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The NSW ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø Standards Authority (NESA)’s provides information on eligibility requirements for Life Skills Stage 5 and Life Skills Stage 6.

The decision to access Life Skills outcomes and content in each syllabus is determined by the needs of the individual student within the process.

Life Skills courses provide options for some students with intellectual disability, or an imputed intellectual disability, who cannot access the regular course outcomes with or without adjustments.

Imputed disability is defined as not formally diagnosed based on reasonable grounds and supported by documented evidence having a functional impact on the student’s capacity to access and participate in education on the same basis as their peers. The collaborative curriculum planning team must have reasonable grounds to impute a mild intellectual disability.

Life Skills courses are not an appropriate option for students:

• who do not have an intellectual disability or an imputed intellectual disability
• experiencing significant unexpected and/or chronic health issues
• performing below their cohort
• who could access outcomes and content with appropriate adjustments and support
• with emotional and/or behavioural needs.

Decisions about a student’s access to Life Skills outcomes and content are made through the process. These decisions are guided by the individual learning needs of the student and form part of broader curriculum planning that involves parents or carers, teachers, and the student themselves where appropriate. Collaborative curriculum planning provides a structured way to identify the most suitable curriculum pathways and the adjustments required to support a student with disability.

When planning for delivering a Life Skills course, schools should reference the department’s Curriculum, planning and programming, assessing and reporting to parents K–12 policy and associated policy standards.

The Life Skills curriculum does not require a formal assessment process. However, students should be given a range of opportunities to demonstrate achievement of outcomes. Schools should ensure that assessment activities are accessible and that students are provided with adjustments to enable access to any tasks.

An important consideration is that placement in Life Skills makes a student ineligible to re-enter the mainstream curriculum for that specific learning area. This may have substantial implications for their inclusion and equitable access to learning. Life Skills courses will result in an HSC credential without an ATAR, which may also limit post school options. Reversal of this decision is only possible under exceptional circumstances and requires direct consultation with NESA.

When programming Life Skills courses all indicative hour requirements should be met. This will ensure the courses are credentialled on the HSC. Each Stage 6 Life Skills course has an indicative hour requirement of 120 hours in Year 11 and 120 hours in Year 12 with the exception of the 'Studies of Religion I Life Skills' course which requires 60 indicative hours in both Year 11 and Year 12.

In some cases it may be necessary to vary the time allocated by increasing the number of hours of study for a course. When considering whether an increase in time is necessary, schools should ensure that indicative hour requirements for each enrolled course are met. ()

Integrated curriculum planning is a process that uses a multi-tiered approach to support teachers to plan for all students in any class or setting. Integrated programs consider the stage outcomes and Life Skills outcomes to inform teaching and learning to meet the diverse needs of students. By understanding and appreciating learner variability, flexible learning experiences can be planned to provide opportunities for diverse learners in every classroom to engage with curriculum and achieve their full potential, while providing a culturally inclusive space for all.

Universal strategies are quality differentiated teaching practices that are used to optimise learning and engagement for all students. Teachers build on universal strategies and intensify support through targeted differentiation and personalised learning and support to meet identified student needs.

A multi-tiered approach to curriculum planning is a strategic and efficient way for teachers to enhance learning outcomes for every student. It involves increasingly intensified support across 3 tiers.

• Tier 1 – universal – a proactive approach to support inclusive design of the whole learning environment.
• Tier 2 – targeted differentiation – the direct and intentional response of teachers to meet identified needs of individuals or groups of students, in addition to broad universal planning.
• Tier 3 – personalised learning and support – a collaborative process that responds to the individual needs of students with disability in addition to universal planning and targeted differentiation.

• Supporting students with disability in the curriculum (staff only)
• Curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting to parents K–12