dmt

School Functionality Baseline Report

PRESENTER: FIKILE LEGALAMITLWA PMET- LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

AUDIENCE: DISTRICT MANAGEMENT TEAM

DATE: 22 FEBRUARY 2016

TIME: 09:00

VENUE: MINI-GARONA OFFICES Presentation Title runs here l 00/00/002

Presentation Title runs here l 00/00/003

INTRODUCTIONThis report is based on information gathered in the 20 schools selected by the District to participate in the PMET School Support Programme from 2015 - 2018. The information was gathered during a baseline study conducted in the schools between August and November 2015. The information was gathered in the following ways:Interviews with the principals, SMTs, teachers and district officials who work in or with the 20 schools Ongoing observations of day-to-day leadership, management, teaching and learning activities in each school Document reviews of DBE policies, school policies, teacher portfolios/lessons plans, and learner exercise books in each school Learner assessments in Mathematics and Reading to Learn in Grades 3, 6 & 9


INTRODUCTION CONT’DThis report presents:A summary of the trends in strengths and areas requiring support across the 20 schools An outline of the support programme PMET proposes to implement to support the schools to address the areas requiring support over the next 3 years. The support programme will be reviewed in an impact report at the end of each year of implementation to ensure that it is adapted to address the school’s needs in each of the 3 years.


PART 1: Contextual factors impacting on teaching and learninga)Broad Contextual realitiesMost learners in all the schools are from poor backgrounds, where families depend mostly on social grants.Most of the learners come from households that are headed by grandparents, for a variety of reasons.As a result of the above, most schools encounter lack of parental supervision in terms of school work at homeMost schools are faced with burglary and security problems, which calls for some sort of guidelines on security measures.The majority of the schools have more learners than they can accommodate, for various reasons. This is why overcrowding is common in the schoolsSome learners are transported from neighboring villages and farms, causing problems of late coming, non-attendance to extra-classes, etc.The majority of the SGBs in the schools lack the capacity to function effectively


b)Culture of teaching and learning Strengthsreal teaching and learning observedAll schools operated with time-tables & improvised on staff shortages Areas requiring supportImproved working relations amongst staff Increased accountability


c)Practices at schools StrengthsTeamwork evident in most schools e.g. annual matric farewell functionCleanliness and hygiene seen in most schools, Areas requiring supportImproved teamwork and interpersonal relations Intra and inter-school networking and planning


d)Attitudes impacting on teaching StrengthsTeachers attend to their classes effectivelyMost schools display cultures such as daily briefings, subject PSFs, etc. Areas requiring supportLow morale in most of the educatorsEffective application of policies such as PAM, to deal with issues of absenteeism and leave that is abused


e)Learners per phase Strengths The dropout rate across all schools is very minimalLearner intake high despite accommodation challenges Areas requiring support/areas that present challengesmajority of the schools have big numbers, despite lack of accommodationThe latter situation requires improved planning by SMTsThe learner-teacher ratios in these schools are sometimes at 1: 50


f)StrengthsLeadership and Management Support:Regular visits by Circuit Managers and EMGD officialsWorkshops and meetingsAccountability sessions Curriculum Support:Professional Support Forums heldContent training doneSchool visits done on an ongoing basis Areas requiring supportRegular, on-site support for SMTs, particularly in schools with newly appointed principalsOn-site, practical classroom support to educators (footprints)


PART 3: Teaching, learning and assessmenta)Implementation of CAPS StrengthsAll educators have CAPS policy documents for all learning areasCAPS as a policy is implemented in all schoolsTeachers teach in accordance with the ATPs Areas requiring supportEffective use of textbooks and learner booksSystems to track implementation of ATPs across all subjects


b)Lesson preparation and planning StrengthsEducators make use of lesson plans provided by subject advisors and others use templates to design their own plansSuch lesson plans are monitored by HODs on a regular basis Areas requiring supportSchools need to be encouraged to do team and phase planning wherever possibleMonitoring and moderation of work needs to be intensified


c)Content coverage StrengthsThe practice of extra and Saturday classes is commendableATPs are followed in most schools, implying content coverage Areas requiring supportHigh schools need to focus in all grades, not just Grade 12Again, the issue of a tracking system to ensure ATP implementation is needed


d)Teaching methods StrengthsEducators try to teach using a variety of methods, especially those that get learners involved Use is made of available teaching media Areas requiring supportCapacitating educators with strategies to reach all learners in big classesEducators need capacity to source and use own media to enhance their teaching


