Guidance for high ability practice leaders on obtaining and registering parental/caregiver consent for Victorian High-Ability Program students
Why is parental/caregiver consent required?
It is a legal obligation that students have their parental/caregiver consent in order to participate in the Victorian High-Ability Program (VHAP). This is necessary for each term in which a student participates.
Registering students’ consent in the Victorian High-Ability Program/Virtual School Victoria Portal (VHAP/VSV Portal) by the due date enables Virtual School Victoria (VSV), who schedule and run the classes, to finalise student class allocations.
Registering consent in the VHAP/VSV Portal also secures the students’ places in the program and enrols them, which generates their login details for their classes. The students’ login details are immediately sent to the high ability practice leader.
How to obtain parental/caregiver consent
In links on the front of the, VHAP/VSV Portal high ability practice leaders will find:
- the Parent Prospectus containing information about the VHAP
- a template for a letter inviting parents/caregivers to provide consent.
Both of these documents need to be sent to parents/caregivers.
Parent Prospectus
The Parent Prospectus contains information about:
- the rationale behind the Victorian High-Ability Program
- the different courses (Primary English, Primary Mathematics, Secondary English, Secondary Mathematics)
- masterclasses for Victorian High-Ability Program students
- course delivery
- student participation
- how parents can support their children through the Victorian High-Ability Program.
Parent consent letter template
The template consent letter is available to download from the VHAP/VSV Portal for schools to adapt and use as needed. Schools may already have their own methods of obtaining parental/caregiver consent, and these can be used instead of the template, according to schools’ preferences.
High ability practice leaders should only confirm consent for a student on the VHAP/VSV Portal where parental/caregiver consent has been provided.
How to register parental/caregiver consent in the VHAP/VSV portal
When parental/caregiver consent has been obtained, the high ability practice leader needs to register it on the
VHAP/VSV Portal. This secures the student’s place in the program by enrolling them.
- Click ‘i’ (for ‘information’) at the right-hand side of the portal beside a student’s name. The following screen will appear:
- Under the Consent heading, click ‘Yes’ and ‘Save’.
This short video below, entitled 'HAPL Help', gives instructions on how to register parental/caregiver consent in the VHAP/VSV Portal. It is also available through the link on the front of the
VHAP/VSV Portal.
When consent has been saved, the front page of the portal will show ‘Y’ under both the Consent heading and the Access heading. This:
- enrols the student in the course
- confirms that the student’s access to
VSV Online has been enabled
- creates an automatically-generated email to be sent to the high ability practice leader’s email address with the student’s login details, that is, their username and password. Students will use these to join the VSV sessions in the following term and to access the session content on
VSV’s Learning Management System (LMS).
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‘Y’ shown under Consent and Access columns: this indicates that the student is enrolled and their login details have been sent to the school’s high ability practice leaders’ email addresses. See image above to see students with ‘Y’ beside their names, whose places in the program for that term are secured.
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Blank circle under Consent and Access columns: this indicates that consent has not been registered, the student is not enrolled and their login details have not been generated or sent. This means that they are unable to join the course yet or participate in any classes. See image above for Hermione Granger.
- The blank circle does
not mean that the student’s invitation to participate has been withdrawn. Student Excellence will not withdraw their invitation to a student to participate unless the high ability practice leader or school leader requests it or the student has already participated in the same course.
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‘N’ shown under Consent and Access columns: this indicates that the student has been ‘non-consented’. See image above for Ronald Weasley. Their account will not be activated and their details will be removed in accordance with the department's data retention policy. They are eligible to be selected or nominated in a later term.
The importance of the ‘due date’ for registering consent in the VHAP/VSV Portal
The due date for registering consent is communicated to high ability practice leaders:
- in the Student Excellence Initiatives email update, sent about halfway through each term to all high ability practice leaders
- on the front of the
VHAP/VSV Portal. See below for where to find it on the portal.
If high ability practice leaders register consent in the VHAP/VSV Portal before the due date, their students:
- are assured of their place in the program
- can remain in their original allocated class unless the high ability practice leader makes a re-scheduling request to VHAP Support at
vhap-support@vsv.vic.edu.au. While all efforts are made to accommodate specific requests, re-scheduling is not always possible.
The due date for high ability practice leaders to register parental/caregiver consent in the VHAP/VSV Portal is not able to be changed.
What happens if I miss the due date for obtaining parental/caregiver consent?
After the due date for parental/consent, successfully nominated students are added to that term’s student cohort and classes. Students who have been selected and already consented retain their secure places in their original classes. However, students who have not been consented, and who are therefore not yet enrolled, may have their places taken by nominated students.
This means that if high ability practice leaders are not able to register consent before the due date:
- it is highly likely that students could still participate, however, their place in the program cannot be guaranteed
- their class scheduling may need to be changed so that students:
- may not be able to be in their original allocated classes at the original day/time
- may not be with students from their area or region, which could affect inclusion in masterclasses at the end of the term.
Actions needed to late consent students
The high ability practice leaders’ role for the late consenting process is:
- to follow up with parents and caregivers to seek their consent as soon as possible
- to inform Student Excellence at student.excellence@education.vic.gov.au when consent or non-consent is received so that it can be registered. This needs to occur before the start of the term.
Students who have not been late consented by the start of the term’s classes are withdrawn from the Victorian High-Ability Program and their details are removed in accordance with the department’s data retention policy.
Their names are returned to the pool of students to be considered for selection or your school’s nomination for the following term.
Further information
For further information, please contact Student Excellence at
student.excellence@education.vic.gov.au.