Guidance and information for schools about delivering ...



Guidance and information for schools about delivering online learning to offshore international students Updated June 2021Context On 7 May 2021, the Minister for Education issued a Ministerial Direction which allows schools to deliver online education to offshore international students throughout Term 3 and 4, 2021 and term 1 and 2, 2022.The approval allows only the following groups of international students to study offshore online:students who are continuing with their studies.In order for prospective students to commence a course of study on or after the first day of term 3, 2021 they must:i/ have completed year 10 or the equivalent prior to commencement and,ii/ be commencing year 11 or 12 in semester 1 2022 and in and be eligible for and intending to apply for a travel exemption to travel to, oriii/ be enrolled to commence a course of study in semester 2, 2021 at year 10 level, and be eligible for and intending to apply for a travel exemption to travel to Victoria to undertake year 11 or 12 in 2022.Prior to students commencing offshore online learning, a Principal or Assistant Principal must interview students via videoconference to ensure they are a suitable candidate for online learning.It is important to note that the Ministerial Direction:allows offshore international students to learn online but does not require it. Offshore online learning for international students in Term 3 and 4, 2021 and term 1 and 2, 2022 is strictly optional for both schools and students.allows offshore online learning only as a temporary bridging offering, and that all offshore international students are expected to travel to Victoria when it becomes feasible to do so does not apply to international students who are already onshore and are remaining onshore – these students should follow the approach for local students, i.e. learning remotely and flexibly when local students are doing so, and learning face-to-face when local students are doing so (unless compassionate and compelling circumstances apply).Schools will be required to assist offshore international students and their parents to decide whether to engage in online learning (based on the student’s unique circumstances, including learning preferences) and ensure additional learning support required by the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (the National Code) is offered to students who learn online. The ISP online learning school form has been developed to assist schools with this process.The Department of Education and Training (the Department) understands that offshore online learning presents logistical challenges for schools. Prior to agreeing to provide online learning to any offshore international students, Victorian government schools must consider whether the school is able to appropriately support offshore students engaged in online learning, including whether the school has:capacity to deliver all elements of the primary or secondary coursecapacity to meet the relevant school curriculum or school qualification requirements, including through considering the impacts on staff workloadundertaken appropriate assessments of any child safety implications (see further guidance in the following section ‘Child safety obligations’)helped the parent / legal custodian of the student to make an informed decision in the best interests of the studentsupported the Department to document any changes to the student’s enrolment in an updated written agreement.The following information and resources are provided in order to support schools to consider the challenges in delivering offshore online learning, and to address those complexities where the school has decided to support any offshore students to learn online. School staff workloadSchools must recognise that if they decide to deliver online learning to any offshore international students, they must be able to support this arrangement throughout all of Terms 3 and 4 2021 and terms 1 and 2, 2022. Where a school decides to deliver offshore online learning, this will increase the workload of teachers and international student support staff. Schools must make sure that this does not result in teachers or international student support staff exceeding their work requirements. To support schools, the Department will make a range of supports available, including:transferring students to schools that offer online learning, if their current host school chooses not to support online learningprovide centrally coordinated online orientation for students commencing offshore online in 2022, to relieve pressure on schools and to meet regulatory obligations, andaccess to Virtual School Victoria platforms, to ensure that teachers have access to existing online learning resources (noting that capacity limits apply).For further detail regarding the support available to schools, please email: international.school.support@education..au Child safety obligationsAll Victorian schools are required to comply with the Child Safe Standards. Victorian government schools must comply with child safety obligations in relation to all areas of the school environment, including delivering online learning to offshore students. To comply with the Child Safe Standards in an online learning environment, schools should:Consider any risks of child abuse that might arise in an online school learning environment, including grooming and implement strategies to reduce or remove risks where possible. Specific risks arising from delivering online learning to students offshore might include: communication through unfamiliar technology platforms, added difficulties in disclosing child abuse due to potential language/communication/cultural barriers, and communication between staff and students outside of school hours due to time difference.Remind all staff that they are required to comply with the school’s Child Safety Code of Conduct when engaging in their work online.Remind all staff of the school’s procedures for responding to and reporting suspected child abuse. If school staff suspect child abuse of a child studying outside Australia, the staff member should still follow the Four Critical Actions for Schools.Ensure that students have access to online safety education.Parents or carers are responsible for students’ general supervision and safety while students are learning online offshore. However, principals and school staff must still:identify risks which are reasonably foreseeable for students who are learning online offshoretake reasonable steps which are in the school’s control to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm to students. While school staff will not have line of sight or face-to-face supervision of students at all times when they are accessing online learning (and may have very little face-to-face supervision where students are overseas given time differences), school staff must still take reasonable steps to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm to students. Reasonable steps to support the safety and wellbeing of offshore students learning online will depend on the circumstances of the student, for example, time zone differences, potential language / communication / cultural barriers with parents / carers and other potential barriers (technological or otherwise). Reasonable steps to support offshore student safety and wellbeing might include:providing a dedicated staff member to liaise with offshore students (and their parents or carers) and manage the challenges of being overseas and engaging in online learningreminding school staff that they must act within DET’s Using Social Media Policyusing Department-approved technology to teach