For students studying at VSV while based at a mainstream school, school supervisors also play a critical role in supporting students as they study outside of the schedule of the normal school day.
VSV provides an unparalleled online teaching and learning experience for Victorian students who are unable to complete a full range of subjects at a mainstream school. We have a proud legacy of teaching a unique and diverse range of students from government, Catholic and independent schools.
Students studying at VSV can access and complete their work, interact with their peers and communicate online with their teachers via our online learning environment. Our experienced and supportive staff are here to promote a safe, positive and engaging learning environment and to provide support for every student. We work in partnership with schools throughout Victoria to provide the very best teaching and learning support possible.
Read more about enrolment at VSV.
Supporting my student
My role as a parent/carer supervisor
We ask that you take the following steps to ensure that Assessments are administered correctly:
- The student receives the assessments on the day and time that has been mutually agreed.
- The student has a suitable place to complete the task.
- Students should be supervised as directed in the “Instructions for Supervisors” on the coversheet for each assessment
- The student signs the declaration of authenticity included with the assessment, to verify that the conditions set by the teacher have been followed.
- The supervisor signs the declaration, attesting that the distribution and collection conditions have been met (where appropriate).
- The assessment is emailed or posted (as per instructions) to Virtual School Victoria by the due date specified by the teacher on the assessment material, with the appropriate coversheet.
- A copy of the assessment is kept by the supervisor
- It is essential that students are aware of our policies and processes regarding the successful completion of their VCE. Students can access our VCE handbook via the Lounge, in the VCE section.
How do I best support my student?
School supervisors play an important part in supporting students undertaking a VSV subject. School supervisors:
- develop a study timetable with the student. The timetable should have explicit times when the student will be completing their VSV lessons and make clear the room these are to be completed in
- check that the student can log in to their VSV studies (they have their VSV username and password) and have access to all required learning materials (print and online)
- make a regular time with the student to ensure students are completing and submitting their work to VSV according to the subject’s submission timetable
- check that Week 1 has been submitted, ensuring the student is developing a successful routine
- encourage students to make early contact with their VSV teacher (and regular contact from this point on), and connect them with available local sources of assistance where possible.
How many supervisors does a student have?
Students have one nominated supervisor listed in the VSV database. Teachers will work with this nominated supervisor.
What resources do I need to provide for a student I’m supervising?
School supervisors must ensure students have access to adequate means of communication with their VSV teachers during designated times at school. This will include access to a phone and email, and may include access to other technology such as webcams, microphones and video-conferencing equipment. Supervisors should ensure that students can access VSV Online.
All students at VSV require regular and reliable access to the internet. Most desktops or laptops are compatible with VSV Online and our online classrooms. Please note that a smartphone, tablet or Chromebook is not sufficient to meet the needs of the study. Where possible, it is recommended that more than one device is available if more than one child is enrolled at VSV.
Read our full list of minimum technical specifications.
Do students need a textbook?
Alongside the materials developed by the teachers at VSV, certain subjects require textbooks and additional resources. These can be purchased from our recommended resource supplier, Campion Education. View our book lists and resource lists for instructions on how to place an order.
What is the Parent/Supervisor Portal?
The VSV Portal is an area for Parents, Carers and School Supervisors to view information about their student’s progress at VSV. The portal allows you to:
- view the subjects their students are enrolled in and teacher contact details
- view assignment submissions received from the student and assignment submissions returned by the teacher
- download Interim Reports (Year 11 – 12) and End of Semester Reports for each subject.
How do I access the VSV Supervisor’s portal?
- go to connect.vsv.vic.edu.au
- click on ‘register email address’
- enter the email address that is registered at VSV and linked to your student – a confirmation email and password will be sent to you
- go to the VSV portal login page and enter your email and password.
What is VCE-O (Year 11 – 12)?
VCE-O is the online orientation program for VSV students. It is designed to help students understand how to navigate online learning, VSV policies and processes.
How often should I contact VSV?
School supervisors should liaise with VSV teachers and keep them up to date regarding any situations that might impact upon a student’s ability to engage with their studies. These include long-term absences, medical certificates, requests for extensions of time, change in contact details (or that of the school), or if special provision arrangements are required for assessment tasks. Supervisors should regularly check the VSV Portal to keep up to date with their students’ progress.
