February VCAA updates: professional learning and resources for F-10 and VCE

External assessment reports and 2025 examination now available

The external assessment reports and the corresponding electronic version of the 2025 examination are now available for VCE HHD, VCE PE and VCE OES via the study design pages.

Unpacking the VCE external assessment report professional learning webinars (Exam review PL)

The VCAA are offering the opportunity for teachers to strengthen their understanding of VCAA-led assessment with a series of professional learning webinars unpacking performance on the 2025 VCE examination. The session will emphasise key take aways from the examination and also answer pre-submitted questions from participants.

Dates and registration:

• VCE PE: Tuesday 3 March from 3.45 – 4.30pm. Register >>
• VCE HHD: Wednesday 4 March from 3.45 – 4.30pm. Register >>
• VCE OES: Thursday 19 March from 3.45 – 4.30pm. Register >>

PLEASE NOTE: Participants should read the relevant external assessment report before the session. It is important that participants submit questions prior to the session by email or when you register for the session.

The sessions will not be recorded or material shared post the session, so attendance in a live capacity is required.

VCE assessment professional learning – VCE HHD and VCE PE

Following year 1 of implementation of the revised study designs for VCE HHD and VCE PE, we will be holding a professional learning webinar for each study.

The sessions will share insights from the school-assessed-coursework audit process and support teachers understand SAC expectations and provide guidance on how to develop unique and compliant tasks.

Dates and registration:

• VCE HHD: Tuesday 10 March from 3.45 – 4.30pm. Register >>
• VCE PE: Tuesday 17 March from 3.45 – 4.30pm. Register >>

PLEASE NOTE: The sessions will not be recorded or material shared post the session, so attendance in a live capacity is required.

VCE examination specifications (assessment criteria) updates

Minor amendments to the assessment criteria for VCE HHD and VCE PE to enhance the clarity of the requirements of the extended response question:

• For VCE HHD the terms ‘relevant’ ‘and/or’ have been added to emphasise that the focus is on the concepts of health and/or human development as relevant to the question.
• For VCE PE the term ‘relevant’ has been added to emphasise the focus is on the relationships relevant to the question.
• For VCE OES assessment criteria have been added to the existing VCE OES examination specifications.

These criteria provide transparency and clarity on how the Part B extended response question is developed and assessed, as well as aligning VCE OES to other studies with an extended response question – i.e. VCE HHD and VCE PE.

There is no change to teaching and learning – business as usual. These criteria fit with the sample examination and the previous VCE OES extended response questions.

VCE Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document updates

As part of the regular process of ensuring teacher clarity with respect to the scope of content and the intended study specific interpretation of content, the FAQ documents for VCE HHD, VCE OES and VCE PE have been revised. These will be published on each respective study page within the next week. A Notice to Schools will also be released prompting schools of the release.

VCAA external assessment roles open (lead assessor positions and assessor roles)

Assessor roles are now open. Please visit the ‘Become and External Assessor with the VCAA’ webpage for more information about applying and closing dates.

• Foundation Levels A to D: These have now been published for the Arts, Health and Physical Education, Critical and Creative Thinking and Personal and Social Capability.

• Curriculum planning resources for all learning areas are now live and available for download on the F–10 website.

• The Teacher and Leader Guide is available for school leaders to help with understanding and aligning planning with Version 2.0 and to foster rich professional dialogue, and embed discipline-specific guidance.

• Subscribe to the VCAA for updates. We now enter a period where we will be producing and updating our specific HPE resources. To ensure you stay up to date subscribe to the F-10 update.

The following resources have recently been released with strong connections to Victorian Curriculum 2.0. Importantly, all resources feature elements that develop common knowledge and skills related to health literacy, such as accessing and analysing health information, protective behaviours, help seeking strategies and health promotion.

Road Safety Education Victoria in partnership with the Department of Education

New and revised resources to compliment VC 2.0 have been released:

• Step into Safety for Level 1/2 and Foundation Levels A – Foundation (addressing the newly released Foundation Levels A to D curriculum 2.0 which supports the learning of students with intellectual and cognitive disability and learning delays) and new units on Protective Behaviours and Safety and Physics, arriving in Term 2.

• Active Travel Units of Work for Levels 5-6 and Levels 7-8 are designed for real-world impact, they equip students with the skills and confidence to move safely, independently and actively through their communities, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and empowering young people to take positive action in a climate-changing world.

Quit Victoria: ‘Seeing through the Haze’ vaping education resources

• A reminder that the free vaping education resources from Quit Victoria are available for Year 5-6 and Year 7-10 students. Seeing Through the Haze is a free evidence-based, curriculum-aligned vaping education resource that has been designed for use in school settings with upper primary and secondary school students.

Life Saving Victoria (LSV): School swimming and water safety tool kit update

• LSV is excited to introduce the new School Swimming and Water Safety Toolkit – built for busy school teachers and swim teachers who want streamlined, curriculum-aligned support. Many will already be familiar with LSV’s Toolkit – but it’s been given a sleek update. The redesigned Toolkit is easy to use, making finding lesson plans, assessment templates, resources and of course, Swim City, a breeze!

• The program now includes a brand new Program Finder, a powerful map-based tool, has been developed with teachers’ water safety education program design needs in mind, streamlining planning and helping find the best options for their students. More information on the updates can be found via this update from LSV.