External Vocational Education and Training (VET) Courses provide students with the opportunity to attain a nationally recognised qualification as well as their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) alongside gaining valuable work skills and experience. In most instances, students complete their course one day a week and remain at school for the other four days until their course is complete.
Multiple courses are available for numerous career pathways and require a partnership between our school, the training organisation and families to be effective.
It is essential that students and their families understand the commitment they are undertaking before the commencement of any position. Students partaking in an external course will be responsible for completing the necessary training and assessment required to achieve their certification. The level of assessment is determined by the training organisation in accordance with their obligations as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). It is a school expectation that students maintain passing grades for all other school subjects and remain on track to complete their QCE.
Springfield Central State High supports students throughout their external course by utilising the Pathways Office staff. It is a requirement that upon commencement of an external course, students reduce their school subject load by one subject. It is suggested that this “dropped” subject be an elective subject that falls on the day of the course. Students will be granted an Independent Study Line (ISL) to catch up on missed class work or to complete course workbooks. All students are expected to self-regulate and manage their time efficiently during these lessons. Students failing to meet these expectations may be returned to a structured class environment and possibly removed from their external course.
Various courses are funded by the Australian Government, this is known as VETis funding and is limited to one course per student. For this reason, it is essential that students and their families choose their course carefully. Participation in external courses of study impacting on a student’s school program requires school approval. Before our school will issue approval, relevance of the course to the student’s future must be proven.
Students undertaking an external course are representing themselves and our school and must demonstrate our school’s core values (Respect, Responsibility, Relationships and Resilience) at all times. This includes:
completing course work on time
communicating with staff when help is needed
arriving to work on time
wearing correct attire
explaining absences – if a student needs to be away from the course for any reason they need to inform their course provider and the school on
pathways@springfieldcentralshs.eq.edu.au as soon as possible
discussing school exam/excursion conflicts that may fall on a course day. Students need to discuss this with the Pathways Office (Course Conflict form) as soon as known so alternate arrangements can be negotiated.
For most courses, students will submit an online Expression of Interest (EOI) with the help of Pathways Staff. EOI’s require a USI number which can be obtained from
www.usi.gov.au. The course provider will then email to seek school and parent approval to complete the application process. Once your child has been approved, placement emails and/or letters of confirmation will be sent to parents/guardians from the provider. If you don’t receive this confirmation in a timely manner please contact the Pathways Staff.
How to Apply
If you support your child’s enrolment in an external course, please complete the consent form below.