To all educators, you are absolute rockstars making a significant difference in students’ lives every day. We understand and deeply appreciate that you are already going above and beyond to deliver the SHSM program. One of the reasons we provide full autonomy in customizing our program is so you can seamlessly integrate it with your SHSM sector experiences. While it provides a standard model, you have full autonomy to customize it to fit SHSM requirements, sector, and student needs. Personalize it and make it your own. We’re here to support you and your incredible efforts!
This Playbook is designed to help align your Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program with the Award, providing guidance for Award Coordinators (Board-Level Coordinators/SHSM Coordinator) to manage their Award Centres. This Playbook covers the administrative setup and running of the program at your Award Centre, while the Award-SHSM Delivery Playbook focuses on delivering the Award to students.
Since every Award Centre is unique, this Playbook offers a standard delivery model as a foundation, but encourages flexibility, personalization, and creativity. Depending on whether you have a Board-Level Coordinator or SHSM Lead taking on the role of Award Coordinator, this approach will be central to your program’s structure. We understand that Board-Level Coordinators have varying levels of involvement based on the number of schools they support, so feel free to use what works best for you.
This is an exciting and unique pilot program. Together, we’ll be learning from the experience, gathering feedback and refining it in the future to better support your needs as educators.
Award Delivery At-a-Glance
Note: Level One training is an internationally recognized training, standardized across the world. It is asynchronous and takes approximately 2 hours to complete. There is also a more advanced Level Two training, which is conducted online and typically lasts around 4 hours. While both trainings are mandatory for the Award Coordinator (Board-Level Coordinator), the Award Leader (SHSM Lead) is only required to complete Level One.
SHSM Lead = Award Leader (delivers the Award). Board level/SHSM Coordinator = Award Centre Coordinator (manages the Award Centre).
Award Delivery Calendar Full list of resourcesPre-Award Delivery Checklist
Please note that this section should be completed prior to officially starting the Award. This serves as a preparatory phase and includes a generic checklist to ensure everything is ready before launching the program. However, the timeline and specific tasks may vary depending on each school’s schedule and needs, so feel free to adjust as necessary. This preparation ensures a smooth program launch and an impactful experience.
Month 1: Award Delivery and Financial Details
Please note that Month 1 marks the start of your school’s delivery of both the Award and SHSM to students, when they officially begin the programs. The exact timing may vary depending on each school’s schedule, so adjust as needed to fit your timeline. This process serves to maintain financial accuracy and compliance. Timely completion is essential to ensure smooth financial operations and to uphold financial commitments.
Month 2: Begin Celebration Planning
After submitting financial details in Month 1, the next key step in managing your Award Centre is to help with celebration planning to recognize students’ achievements. The timing for this depends on your school’s schedule, so once your school starts planning, consider it as Month 2. Participants will begin completing their Awards in the coming months, making this a critical time to stay in contact with the Award Leader to be aware of students nearing completion.
Please coordinate with your Award Leaders to initiate celebration planning. It’s important for Award Coordinators and Leaders to collaborate with school administration to recognize Award Achievers at upcoming events, such as assemblies, graduation, luncheons, or other celebrations.
In planning your celebration, aim to highlight the individual and collective milestones achieved that allow everyone’s experiences to be shared. This celebration is not just an end, but a bridge to future adventures, encouraging participants to reflect on their learnings and how they can be applied in their continuing journey of self-discovery and development.
Month 3-4: Support for Youth, Celebration Finalization and Recognition
As your participants draw near to the conclusion of their journey with the Award, it’s a time for celebration. The timing of this celebration will depend on when students have completed their Awards and when your event is taking place, so feel free to adjust according to what works best for your group and event preparation.
This phase is dedicated to honouring the perseverance, achievements, and personal growth each participant has demonstrated. You come together to celebrate participants’ Award journeys. Let’s recognize their achievements, express gratitude to the Award Centre team, and acknowledge the impact of this transformative experience!
Month 6: Supporting Award Completion
As your participants approach the completion of their Award and Major sections, coordinate with your Award Leaders to provide them with support to ensure that Awards are being completed and submitted on time. This month focuses on providing Award Leaders support on the Major Section Completion along with supporting them with Award submissions and verification with the National Award Office.