Project Overview

The AE awards project is based on the Circle of Courage –a strengths based model of youth development that focuses on responding to the needs of young people rather than reacting to their problems.

AE Awards began because young people in some alternative education settings do not have access to completing NCEA qualifications. This is partly due to the extra support that is needed if they are to be successful, and partly a structural issue where some students are simply unable to enrol through a local school. The project aims to meet the first need by upskilling staff at AE and community education centres around teaching and assessing unit standards within the challenges of an AE project.

To meet the second need Praxis has gained accreditation to assess unit standards towards NCEA and offers AE Providers the opportunity to assess and report unit standards for their learners through our organisation. The requirements for NCEA level 1 have been broken down into three shorter qualifications that enable teaching and learning to take place around each student’s strengths and interests (as part of an Individual Development Plan). They also mean that a student’s success can be recognised and celebrated at shorter intervals than is normal in a secondary school or through Correspondence School.

AE and community providers are still responsible for providing teaching resources towards unit standards requirements (these can be accessed through the Correspondence School, Instant Standards or other accredited providers). The AE provider’s role is to coach a young person to get them ready to sit an assessment using pre-moderated resources. The relationship with Praxis enables that assessment to be reported to NZQA.

The AE Awards Project has three parts:

• Professional development for AE staff
• The SINs Assessment and IDP
• The Awards and Challenges