This morning I woke up to read the NESA announcement about the results of the HSC review for our state going forward. In the announcement, Sarah Mitchell has said our curriculum will continue to be updated in terms of content as well as some larger more general changes to the HSC. Let's start with the general changes.

Key changes moving forward

VET will count towards an ATAR

NSW education is getting rid of the category A and B system so VET courses can contribute to a student’s ATAR from 2025. This will mean subjects such as a Certificate II in Sports Coaching or Sport and Recreation will be included and allow students to not just complete their HSC but also receive an ATAR.

More online HSC exams

NESA is also going to begin putting more HSC exams online. This is likely to be a slower process as they test subject areas to work out which exams work well this way and which still need to be done on paper. This may mean PDHPE exams move into the online space, which I think opens up a great opportunity for a complete change to our style of exam to include research and critical thinking answering questions not easily found through a Google search (but such a change is not likely).

Introducing learner profiles

NESA wants to introduce learner profiles in order to highlight student achievements in extra-curricular activities so as to present a more holistic picture of student achievements rather than simply their exam results. I think this will do wonders for many of our students who excel in sports as these achievements will be able to improve their overall schooling picture to potential employers and universities.

Clearer course overviews

The aim of the course overview is to tie skills and knowledge from HSC courses to careers. It is hoped this will make it easier for Year 10 students to understand the skills developed in each course and help them as they select subjects for Stage 6.

The most applicable news for us more immediately is...

NESA has stated, "The timeline has also been updated for the new senior secondary syllabuses, with all on track to be delivered by 2025." This means our new Stage 6 PDHPE syllabus should be released soon as it is the only way NESA can expect us to deliver a new senior syllabus by 2025.

The bad news is, that this is coming during a time of teacher shortages. Many schools are short a teacher or two, which will make getting the time off from classes in order to write brand new programs and assessments to match the new syllabus is going to press us for time. But don't stress too much. There will be plenty of support provided from many of the sectors and of course, I will be doing everything I can to support teachers when this new syllabus is finally released (No really, I have big plans when they finally announce its release. I cannot wait to help you).

Prepare for its release by

• Joining the Health and Movement Science Facebook Group 
• you may also like to grab a free physical copy of and start applying my book Work Less, Teach More: How to be an effective teacher a live a life you love. You only have to pay postage and handling.

You can find NESA's media release here