Glossary
The following definition of terms is provided to assist schools. Where there is any conflict between these definitions and definitions in the Act or other legislation the statutory definitions prevail.
| accreditation | Compliance with the Education Act 1990, Section 94, for the School Certificate, or Section 95 for the Higher School Certificate, allowing entry of candidates for the award of these certificates. |
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| ACE Manual | The Board's Assessment, Certification and Examination Manual. |
| acting principal | Person temporarily appointed to undertake the responsibilities of the principal |
| Actual retention rates | Retention rates based on data relating to actual students who have been tracked at two different points in their school career |
| Administrative Decisions Tribunal (ADT) | The Tribunal to which any person or school can lodge an appeal against a recommendation of the Board that a school not be registered or a decision of the Board that a school not be accredited. |
| AEI-NOOSR guidelines | National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition guidelines relating to recognition in Australia of qualifications from overseas teacher education institutions: see the website at www.aei.gov.au/AEI. |
| Apparent retention rates | Retention rates based on simple comparisons of enrolment numbers, for example Year 10 in 2001 compared with Year 12 numbers in 2003 |
| Australian Dietary Guidelines | The Dietary guidelines provide advice to the general population about health food choices, so that their usual diet contributes to a healthy lifestyle and is consistent with minimal risk for the development of diet related disorders. |
| authorised person | A person authorised by the Minister to undertake functions specified in the Education Act. |
| Board | Board of Studies, New South Wales. |
| Board Inspector | An officer of the Board, with that title, appointed to enable the Board to exercise its functions under Section 102 of the Education Act. |
| boarding facilities | Facilities, including overnight accommodation, provided by the school itself or under contractural arrangement for students enrolled at the school. This excludes accommodation provided for day pupils away from the school during a brief school trip and 'home stay' accommodation. |
| Community Services | Government agency responsible for community services (formerly the Department of Community Services (DoCS)). |
| complaints | A complaint is a grievance, expression of dissatisfaction or formal allegation. |
| compulsory years of schooling | 6 years to 15 years inclusive, taken from the child's birthday. |
| corporal punishment | The application of physical force to punish or correct the student, but not including the application of force to prevent personal injury to, or damage to or the destruction of property of, any person (including the student). |
| curriculum guidelines | Guidelines developed by the Board of Studies and approved by the Minister. |
| DEC | Department of Education and Communities. |
| direct on-site supervision | Direct on-site supervision occurs when a qualified teacher acts as a supervisor and provides advice on the quality and appropriateness of pedagogy and student behaviour management strategies employed to a member of staff who is working towards the standard of professional teacher competence. The supervisor is on the same school site but does not need to be present for every lesson of the teacher being supervised. |
| distance education | The delivery of courses of study during which students and teachers are not regularly in the presence of each other but communicate with each other in writing, by print or by electronic or other means. |
| Education Act | The Education Act 2001990 (NSW); legislation enacted in the New South Wales Parliament in 1990 - see www.legislation.nsw.gov.au. |
| exclusion | The act of preventing a student's admission to a number of schools. |
| expulsion | The permanent removal of a student from one particular school. |
| legal entity approved by the Minister to operate an individual non-government school | A registered company, partnership, trust or religious organisation. |
| mandatory notifier | Any teacher or other identified person who has a legal obligation to notify Community Services of any case of suspected child sexual abuse. |
| Manual | Registered and Accredited Non-Government Schools (NSW) Draft Manual |
| mentally incapacitated person | A person who is a temporary patient, a continued treatment patient or a forensic patient within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1990, or a protected person within the meaning of the Protected Estates Act 1983. |
| minimum curriculum | For primary schools, Section 8 and for secondary schools, Section 10 of the Education Act. Not applicable to schools providing education of a kind, or for children of a kind, as prescribed by the Regulations. |
| Minister | Minister for Education, New South Wales. |
| non-government school | An institution that is not owned by the State government, is registered by the Minister or granted exemption from registration by the Minister, and whose major activity is the provision of education, either primary or secondary (or both) or of a kind, or for children of a kind, prescribed by the regulations. |
| 'on-site' supervisor | Persons who supervise a distance education student’s tests, examinations and/or assessment tasks. 'On-site' supervisors may be family or community members who have not had any teacher training. |
| Office of the Board of Studies (OBOS) | Provides professional and administrative support and services to the Board and administers the non-government school registration program under delegation from the Board. |
| outside tutor | A person other than a teaching staff member of the school, whom the school has approved to deliver a specified course to students enrolled in the school. |
| policy | An official statement of the school, whom the school governance which outlines the associated procedures, activities or other key elements in a way that demonstrates how these goals or objectives are to be achieved. This Manual specifies those areas of school governance where it is a registration/accreditation requirement for a school to have a policy. |
| principal | The most senior member of the teaching staff of a school, with responsibility for the effective and efficient day-to-day operations of the school, including compliance with the Education Act. |
| procedural fairness | Application of the 'hearing rule' and the 'right to an unbiased decision' when implementing policies and procedures where decisions are to be made which affect the rights of others. |
| proprietor | The legal entity that owns the school or schools. |
| 'residential school' sessions | Those where students and teachers are in the presence of each other at the same physical location to undertake learning activities related to the educational program provided by the school. |
| recognised teacher institute | Any accredited tertiary institution that offers courses in teacher education. |
| registration | Compliance with the Education Act, Section 47, relating to approval to operate as a school, but does not include entering candidates for the School Certificate and the Higher School Certificate Examination. |
| Registration Committee of the Board of Studies | A standing committee of the Board of Studies which has the delegation under Section 119 of the Act to exercise the Board's powers relating to registration and accreditation. |
| registration system | A grouping of 20 or more schools (or with the Minister’s approval, 11 to 19 schools) which has been approved by the Minister to ensure compliance with the requirements for registration and, if appropriate, accreditation for the schools within that system. |
| registration system representative | A person appointed by the system authority to act on behalf of the system. |
| reportable conduct | Conduct or behaviour which must be reported to the Ombudsman and/or Commission for Children and Young People pursuant to the Ombudsman Act 1974 and/or the Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998, including child sexual assault and misconduct. |
| responsible person for a school |
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| risk management | A management plan for assessing the potential for harm and taking action towards minimising the risk of harm. This may include a plan for responding to serious incidents. |
| safe environment | One where the risk of harm is minimised and students are secure. Harm relates not only to dangers in the built environment but also refers to violence, physical threats, verbal abuse, threatening gestures, sexual harassment and racial vilification. |
| serious incident | An event which:
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| signatory for the proprietor | Person nominated by the proprietor to sign for and act on behalf of the proprietor, for example, the chairperson of a governing body. |
| supportive environment | One that facilitates and enhances the social, academic, physical and emotional development of students. |
| suspension | A temporary debarment of a student from all of the classes that a student would normally attend at a school or debarment from privileges as a means of disciplining the student. |
| system | See registration system |
| VETAB | Vocational Education and Training Accreditation Board. |
| Vocational Education and Training (VET) course | A course that has been approved by both the Board of Studies and VETAB for teaching in schools. Students receive credit towards both their HSC and an industry training qualification. See the ACE Manual for more details. |