Collecting teacher observations for NCCD evidence

Why teacher observations matter for NCCD

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability asks schools to show evidence of the adjustments a student receives. That evidence usually covers four areas: the student's assessed individual needs, the adjustments provided, ongoing monitoring and review, and consultation and collaboration. The four evidence areas guide explains each one.

Classroom teachers, learning support officers and specialist teachers hold much of that evidence. They see what a student needs in a maths lesson, which adjustments help, and how the student responds over a term. Yet the evidence often ends up as one line written by a coordinator months later: "Teacher reports student needs support with reading."

That line is weak evidence. It has no date, no detail and no author. Moderators and principals attesting the data look for evidence that is specific, dated and attributable.

How to collect useful teacher observations

Ask one clear question

"Any updates on this student?" gets "fine, thanks". A specific question gets evidence. Ask about one student and one area of need, for example:

• What does the student find hard when communicating with peers, and what helps?
• Which adjustments are you making in your class for reading tasks, and how often?
• What have you noticed about how the student manages transitions between activities?

Make it quick to answer

Teachers will add evidence if it fits between classes. Speaking for a couple of minutes is faster than writing, and it captures detail that disappears when someone has to type a formal paragraph.

Keep the teacher's words

Summaries are helpful, but the original observation should stay with the record, so anyone checking later can see what the teacher actually said. The evidence collection guide has more on what to keep.

Bring several views together carefully

When three staff describe the same student, the useful evidence is often where they agree and where they differ. A student who manages well in practical subjects and struggles in written ones tells you something important about the adjustments they need. Combine observations without smoothing those differences away, and keep each observation credited to the person who made it.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Collecting evidence only in Term 3. NCCD looks for adjustments over at least 10 weeks in the past 12 months. See the 10-week evidence window guide.
• Anonymous observations. "Staff report" is not attributable. Record who said it.
• Over-summarising. A summary that loses the specific example loses the evidence.
• Using a summary nobody has checked. Any combined statement, whoever writes it, should be read and agreed by a responsible staff member before it goes into the evidence file.

The common NCCD evidence mistakes guide lists more.

How Descant collects teacher observations

The educator portal

Every staff member signs in to Descant. Teachers use the educator portal: they find any student and add an observation, an adjustment they made, support they gave, or a work sample. Staff sign in like the rest of the school team: a password (plus two-step verification if the school requires it), or Google/Microsoft. The support team can also ask a teacher for input about one student, and the request waits in the teacher's portal.

Type or dictate, then send

The teacher types their observation, or, where the school has switched AI on, dictates it and checks the written text. They can attach supporting files, such as a plan or work sample: PDF or photo files, up to five, 5 MB each. They choose the area it is about (wellbeing, learning support or NCCD, or behaviour) and send it.

The observation arrives in the student's record with the teacher's name and the date, for the support team to review. The teacher sees only their own notes and when the support team has reviewed them, never the case. See what educators see.

Combined statements per area of need

Once at least two observations are recorded for an area of need, such as Communication, Self-Regulation or Cognitive & Learning, and consent is recorded, staff can ask Descant to combine them into one evidence statement for that area. The AI credits each observation to the educator who made it, by name, role and date. Where educators agree, the statement says so. Where they differ, it reports the difference rather than averaging it out.

The statement is a draft. A staff member has to read and acknowledge it before it can be finalised, and the acknowledgement is recorded in the audit log. Descant does not decide what counts as evidence. Your team does.

Combined statements are available on paid plans.

Where it fits

Teacher observations sit alongside the rest of the NCCD evidence in the student's record: assessed needs, adjustments, reviews and consultation with the family. See NCCD evidence in Descant for the whole picture, and the NCCD evidence record template for a structure you can use today.

Common questions

Do teachers need training? No. The portal walks them through each step: find the student, choose what they are adding, type or dictate it, send.

Can a teacher see other teachers' observations? No. A teacher sees only their own notes and when the support team has reviewed them, never the case.

Is the audio kept? No. Where a teacher dictates, the audio is deleted once it has been turned into text. Only the written observation is kept.

Start a demo to see an NCCD case on a made-up school, or read how Descant works.