Classroom observation reports may be compiled using existing observation tools and templates in an applicant’s school/system. If the existing observation frameworks, tools or templates don’t reference the Standards, the applicant must annotate the observation report to refer to and show links to the Standard(s)/Descriptor(s). A template is available for applicant’s consideration. Please note this is not a mandated template.
Responsibilities
Referees play a significant role in supporting an applicant to achieve certification, therefore it is an important professional responsibility. Referee input is valuable in helping assess an applicant’s abilities, experience, knowledge, and skills to ensure they meet the Standards at the relevant career stage.
The applicant is required to elect 3–5 referees who can affirm their practice and/or verify their application evidence against selected Standard descriptors. One of the elected referees must be the applicant’s principal or principal’s delegate.
Understanding the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
It is important that applicants carefully select their referees, ensuring that each has the appropriate level of experience, knowledge of the Standards and knowledge of the practice of the applicant.
Preparing a portfolio is a rigorous process making it essential that referees have a sound knowledge of the APST, as the Standards are the basis for making judgements regarding the Certification of teachers. Further information about the Standards can be found on the AITSL website.
Requirements
One of the applicant’s referees must be their current Principal (or their appointed delegate). The other referees are nominated by the applicant. Referees may include, but are not limited to:
- Classroom teachers,
- School leaders,
- Education consultants,
- Teacher educators, and
- Other specialist staff with knowledge and understanding of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST).
All referees, (other than the applicant’s current Principal, or the Principal’s delegate), have the option to say no to an applicant’s referee request.
Applicants can select referees who they have previously worked with in school settings other than their current school, to verify their evidence of practice.
Referees can also apply for certification at the same time as being a referee for an applicant.
Assessors can be a referee for an applicant however, they would need to declare their knowledge of the applicant as part of the conflict of interest process.
Role of the Referee
As a referee, you may have various roles in the certification process. Any referee may:
- Affirming the applicant’s practice for up to 10 Standard descriptors in total
- Verifying that application evidence is an accurate representation of the applicant’s practice against Standard descriptors
- Acting as one of the applicant’s elected referees
- Confirming the professional relationship/knowledge of practice between the other referees and the applicant.
Evidence for a certification application should not be more than five years old and referees should have direct, first-hand knowledge of an applicant’s practice within this timeframe.
It is important that referees understand that they are not being asked to provide a character reference but rather a statement of how the applicant’s evidence of practice demonstrates the Standards. It is not the referee’s role to assess an applicant’s portfolio of evidence.
For further information, please see QCT’s Certification Referees guidelines.
The Certification Process
Referees provide a written referee statement for the applicant with reference to the Teacher Standards. For referees to be able to verify the applicant’s direct evidence you must have seen the evidence to be submitted. Should an applicant not provide you with a copy of the direct evidence, please do not complete the written referee statement.
Referees are not required to read and verify the applicant’s entire portfolio of evidence, only the part(s) of the portfolio that they have been asked to verify by the applicant on the referee statement.
During Stage 1, assessors will refer to Referee Statements as part of assessing the applicant’s practice. Referee Statements are not considered artefacts or direct evidence of the Standards/Descriptors by assessors. They are used by assessors to verify an applicant’s practice.
In Certification 2.0, elected referee(s) may collectively select up to ten ‘affirmed’ Standard descriptors that certification assessors will accept as demonstrated by a referee comment. This affirmation is direct evidence of the applicant’s practice by a colleague or colleagues who can specifically detail how the descriptor is demonstrated and as such, no additional evidence will need to be included in the application. A referee comment is mandatory and must specify the referee’s direct, first-hand knowledge of the applicant’s practice against the descriptor. If no comment is included, then the descriptor(s) will not be assessed as affirmed.
Assessors may also contact referees by telephone if further comment on the application’s evidence is required.
If referees have also completed an observation report of the applicant’s practice, they are required to refer to this in their referee statement.
Referees may be required to have a professional discussion (with reference to the Teacher Standards) with the assessor during the Stage 2 virtual site visit.
For more information, please email haltprogram@ceql.catholic.edu.au.
QCT Guidelines for Certification Referees
