and how this was used in the process. You can use bullet points however you should provide sufficient detail for the reader to understand what you have written.

Audit

The Board conducts random audits of Applications to Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration on a regular basis.

If your application is selected for inclusion in an audit you will be contacted and asked to provide a completed Summary Record of Sources of Evidence. You are not required to submit your actual pieces of evidence unless specifically requested by the Board.

You should retain your evidence and summary record for at least 12 months after the date your application is approved.

Early Childhood Teacher without a Registered Director

Teachers who are employed as Early Childhood Teachers in child care centres are often the only registered teachers at their site. If this applies to you and you are eligible to apply to transition to (full) registration you will need to apply under a modified process.

Please contact the Board’s Project Officers – Professional Teaching Standards to discuss this process before you begin.

Please note: Some long day care groups have an agreement in place with the Board for an appropriate registered person within their organisation to oversee these applications – please contact the Board if you are unsure.

Modified Application Process

The process will include:

Negotiating with your Director, even if they are not a fully registered teacher, as they will have knowledge of your teaching practice and are in the best position to fulfil the evaluator role
Sharing evidence to demonstrate that you are working at the Proficient level of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
Obtaining a statement of service to verify the required satisfactory teaching service
Completing a Summary Record of Sources of Evidence document
Completing the Application to Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration and submitting it to the Board
Discussing your application in detail with the Board’s Project Officers – Professional Teaching Standards.