SACS and Exams
When do I get the assessment task/ SACs from VSV?
- Assessments in Year 12 are generally completed on paper and are posted to the student’s nominated school supervisor at least two weeks prior to the set date. Assessments in other year levels are generally made available electronically to the students, depending on each subject.
- If you have not received the SAC, please contact the subject teacher.
Do I need to supervise the assessment task/SAC for the whole duration?
It is the role of the supervisor to ensure that instructions of the SAC are followed. All students completing the same subject at the same school need to sit the assessment at the same time.
What do I do when my student has completed the assessment task/SAC?
The supervisor should keep a copy (electronic or paper) of all completed SACs. Supervisors are required to send a copy as per the requirements of the subjects.
Who is responsible for VASS administration?
It is the Home School’s responsibility to register students for VCE assessment. Schools are responsible for ensuring that their VASS administrators accurately record those units studied at the VSV. The VSV assessing school number is 01114. Schools that are not registered as VCE providers with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) will need to negotiate with a VCE provider school willing to accept the students as their ‘home school students’. VSV does not accept school-based students as VSV ‘home school students’ for VASS purposes.
Who is responsible for VCAA exams?
The student’s home school is responsible for all VCAA examination arrangements, including subjects taught by VSV. The VCAA General Achievement Test (GAT) is held in June. All students studying a Unit 3 and 4 subject must sit the GAT at their home school. This includes Year 11 students studying a Year 12 subject at VSV.
When are exams?
The exam timetable is provided annually by VCAA.
Home schools are responsible for applying directly to VCAA for any Special Provision requirements. School supervisors should inform VSV of any approved arrangements that are in place.
Other questions
What is SMAPs?
The Student Management Action Plan (SMAP) identifies students who are not fully engaging with their learning program. It is triggered when a student does not submit three weeks of submissions, or when attempts to contact the student, parent and school supervisor have been unsuccessful.
- The Green Letter is the first stage of the SMAP process. It aims to encourage the student, parent and school supervisor to contact the subject teacher to discuss strategies for the student to engage with their learning program. If the student does not engage within ten days, a face-to-face or phone conference is held with the subject teacher, student and school supervisor.
- An Amber Letter is then sent with agreed strategies for re-engagement if the Green Letter does not trigger reengagement.
- The Red Letter is the final stage of the process. For students in F – 10 this involves a discussion with the Pathways team to review enrolment at VSV. For students in Year 11 and 12 they may be withdrawn from their subject(s), both on the VSV Student Database and on the Victorian Assessment Software System (VASS). In Year 11 and 12, if this withdrawal happens for a Semester 1 unit, the student will also be withdrawn from the corresponding Semester 2 unit.
The role of the school supervisor in the SMAP process is to:
- Bring the letter to the attention of the student
- If necessary, contact VSV on the student’s behalf to explain the student’s circumstances
- Assist the student with work submission and schedules for regular submission of student work. Students may change subjects at the beginning of each semester. To do so, their School Supervisor needs to send a request, in writing, to the appropriate VSV Student Coordinator.
What do I do if a student wants to change subjects?
Students may change subjects at the beginning of each semester. To do so, the School Supervisor must email a request to the VSV Schools Coordinator, Lisa Eldridge
What do I do if they want to withdraw from a subject?
Please access our school based student withdrawal form here: 2024 VSV Subject Withdrawal Form
When is work due?
Students are to follow the subject timetable of submissions. For example, a subject will require the Week 1 course work to be completed and submitted at the conclusion of Week 1. The Week 2 course work is to be completed and submitted at the conclusion of Week 2.
How can my student submit work?
Students are to submit work via VSV Online for each class. For example, subjects with writing based submissions which require work to be scanned can be submitted via scanning of the work using a scanning app on the student’s phone such as CamScanner.
How can my student upload?
The student is to log into VSV Online and click into the week they are submitting. The page will have a ‘submit’ section where the weekly work is to be submitted. If unclear, please contact the subject teacher.
Is there a cost for enrolment?
More information about enrolment costs and funding arrangements for school-based students is available on our website.