Training & Assessing

Every course the club runs depends on members who are qualified to deliver and assess it. Those members are called TAFs — Trainers, Assessors and Facilitators. If you have ever thought about helping teach a Bronze course or sign off skills maintenance, this is the pathway.

You do not need a teaching background. What you do need is to be current in the award you want to train or assess in, and to be willing to work through a logbook alongside an experienced club mentor.

Who does what

• Trainer — teaches course content and skills in line with the course criteria and lesson plans.
• Head Trainer — appointed to every course, responsible for the venue, equipment, schedule and allocating trainers to each session.
• Assessor — assesses candidates against the standard and runs skills maintenance checks. Must give feedback and complete the paperwork.
• Assessor in Charge (AiC) — where several assessors work one assessment, the AiC decides how it runs, briefs candidates on the process and their right to appeal, and arranges a different assessor for anyone deemed not yet competent.
• Facilitator — trains and assesses a whole course. Only available for First Aid, ART, Pain Management, SMPC and SMAR.
• Club Mentor — an experienced TAF who guides probationary trainers and assessors and signs off their logbook. Appointed by the Head of Education or SLSWA.
• Head of Education — runs education at the club: course scheduling, training ratios, checking TAF awards are current, and equipment.

Becoming a Trainer

The WA Training Officer award is the generic underlying qualification for all trainers. Once you hold it, you complete a logbook to become a trainer of a specific award — for example, Trainer of Bronze Medallion.

1. Get involved with training at the club and build experience in the award you want to train in. Record it in your WA Probationary Trainer Logbook — a minimum of two courses.
2. Complete the online Child Safe and Surf Risk Rating modules and the pre-course workbook.
3. Attend a WA Training Officers Course and hand your portfolio to the facilitator. You now hold the WA Training Officer award.
4. When you are confident, deliver three full sessions while being assessed by a club training mentor.
5. Send the completed logbook to SLSWA along with lesson plans for each of the three sessions.

You are then a WA Trainer for that award — and you receive a trainer's shirt.

Becoming an Assessor

The WA Assessor award works the same way: a general qualification first, then a logbook for each specific award.

1. Complete the WA Assessors Workbook and hand it to your course facilitator, then attend the WA Assessors Course. You now hold the WA Assessor award.
2. Get a WA Assessors Logbook.
3. Complete two full assessments on a group of candidates trained in the award you want to assess, working under a qualified assessor of that award. Record both in the logbook.
4. Send the completed logbook, with the final award assessment, to SLSWA.

You are then a WA Assessor for that award — for example, WA Assessor Bronze Medallion.

Becoming a Facilitator

Facilitators must hold both the WA Training Officer and WA Assessor awards, and be either an experienced trainer and assessor, or an assessor and a subject matter expert. From there you gain experience in delivering the course, then deliver two complete courses under the supervision of a facilitator in that award, recording them in a WA Facilitator's Logbook. Send the completed logbook to SLSWA with the final award assessment.

Entry requirements at a glance

Staying current

Accreditation is not permanent — it lapses if you do not keep it up. To stay current as a TAF you must:

• Hold and remain current in the surf award you train or assess. You cannot assess a Bronze Medallion if your own Bronze is not proficient. Check your currency on the SLS Hub under Awards.
• Hold a current WA Training Officer, Assessor or Facilitator award for the role you are performing.
• Attend a WA TAF Development Session (in-service) each year.
• Complete the WA TAF Currency Form at least every two years and send it to the club's Education Officer, who forwards it to SLSWA. The form is in the SLS Hub Document Library under SLSWA → Education.
• Complete the Child Safe Awareness online course or an equivalent.
• Hold a current Working With Children Check. Exemptions may apply — check with the club.

You must also follow SLSA's Member Protection Policy 6.05 and Child Protection Policy 6.04, work within Health and Safety legislation, and complete a risk assessment for every wet activity.

Training and assessing ratios

SLSWA recommends a training ratio of 1:8 for most courses and 1:6 for powercraft. For assessing, the recommended ratio is 1:6 — an assessor must be able to see every candidate perform every required skill. Experienced trainers may manage higher numbers; ratios can also be increased for theory-only sessions, and should be reduced for inexperienced trainers or powercraft.

If you are interested in any of these pathways, start by talking to the Director of Education — they can pair you with a club mentor and get you into the right course.