remote online learning where possible.For more detailed information on child safety and online learning, schools should see Child safety, reportable conduct and duty of care in remote online learning environments.Online learning and welfare adviceTo assist all Victorian government schools delivering online learning to offshore students, the Department has developed general advice on online learning for all students. While the guidance is not specific to international student in offshore settings, it reflects the better practice insights from across many schools, teachers and areas of study. Schools must be mindful that the National Code specifies additional support that must be offered to international students if they are disadvantaged or experience learning difficulties while learning online. Schools must ensure that their support to offshore international students learning online includes:providing learning, English language, feedback, and welfare support that is tailored to individual student learning needscontacting students daily, including via video call interaction at least once per week, (and, where appropriate, their parent / legal guardian) to check their ongoing learning and progress, and wellbeing. assessing each student’s ongoing ability to learn onlinefacilitating access to learning support services consistent with an online learning environment and the learning needs of individual studentstaking all reasonable steps to support international students who may be disadvantaged by additional costs or inability to access resources or engage with other students while learning online recording and retaining documents relating to each international student’s engagement in online learning, including attendance and course progress.Poor or low participation in online learning could indicate that the student needs additional English language, learning or wellbeing support. Standard 8.22 of the National Code requires schools to take all reasonable steps to support international students who may struggle with undertaking online or distance learning or are unable to access the resources and community support offered by the school. It will be important for schools to discuss the online learning arrangement with each of the student’s teachers to ensure that the student’s coursework and course requirements are compatible with offshore online learning.The Department’s International Education Division can provide further guidance on these additional support requirements.COVID-19 international student adviceThroughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the Department’s International Education Division has consolidated many COVID-19 frequently asked questions into a single source of guidance for schools. This guidance aims to support schools with many of the interrelated issues that could arise as a result of COVID-19, including issues regarding attendance, course progress requirements, deferrals, temporary suspensions, and withdrawals as well as supporting international students’ wellbeing.Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) – delivering VCE external assessmentsBefore deciding whether to support a student to undertake offshore online learning, schools should specifically consider potential challenges in authenticating assessments that the student will be required to undertake. The VCAA provides guidance on its website about how schools can undertake remote authentication, but ultimately the school will need to determine whether it can satisfy itself that its offshore students have completed assessments appropriately. The VCAA has a dedicated COVID-19 page on its website which provides comprehensive advice for school principals and teachers regarding the impact of COVID-19 on learning programs. For more information, see: HYPERLINK "" VCAA COVID-19 adviceWhen helping VCE students and families to make a decision about offshore online learning, schools should assist families to explicitly consider whether it will be in the best interests of the student and their families to enrol in a VCE offshore program where available instead of undertaking offshore online learning with a Victorian government school.The VCAA is working to ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place for offshore Year 11 and 12 international students, completing one or more VCE or scored VCE VET Unit 3-4 sequences to sit external examinations offshore. Schools and education providers with questions and concerns regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery of learning programs should contact VCAA on 1800 134 197. Queries about international students completing VCE external examinations overseas should be directed to the VCAA International Unit at vcaa.international@edumail..au.Technical delivery of online learningSchools must use Department-approved technology for offshore online learning. All use of technologies in schools requires compliance with legislation and Department policies, for example, related to privacy and security. For more information, see: Accessing Department technologies.The following learning and communication options are provided to support daily communication with students to ensure provision and access to classwork, learning feedback and welfare services. Schools are encouraged to choose the learning options that best suit their own individual learning approach.Department technologies0365 (Microsoft): LMS in schools which has been used widely in teaching students in Victoria during Term 2, 2020 online learning. G Suite for education (Google): schools may also wish to use G Suite, however, please note that it is not accessible in China. WebEx: all government schools have WebEx boards. Interaction between students and teachers requires the students to download the app. To access: search for ‘WebEx’ on your Department computer. For more information, see: Accessing Department technologies.Additional resourcesThe Department’s Virtual Schools Victoria (VSV) enables students to learn through F-12 online courses, online classes and face-to-face communication. Some schools may already access VSV course support and be aware of the VSV pedagogical model. VSV has capacity to deliver into many countries (including China), however, if you are considering this pathway, it is recommended you contact VSV staff directly to discuss your specific needs. Third-party servicesThere are a variety of commercial providers offering online support for F-12 students, some of which purport to be able to deliver support to students based overseas (including China). Please note that schools should not ‘onboard' new third-party technologies at this time, particularly those with videoconferencing functions. This is because of significant challenges associated with appropriately managing privacy, security and safety.Some examples of third-party services include: Compass: a common LMS in schools, it is a useful repository of subject/course outline and resources. International students with the Compass app / program already downloaded on their laptops have had more success getting consistent access to the resources, than those that are trying to access via internet browsers.XUNO: a school management system that provides feature to support learning, school processes and community engagement. For more information, see: Moodle: an LMS which operates successfully in many countries (including China) with effective delivery but requires some time to set up and manage. For more information, see: : currently used by many Victorian schools to support student learning across a wide number of VCE Studies. For more information, see: ................
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