School Developed Board Endorsed Courses (SDBECs)
SDBECs explained
SDBECs are designed by school(s) when the curriculum needs of their students cannot be accommodated by:
- Board Developed courses or
- Content Endorsed Courses (CECs) or
- Vocational Education and Training Board Endorsed Courses (VET BECs).
SDBECs need to meet specific criteria and be endorsed by NESA. SDBECs in Stage 5 are no longer endorsed by NESA, except where the course is for student(s) to learn braille.
A course proposal application for a new SDBEC, or one being renewed, must satisfy the endorsement criteria and provide supporting evidence.
Successful SDBEC applications will be endorsed for 2 years with the possibility of an extension for another 2 years. School(s) that want courses to continue to be credentialled after the endorsement period has expired must submit a new course proposal application.
Approved SDBECs are credentialled on the Record of School Achievement (RoSA) or the Higher School Certificate (HSC).
Schools wishing to offer a SDBEC should read Loading .
The application closing date for SDBECs beginning in 2027 is Thursday 2 April 2026.
Reporting student achievement
The following information outlines how student achievement in SDBECs is reported.
Stage 5 SDBEC
- Schools submit a grade (A–E) via Loading based on the Loading .
- The course and grade will appear on a student's RoSA or HSC Record of Achievement.
Stage 5 Life Skills SDBEC
- The course will appear on a student's RoSA or HSC Record of Achievement as ‘completed’.
- No grades, marks or outcomes achieved are submitted.
Stage 6 SDBECs
Year 11
Where delivery occurs in the Preliminary year (Year 11):
- Schools are required to submit to NESA a grade for each student based on their achievement at the end of the course.
- Teachers use professional, on-balance judgement to allocate a grade (A–E) based on the Loading .
- Teachers consider all available assessment information, including formal and informal assessment, to determine the grade that best matches each student’s achievement at the end of the course.
- Schools submit grades via Loading .
- The course and grade will appear on a student's RoSA or HSC Record of Achievement.
Year 12
Where delivery occurs in the HSC year (Year 12):
- Schools submit a mark out of 50 (1-unit course) or 100 (2-unit course) via Loading .
- These marks should be aligned to the Loading for reporting achievement in Year 12 SDBECs.
- There is no external HSC exam for these courses.
- These courses are non-ATAR.
- The course and mark will appear on a student's RoSA or HSC Record of Achievement.
Stage 6 Life Skills courses
- The course will appear on a student's RoSA or HSC Record of Achievement as ‘completed’.
- No grades, marks or outcomes achieved are submitted.
Performance Band Descriptions
These Performance Band Descriptions provide the standards to be used when submitting assessment marks for students in Year 12 School Developed Board Endorsed Courses:
- demonstrates extensive knowledge and understanding of content
- displays comprehensive understanding of content, processes, concepts
- critically analyses, synthesises and interprets information
- demonstrates high-level competence in particular skills, processes
- demonstrates high-level skills in critical judgement, reasoning, prediction, inference, evaluation, problem-solving, interpretation
- demonstrates high-level skills in the use of appropriate technologies
- demonstrates outstanding performance and technique
- effectively communicates in a coherent, creative, succinct, logical, sophisticated manner with precision, originality or flair using terminology extensively and appropriately.
- demonstrates thorough knowledge and understanding of content
- displays detailed understanding of content, processes, concepts
- analyses, synthesises and interprets information
- demonstrates competence in particular skills, processes
- demonstrates competent skills in critical judgement, reasoning, prediction, inference, evaluation, problem-solving, interpretation
- demonstrates competent skills in the use of appropriate technologies
- demonstrates accomplished performance and technique
- competently communicates in a coherent, creative, succinct, logical, sophisticated manner with control or originality using appropriate terminology.
- demonstrates sound knowledge and understanding of content
- displays clear understanding of content, processes, concepts
- analyses and interprets information
- demonstrates ability in particular skills, processes
- demonstrates skills in critical judgement, reasoning, prediction, inference, evaluation, problem-solving, interpretation
- demonstrates skills in the use of appropriate technologies
- demonstrates sound performance and technique
- communicates in a creative, succinct, logical manner with coherence, control or originality using appropriate terminology.
- demonstrates basic knowledge and understanding of content
- displays basic understanding of content, processes, concepts
- interprets information
- demonstrates basic ability in particular skills, processes
- demonstrates basic skills in judgement, reasoning, prediction, problem-solving, interpretation
- demonstrates basic skills in the use of appropriate technologies
- demonstrates basic performance and technique
- communicates with adequate control or originality using some appropriate terminology.
- demonstrates elementary knowledge and understanding of content
- displays simple understanding of content, processes, concepts
- interprets information
- demonstrates elementary ability in particular skills, processes
- demonstrates elementary skills in argument and problem-solving
- demonstrates elementary skills in the use of appropriate technologies
- demonstrates elementary performance and technique
- demonstrates limited communication abilities.
A mark in this band indicates that the student has achieved below the minimum standard expected.
Contact NESA’s Board Endorsed Courses and Programs
You can contact us by phone or email.
Call: +61 2 9367 8333
Email: curriculum@nesa.nsw.edu.au
Related information
- Loading