Message from the CEO
Welcome back to school and the start of Term 1. It's wonderful to see teachers and students in the classroom again. I hope you all had a wonderful time during the holidays and are feeling refreshed and ready to take on 2022.
The Year of the Tiger promises to be busy, as we continue to progress improvements to Victoria's curriculum and assessment. In the pipeline are the senior secondary certificate reforms, transition to NAPLAN Online, changes to the General Achievement Test and a review of the Victorian Curriculum F–10 – to name a few!
Your feedback to last year's professional development opportunities has been overwhelmingly positive and we are looking forward to supporting you again with a jam-packed program in Terms 1 and 2. Please scan the many opportunities in this edition of the Bulletin and register to join in.
Whatever the year holds on the pandemic front, we are planning for all possible scenarios and will communicate advice and solutions, as issues arise. As always, look out for updates through our website, future Bulletins and Notices to Schools.
Senior secondary certificate transition
As you know, Victoria is moving to a new integrated senior secondary certificate that brings together our VCE and VCAL certificates. We have developed additional supports for you to use in the transition from VCAL to the VCE Vocational Major and the Victorian Pathways Certificate in 2023.
Professional learning to support the implementation of the VCE Vocational Major and Victorian Pathways Certificate will be offered throughout the year, and we will share a detailed list of dates soon. This professional learning will support all schools, including those that don’t currently offer VCAL, to develop engaging vocational and applied learning programs for students.
The proposed curriculum is currently being considered for accreditation by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority. For more information about the new pathways, visit our page on
Senior Secondary Certificate Reform.
General Achievement Test improvements
2022 will also see positive changes to the GAT with the introduction of new measures to assess literacy and numeracy skills and broadening it to include Senior VCAL students who will now sit a section of the GAT. It is vital that our young people attain the reading and writing skills to be able to fully participate in today’s workforce. This change will provide additional information on the skills and knowledge that students have gained, which will be of value to them, schools and employers.
Transition to NAPLAN Online
The national transition to NAPLAN Online is due to be completed in May 2022, with all Victorian schools expected to administer NAPLAN Online this year. Schools are required to undertake a number or key readiness tasks to complete the NAPLAN Online school readiness program.
In addition to a webinar training program, a set of self-directed online courses are available through our website. There are four role-based courses available – for principals, NAPLAN coordinators, test administrators and technical support officers. All courses are available on-demand throughout the remainder of 2022. I encourage staff in the designated roles to access the appropriate course. Please refer to the F–10 Assessment section of this Bulletin for more details.
Stay safe.
Stephen Gniel
Chief Executive Officer