e)Use of available resources (textbooks, DBE workbooks, Charts, Readers etc.) StrengthsTeachers use textbooks, teachers guides and their own materials to prepare their lessonsUse is also made of past question papers to drill learnersIn the primary schools, educators use workbooks effectively in their teaching Areas requiring supportEnhanced and proper use of CAPS documentsDesign and use of teaching aides to enhance learningEffective retrieval systems in place to ensure availability and maintenance of resources


f)Learner performanceThe observations made here are in relation to learner performance in the first two terms for all the 20 schools. StrengthsThe learners in the foundation Phase in all the primary schools performed better than those in the INTERSENIn high schools, those learners in the GET underperformed compared to the FET Areas requiring supportInterventions to improve performance in the INTERSEN and GET phases in schoolsFocused interventions to improve performance in key subjects, especially Mathematics and English


g)Classroom Management StrengthsIn most classes learners are disciplined and educators are in controlDespite big classes, educators try to involve learners in the learning experience Areas requiring supportClear classroom rules to be establishedOvercrowded classrooms are a challenge in terms of control


PART 4: School functionalitya)Availability of key policies ( IQMS, WSE, CAPS, PAM & NNSSF)StrengthsAlmost all schools are in possession of the ELRC file with all DBE policiesSchools have internal policies that enable them to function optimally e.g. code of conduct, admission policy, etc.Schools have such policies neatly filled for ease of reference Areas requiring supportIn some schools, because of poor handover procedures, policies are non-existent.Where policies are found, some are outdated and therefore need to be reviewed


b)Implementation of DBE policies StrengthsIQMS and WSE are annually reviewed policies that most schools doCAPS is also implemented by most schools Areas requiring supportEnhanced and effective implementation of IQMS and WSECapacitating all stakeholders on key DBE policies of NNSSF and PAM, this to ensure common understanding


c)Leadership practices ( Principal & SMT) StrengthsParticipatory leadership and delegation observed in most schoolsDespite challenges of staffing, lack of resources, etc., all the schools are fairly functional Areas requiring supportImproved human relations amongst SMT members, as without it schools tend to be dividedPrincipals to focus more on curriculum management, as this is their core duty


d)Curriculum Management StrengthsThere are monitoring and moderation schedules in most of the schoolsSome of the schools conduct regular departmental meetings as indicated in the schedulesMonitoring and moderation tools are obtained in the educator’s files Areas requiring supportPhase and departmental planning need to be emphasizedHigh schools do not have meetings as per requirements, citing workload as a challenge.Classroom observation should form part of the internal monitoring, this will assist in the IQMS process


PART 5: Conclusion

Key strengths to build on Generally the 20 schools are doing well, despite the socio-economic challengesSchools have strong SMTs and most are functionalEducators show a lot of commitment and are really focused in the teaching of our childrenDespite the challenge of vacant HODs posts, schools improvised and monitoring was done, albeit not as intensive as expected.District officials do support educators and SMTs


Conclusion cont’dAreas requiring support over the next 3 yearsSchools can do with focused, intensive, on-site support by district officialsThe Post Provisioning Model requires familiarization with the realities of the challenges faced by schoolsThe district has a lot of educators who are university graduates (unqualified). A database of such educators need to be availableInterventions to capacitate the latter educators need to be organizedThe general trend of Foundation phase learners outperforming INTERSEN learners need to be interrogated So is the same phenomenon in high schools, where GET learners perform poorly compared to those in the FET LTSM management requires attention in most of the schools. Most schools spend on buying LSTM on a yearly basis. This despite the expected norm of a book’s lifespan of 3 yearsPolicies on induction of personnel, be they newly appointed or promoted, need attention in most schools.


RecommendationsFollowing the observations made in this report, PMET propose to offer support to the schools as follows: Proposed support program for 2016 School Leadership and Management Support SMTs to:Understand their roles and responsibilities more clearly in accordance with the PAM policy prescriptsEnhance their leadership and management rolesImplement the key policies of NNSSF, WSE, CAPS and IQMSManage curriculum effectivelyImprove general school managementImprove SGB involvement in the general running of the schoolEstablish functional structures e.g. induction committee


Curriculum Implementation Implement the school support programme agreed upon with the schools through a combination of training workshops and site-based coaching and mentoring.Depending on the needs of each school, the focus of the programme is to develop the capacity of teachers to improve learner results across the curriculum by understanding & implementing:CAPS effectively and inclusivelySystematic use of LTSMs across the curriculum Effective teaching, learning and assessment methods across the curriculum The increased use of English as LOLT across the curriculum (by teachers and learners)Effective teaching, learning and assessment methods in MathematicsImproved conceptual understanding and content knowledge of Mathematics


dmt

Documents