Cairns School of Distance Education 2019 School-Based Handbook · Version 2 – updated November 2018 3 Principal’s Welcome The Cairns School of Distance Education has been providing

Cairns School of

Distance Education

2019 School-Based

Handbook

Version 2 – updated November 2018 1

2 Version 2 – updated November 2018

Contact Information

2019 Handbook

School-Based Learners

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: [email protected]

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.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.cairnssde.eq.edu.au/


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

schools by offering subjects to supplement core provision. For

example, we offer language courses in Chinese, French, German,

Italian, Indonesian and

Japanese. By making our subjects and VET courses available to school-based students,

we are able to help when students transfer between schools where available subjects differ,

or where a specific subject cannot be offered due to timetabling and/or small class numbers.

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.

Andrew Oliver

Principal

Kind regards


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 5-6

Supervising Teacher 6

School Visits 6

Attendance 6

Submission of work 6

Assessment 6-7

Assessment Policy 7-10

QCAA Student Data Capture System 11

Loss or Damage of Returnable School Resources 11

Reports 11

Fees and charges 11

Subjects offered 12

Vocational Education & Training (VET) 14

Forms

Nomination of Exam Supervisor Form 15

Application for Assessment Extension 16

Application to Revisit an Assessment Task 17

Application for Special Provision 18


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 prerequisite 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 • the subject is not offered by the base school.

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 and school supervisors need to maintain regular contact with the Cairns SDE

teacher/s. Resources will be supplied by Cairns SDE, however it is the responsibility of the base school to return these to Cairns SDE 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 [email protected] or faxed to 07 4080 9100.

Finalising an enrolment

A school-based student’s enrolment can only be finalised with 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.

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. The base school is required to provide the following:

• 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

mailto:[email protected]


• access to a school phone and computer for student/s and supervising teacher to allow contact with the Cairns SDE teacher/s

• co-ordination of regular contact between the student/s, the supervising teacher and the Cairns SDE teacher/s.

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 regular contact between the student/s and the Cairns SDE teacher/s • check materials received from Cairns SDE with the student/s and supervise the

submission of completed work • ensure that student work and assessment is returned as per the Work Rate Calendar for

each subject. Work Rate Calendars are provided by the Cairns SDE teacher to enable students to organise their study program and to monitor progress and completion of the required work

• provide or arrange necessary supervision for summative assessment • 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 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.

Attendance

• Attendance at Cairns SDE is measured by work return • 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 and assessment 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 term • 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. Reports are issued at the end of each semester and are emailed to 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.

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 KLA Head of Department.

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 non-submission 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.

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 non-submission 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.

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 Authority. 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)

https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/k-12-policies/student-assessment


QCAA Student Data Capture System – Year 12 school-based students 2019

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). Base schools need to select SDE on the subject page in SDCS if the subject is not offered by the base school 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.

QCAA Student Management System – Year 10 and 11 school-based students 2019

As the new Student Management System replaces SDCS, Year 10 and Year 11 school- based students’ subjects and results will be captured in the Student Management System by Cairns SDE.

Variable Progression Rate students

Until SDCS is replaced by the SMS, Cairns SDE will continue to send the base school a photocopy of the VPR Form R6 for those students who have completed Semester 4 of a senior subject in the year before they exit. Student folios are provided upon request. For all enquiries relating to VPR Forms R6 please contact Cairns SDE.

Cairns SDE’s responsibilities are:

• to complete an R6 showing the Level of Achievement, rung position (authority subjects) and number of semesters completed

• to fax or email the R6 to the base school in time for results to be included on the base school’s Disk 5

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.

Fees and charges

Information on enrolment fees and subject charges can be found on the school website.

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.

Reporting

Termly grades are advised by the subject teacher, and semester reports are emailed to the nominated school based coordinator.

https://cairnssde.eq.edu.au/Enrolments/Enrollingatourschool/Pages/2017-School-Based.aspx


Subjects offered in 2019

Please refer to the following page for subjects offered to Year 11 students in 2019.

*offered in Semester 2 only. *Extension 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.

Languages

Subjects Year Levels

5-6 7 8 9 10 12

Chinese Extension Chinese French German Indonesian Italian Japanese Spanish

Subjects other than Languages


7 8 9 10 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 Extension 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


Year 11 subjects 2019

General Subjects

English

English as an additional language

General Mathematics

Mathematical Methods

Specialist Mathematics

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

Geography

Ancient History

Modern History

Legal Studies

Business

Health

Digital Solutions

Indonesian

Italian

Japanese

Chinese

French

German

Dance

Visual Art

Preparatory Courses

Literacy Short Course

Numeracy Short Course

Successful completion of a short course attracts 1 QCE credit point and fulfils the literacy and numeracy requirements for the QCE. Please note that the Literacy Short Course and Numeracy Short Course are offered in Semester 2 only and take 1 semester to complete.

VET Certificate Courses Course completion time and QCE credit NB. VET course fees are non-refundable.

Certificate I

Please note that credit from no more than two certificate ones contribute to the QCE.

Certificate I Business One year - 2 QCE credits - No partial credit can be awarded.

Certificate I Information Digital Media

Technology (IDMT) One year -2 QCE credits - No partial credit can be awarded.

Certificate II

Certificate II Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways

One year (students must enrol before the end of Term 1) 4 QCE credits - Partial credit may be awarded.

Applied Subjects

Essential English

Essential Mathematics

Social & Community Studies

Information and Communication Technology

Hospitality Practices

Science in Practice

Tourism

Visual Arts in Practice

Certificate III Please note that Certificate IIIs are counted as two subjects for the QCE.

Certificate III Business Two years 8 QCE credits - Partial credit may be awarded.

Certificate III Early Childhood, Education and Care

Two years 8 QCE credits - Partial credit may be awarded.


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


10 11 12

Cert I Business

Cert III Business

Cert III Early Childhood Education and Care

Cert I Information and Digital Media

Cert II Skills for Work

Please note that VET course fees are non-refundable.

https://cairnssde.eq.edu.au/Curriculum/Seniorsecondary/Pages/Course-Outlines.aspx



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 an 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


Cairns School of Distance Education Application to Revisit an Assessment Task (Year 11 and 12 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.


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


Date


Approval Granted



Due Date for Revisited Assessment Task

Date


Cairns School of Distance Education Application for Special Provision (Prep - Year 12 Students only)


Student Name

Year Level

Special Provision is being requested (reasonable adjustment or exemption)

Reason/s for requesting Special Provision

Student Signature


Date


Special Provision Approved

Details of Special Provision



Due Date of Assessment Task

Date

Documents

Cairns School of Distance Education 2019 School-Based Handbook · Version 2 – updated November 2018 3 Principal’s Welcome The Cairns School of Distance Education has been providing