What this guide covers
- What the 10-week requirement is
- Why the weeks can be cumulative rather than consecutive
- What schools still need beyond the 10 weeks
- How Superadjust helps keep the period visible
This guide explains what the 10-week rule actually means, what schools need to show by Census Day, and how to build evidence steadily instead of scrambling at the end.
Step 1: Understand what the rule is checking
The NCCD asks schools to show that a student has received reasonable adjustments for at least 10 school weeks in the 12 months leading up to and including Census Day.
Those weeks do not need to be one uninterrupted block. They can build across the year, as long as the school can show that support happened across 10 school weeks.
- 1.Count school weeks, not calendar weeks.
- 2.Treat the 10 weeks as a minimum evidence period, not the whole file.
- 3.Remember that consultation, identified need, and monitoring still matter.
How the weeks add up
Term accumulation
The key point is consistency across the year. The weeks can accumulate as support is logged.
Step 2: Know what sits around the 10 weeks
The 10-week rule is only one part of NCCD. Schools also need evidence that the student's functional needs have been identified, that consultation has happened, and that adjustments are being monitored and reviewed.
So a student can meet the 10-week minimum and still not be ready if the file is weak in consultation, need, or monitoring.
| What the 10 weeks prove | What the 10 weeks do not prove |
|---|---|
Support happened across enough weeks | Consultation is complete |
It was more than a one-off | Monitoring is strong enough |
Step 3: Build the period steadily in Superadjust
The easiest way to handle the 10-week period is to treat it as a rolling habit. Log evidence when it happens. Keep consultation separate from adjustments. Add monitoring entries when support is reviewed.
- 1.Log adjustments across different school weeks instead of batching everything into one week.
- 2.Capture consultation and monitoring as their own evidence types.
- 3.Check the timeline regularly so gaps are visible before the first Friday in August.
When the weeks are visible early, coordinators can moderate decisions with more confidence and teachers are not left rebuilding the file from memory.
Why this matters
NCCD is retrospective and evidence-based. Schools are expected to show that support happened over time in the 12 months leading up to Census Day, not that they wrote strong notes in a rush at the end.
Common mistake
Counting 10 weeks and assuming the student is finished. The file still needs clear evidence of need, consultation, and monitoring around those weeks.
What to do next
Now that the 10-week rule is clear, the next step is to look at what counts as evidence inside that period.
Next guide
Quality pillars explained →
The four NCCD pillars and what each requires in practice.