Educational Support Review (ESR)

All students undertaking accredited and non-accredited SAAS courses who have either:

• Been deemed Not Satisfactory for an assessment item; or

• Have an issue or concern that is likely to impact on their work or study program; or

• Been identified by a trainer as experiencing difficulty with the study program have the option of taking part in the ESR process. An ESR may be formal or informal and is aimed at supporting the student to succeed at their study. An ESR is to be conducted in accordance with the ESR Procedure.

Delivering Training Within SAAS

The Program Manager Vocational Education is responsible for ensuring overall compliance with the VET Quality Framework and Training Package requirements for accredited training.

Trainers and assessors deliver accredited and non-accredited courses to varying student groups within SAAS, including:

• Volunteers

• Career staff (e.g. PTS, ESS, Interns)

• Emergency Operations Centre (EOC)

• External Clients.

Various managers are responsible for the delivery of accredited and nonaccredited courses in these sectors and the administration processes differ for each. A summary of the sectors is provided in below. Volunteers

• Manager responsible for delivery is the Program Manager Volunteer Education

• The Volunteer Programming Team will schedule training workshops and coordinate trainers. They will also receive and process timesheets and expense claim forms, arrange accommodation trainers and be the first point of contact if trainers require assistance with any issue relating to the training

• The Onboarding/Resulting Team are responsible for processing new student enrolments and issuing completion documentation.

• The Quality Assurance Team will ensure assessment and trainers meet the required compliance standards prior to qualification issuance.

Career Staff (e.g. PTS, ESS, Interns)

• Manager responsible for delivery is the Program Manager Career Education

• The Career Programming Team will schedule training workshops, coordinate trainers, book venues, receive and process timesheets and be the first point of contact if trainers require assistance with any issue relating to the training

• The Onboarding/Resulting Team are responsible for processing new student enrolments and issuing completion documentation

• The Logistics Team will organise availability of training resources and equipment

• The Quality Assurance Team will ensure assessment and trainers meet the required compliance standards prior to qualification issuance

Emergency Operations Centre (EOC)

• Manager responsible for delivery is the Program Development Manager (PDM)

• PDM will schedule training workshops and coordinate trainers

• PDM is the first point of contact if trainers require assistance with any issue relating to the training

• The Onboarding/Resulting Team are responsible for processing new student enrolments and issuing completion documentation

• The Quality Assurance Team will ensure assessment and trainers meet the required compliance standards prior to qualification issuance

External Clients

• Manager responsible for delivery is the Team Leader External Clients (TLEC)

• The TLEC will coordinate training workshops, advise trainers what sessions they will deliver, how many students are expected and arrange venues and accommodation

• The Onboarding/Resulting Team are responsible for processing new student enrolments and issuing completion documentation

• The Quality Assurance Team will ensure assessment and trainers meet the required compliance standards prior to qualification issuance

• External Clients is a unique sector of SAAS, with a particular slant on ambulance practice, at times requiring a change in thinking from the normal SAAS way of doing things. Some External Clients students are able to cannulate, give various drugs and some have undertaken paramedic studies. This may present challenges for the trainers when students ask complicated questions or want more information than would normally occur. Therefore any issues during training sessions should be discussed via phone with the TLEC as soon as possible, to enable a quick

• The TLEC will provide the appropriate induction (via email) to any trainers that are required to attend mine sites

• The TLEC will pass on details about individual students’ knowledge and skills to assist trainers with session preparation.

• Trainers attending mine sites must comply with site regulations including: o Inductions o Random drug testing o Escorted movements through sites o Wearing long-sleeve, high-vis clothing o Normal boots (not necessarily steel capped) are suitable for short term visits (if there is an extended stay, steel caps are required) o Trainers will need to bring their own hard hat o If trainers are to be staying in mine site accommodation, linen is provided

Facilitator Guides

Facilitator Guides provide a workshop/session plan detailing learning activities, key teaching points, resources and assessment requirements. It is recommended that you make yourself familiar with the relevant session Facilitator Guide well in advance of workshops to allow time to ensure all logistics requirements are available and that you are well prepared to deliver the training.

