What we do

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NSW Education Standards Authority's (NESA) story

NESA is an independent statutory authority reporting to an independent Board and the NSW Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning.

Making sure all children and young people in NSW leave school ready to take advantage of lifeā€™s opportunities, as well as to rise to its inevitable challenges, is at the heart of what they do.

NESA achieves this by supporting the school sectors to deliver the best possible outcomes for students through high-quality syllabuses, assessments, teaching standards, and school environments.

NESA history

NESA's Statement of Expectations

In July 2022, the Minister for Education and Early Learning, the Hon Sarah Mitchell MLC, released NESA’s Statement of Expectations to 30 June 2023.

The statement outlines their five overarching objectives:

  1. ProvideĀ strategic leadershipĀ and promote an evidence-based approach in improving standards of school education, while maintaining flexibility across the entire school education and teaching sector.
  2. Ensure thatĀ teaching quality and professional standardsĀ are developed, applied, and monitored in a way that improves student learning.
  3. Ensure that theĀ NSW school curriculumĀ is developed, applied, and monitored in a way that improves student learning.
  4. Ensure thatĀ forms of assessmentĀ are improved, applied, and monitored in a way that improves student learning.
  5. Ensure thatĀ regulatory standards for schoolsĀ are improved, applied, and monitored in a way that improves student learning.

NESA's mission and purpose

Consistent with the National Declaration on the Educational Goals for Young Australians, NESAā€™s mission is to support teachers, schools and sectors to offer all children and young people a high quality education that enables them to fulfil their potential, through schooling that:

  • is characterised by equity and excellence
  • equips young Australians to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens, and
  • nurtures the development of the whole person, preparing students not only for undertaking meaningful work, but for living the lives they have reason to value.

NESA brings about change to improve student learning and wellbeing through:

  • supporting the teaching profession to be the best it can be through the Australian Professional Standards for Teaching and quality assurance of professional learning and development
  • developing world class curriculum
  • deepening the understanding and practice of assessing student knowledge and capabilities, and
  • driving improvement in the quality assurance systems for schools.

NESA provides a forum for collaboration on key educational matters in NSW and works in partnership with students, parents, teachers, principals, school sectors, and other stakeholders to identify issues and produce policy that supports teaching practice and student learning, and the attainment of high education standards in NSW.

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NESA Opportunities