Registration Matters

Registration and accreditation

The Catholic Schools NSW (CSNSW) registration system has an approved authority that is responsible for monitoring the compliance of member schools.

  • NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA’s) NSW Registration Systems and Member Non-government Schools Manual (PDF, 1.4 MB) explains the requirements and processes for registration and accreditation. 
  • The manual is a comprehensive guide that sets out the legal basis for a system of non-government schools.
  • The manual also includes the requirements and evidence of compliance for registration and accreditation, and related processes for applications and notifications.

Compliance

CSNSW seek to assure NESA that schools who are members of the Registration System comply with the requirements for registration – and as relevant – accreditation as per the Act.

  • Schools are responsible for complying with the requirements for registration.
  • We recognise the culture of self-assurance in schools with school leaders putting processes in place to demonstrate their capacity to comply with registration requirements.
  • CSNSW provides consultancy, resources and support in the area of school registration and accreditation to help schools understand NESA's requirements and strengthen capacity.

Registration

Registration is a non-government school’s licence to operate and ensures the requirements of the Education Act 1990 (NSW) are met.

A non-government school may be registered as either:

  • an individual non-government school
  • a member school of a system of non-government schools.

Accreditation

Accreditation authorises a non-government school to present candidates for:

  • the award of the Record of School Achievement (RoSA)
  • the Higher School Certificate (HSC).

It is optional for a secondary school to apply for accreditation in addition to registration.

Monitoring

The Framework for Catholic Schools NSW Registration System Reporting

By agreement through a Memorandum of Understanding, the Catholic Schools NSW registration system (CSNSW) provides an annual report to the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).

  • The report from CSNSW will be included in NESA’s annual report to the Registration and Accreditation Committee.
  • It will report on the implementation of CSNSW’s processes and compliance of the member schools with the registration and accreditation requirements.
  • The Framework for CSNSW Reporting (the Framework) refers to the requirements for registration and accreditation for non-government schools in the Registration Systems and Member Non-government Schools (NSW) Manual (the Manual).
  • While all requirements in the Manual apply to member schools of the system and are relevant to CSNSW’s assurance processes, the Framework sets out the subset of requirements subject to CSNSW reporting to NESA and the form of reporting over a five-year cycle.

Reporting requirements

The requirements that are subject to reporting by CSNSW to NESA are:

  • Staff (section 5.2)
  • Curriculum (section 5.3 and, where relevant, sections 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3)
  • Safe and supportive environment (section 5.6)
  • Discipline (section 5.7)
  • Attendance (section 5.8)
  • Schools with boarding facilities, where relevant (section 5.11)

Five-year reporting cycle 

The requirements identified above will be the subject of CSNSW’s annual reporting to NESA over a five-year reporting cycle.

Each year a subset of these requirements will be the focus of CSNSW’s report.

Five-Year Plan 

  • The cycle for annual reporting will be based on a documented Five-Year Plan which will describe the subset of requirements for each calendar year over the five-year reporting cycle. 
  • The Five-Year Plan is a flexible and negotiated document that is responsive to emerging compliance risk areas and NESA and CSNSW priorities. 
  • The Five-Year Plan specifies the curriculum and policy areas that will be the subject of CSNSW’s report to NESA.