Facilitator Guides have been aligned with the organisational and training package requirements. Any omission of learning outcomes from a session could disadvantage the student as they will not receive all the required training prior to undertaking their assessments. More importantly, the student will also not be equipped with all the required skills and knowledge to undertake their role within SAAS.

Facilitator Guides are made available through the SAAS eLearning platform (see below).

Conducting Assessments Within SAAS

All assessments must be conducted in accordance with the Conducting Accredited and Non Accredited Assessments Procedure available on the SAAS Intranet, Policy and Information Centre.

Assessors should ensure they are familiar with this process as well as the relevant Assessment Guide prior to conducting any assessments.

Assessment Guides provide comprehensive information about the required assessments, including:

• Assessment criteria

• Resources required

• Principles of quality assessment practice.

• Markers Guide.

Assessments and Assessment Guides have been aligned with the organisational and training package requirements. Any omission or alteration to an assessment could disadvantage the student and place them at risk of not being eligible to receive their certification documentation at the end of the accredited course. It’s not appropriate to mark ‘not applicable (N/A)’ for an assessment component unless options have been provided.

Evidence of Assessment

Trainers and assessors must ensure they correctly complete each assessment item for each student. Incorrect or incomplete assessment items may disadvantage the student (i.e. need to complete the assessment again) or cause a delay in the issuance of certification documentation.

Any assessment item that provides evidence of a student’s competency within an accredited course must be conducted and signed off by a current TAE accredited assessor who is registered with Clinical Education, otherwise students will be required to complete the assessment again.

Trainers and assessors should remind students that they are required to keep a copy of all completed assessment workbooks before they are submitted to Clinical Education. SAAS is required to keep all assessment evidence for accredited courses for six months. At the end of this time period, assessment evidence may be disposed of unless the student has specifically requested to have it returned.

Assessment items can also be misplaced. In the event that they are lost and the student has not kept a copy, they will be required to complete the assessment(s) again before certification documentation can be issued.

Reasonable Adjustment

Reasonable adjustment refers to flexibility in assessment approaches to account for individual learning needs, while still adhering to the assessment requirements of the relevant training package or VET accredited course. Whilst reasonable adjustments can be made in terms of the way in which evidence of performance is gathered, the evidence criteria for making competent/not yet competent decisions should not be altered in any way.

To ensure flexibility and fairness in assessment, SA Ambulance Service makes reasonable adjustments to qualifications and units/clusters to ensure that all students are accommodated and that no unnecessary barriers exist to their ability to demonstrate competence.

SA Ambulance Service recognises that some people are better suited to learning via alternative teaching methods not usually obtained in the traditional classroom setting. With some minor adjustments to teaching and assessment methods, a student who is experiencing difficulty learning and achieving the desired results in the traditional setting may show considerable improvements.

SA Ambulance Service respect these differences among students and will endeavour to make any reasonable adjustments to their methods in order to meet the needs of a variety of students. For example, the inability to complete a written assessment will not be interpreted as a sign of incompetence provided the student can verbally demonstrate competency (where this does not conflict with the required demands of the unit of competency).

Any reasonable adjustments to the assessment process must ensure that the integrity of the unit of competency being assessed is maintained. Where adjustments are made a declaration is to be stated, describing how the assessment was adjusted and signed by the student and the assessor.

SA Ambulance Service staff will pursue any reasonable means within their ability to assist students in achieving the required competency standards. In the event that a student’s needs exceed the capacity of the support services SA Ambulance Service can offer, they will be referred onto an appropriate external agency.

In determining the reasonableness of an adjustment to assessment, the vocational and professional outcomes of the course must be considered in order to ensure assessment decisions are appropriate.

Common examples for a reasonable adjustment could include, allowing a written assessment to be answered verbally if the student has difficulty writing or rescheduling a practical assessment for another date/time if a student is injured.

Reasonable adjustment cannot be applied to work placement assessments as these have been designed to meet the requirements of the job role as well as conforming to relevant policies and procedures. Reasonable adjustment also cannot be applied for bulk student assessments (ie group assessment rather than an individual’s assessment – unless it is specified within the assessment criteria)

It is the responsibility of the student to discuss any difficulties in completing an assessment they have with their assessor to determine if any adjustment can be made.

Any reasonable adjustments made to assessment items must be documented.