Introduction to the Skills SA student support standards
Skills SA is committed to the wellbeing of all VET students undertaking subsidised training in South Australia. As a training provider delivering subsidised VET training, you play an important role in this space.
The Skills SA student support standards show the level and type of supports every RTO with a Funded Activities Agreement is expected to provide to their students in South Australia. The six standards cover all parts of a supportive learning environment for VET students.
If your RTO meets all six standards, it will show that your learning environment is ready for diverse student groups and can effectively address individual student needs. You will have shown that you understand and plan for disability support needs. You will also have shown that you support your staff to develop the awareness and skills needed to support the needs of a diverse range of students.
The answers you give and the processes and practices you have in place will help you respond to the student support, diversity and wellbeing requirements in the upcoming national RTO Outcome Standards.
Skills SA student support standards
There are six student support standards you need to meet. Click on the different standards below to see the questions you’ll need to respond in your self-assessment for each standard.
Standard 1: The upfront assessment of need (UAN)
Support Standard Outcome: You understand and demonstrate compliance with the UAN
- Do you deliver or intend to deliver subsidised training to VET for school students?
- What is your process to make sure that you have received a VETRO referral? How does your process make sure that the VETRO process is completed before you open a training account.
- Your staff must conduct a compliant UAN process with every prospective student. What steps have you taken to ensure this happens every time?
- When do you assess suitability and support needs? Who is responsible for doing the assessment?
- What is your process for assessing suitability and support needs?
- What evidence do you keep when assessing a prospective student’s suitability and support needs?
- After completing the suitability and support needs assessment, how do you make sure the documented supports are provided and monitored?
- How do you inform prospective students about Success and Wellbeing Services (SWS)?
- When do you assess a prospective student’s literacy and numeracy capabilities? Who is responsible for doing this?
- What are the conditions you set for conducting the literacy and numeracy assessments?
- What Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) Exit levels for reading and numeracy (and, where you assess it, writing) do you set for each of the subsidised courses you deliver?
- What are your next steps if the SRNI result is ‘further assessment needed’ for a prospective student’s reading and/or numeracy assessment?
- What is your process when CSPA assessment results need to be interpreted?
- What is your process once a CSPA interpretation report is completed for a prospective student who didn’t meet the minimum ACSF Exit level/s required?
Support Standard 2, Understanding and Supporting South Australian Students
Support Standard Outcome: You have a strong and up-to-date understanding of your South Australian student group/s. You offer flexible training and assessment that works for all your students. This reduces the need for individual adjustments.
- What are the demographics of your South Australian student group/s?
- What are the typical learning barriers you have identified within each student group/s?
- Have you observed learning and thinking differences in some of your student groups that impact their learning?
- What sources of information do you use to make sure you understand your student group/s?
- How do you use the information you collect to tailor the supports you make available to all your students?
- How do you make sure that students have choices in how they receive training and are assessed?
- What are the supports (accommodations) you offer that are available to all students during training?
Support Standard 3: Developing and delivering individual supports
Support Standard Outcome: You recognise and address the individual support needs of students. You ensure staff are aware of, and can refer students to, external support services.
- Do you have a current Success and Wellbeing Services (SWS) partnership agreement?
- How do you work with your SWS provider/s?
- How do you actively promote SWS to your students during their training?
- How do you make sure your students know who they can talk to about non-training related issues?
- How do trainers identify and respond to support needs as these come up during training?
Support Standard 4: Disability access
Support Standard Outcome: You make sure support is available for students with disability. You have processes in place whether or not you currently have students with disability.
- How do you make sure all staff know their responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act Disability Standards for Education (2005)?
- During training, how do you make it easy for students to talk about their disability?
- During training, how do you plan reasonable adjustments for each student who needs them? How do you involve them in the process?
- During training where do you record agreed reasonable adjustment plans? How do you make sure you keep them confidential?
- After making a plan for reasonable adjustment, how do you make sure that you provide and monitor the supports?
Support Standard 5: Professional development
Support Standard Outcome: You regularly complete professional development to address the specific support needs of students in South Australia.
- Provide a list of the PD completed by your staff in the past year. The PD must address the learning barriers and learning and thinking differences of your South Australian students, as identified in standards 2 and 4. It may also include PD that supports anticipated needs or increases inclusive teaching practices.
- Has at least one relevant team member completed the mandated PD?
- How did the PD outlined in this standard benefit your organisation?
- What other PD could Skills SA provide that would help you support your students?
Support Standard 6: Procedures
Support Standard Outcome: You have procedures that demonstrate compliance with each support standard.
- List your procedure/s that demonstrate compliance with each support standard.