Question

As a head of school, draw a 3-year School Development Plan (School Improvement Plan), starting as from January 2020, which should include the following below (specify the rationale, implementation process and targets for achievement): a) vision and mission statement b) 3-year pedagogical planning starting from Grade 4 upto Grade 6 (same batch of pupils) c) human resource planning d) planning and provision for infrastructural and technological resources

Answer 1

School Development Planning is a process undertaken by the school community to give direction to the work of the school in order to ensure that all pupils receive a quality education in terms of both holistic development and academic achievement. The process is based on a number of presuppositions:

1 The quality of a school’s education provision is the product of a complex interaction of factors, which must be planned for in a co-ordinated way

2 As education is a partnership enterprise, quality planning should involve input from all the partners in the school community

3 The quality of a school’s education provision is rooted in the expertise and commitment of the principal and teaching staff. Therefore,

● The key agents in the process are the principal and teachers, whose partnership in planning is the cornerstone of effective school development

● A key focus of the process is on supporting and empowering the principal and teachers in their work by providing for their professional needs in terms of working environment and professional development

These presuppositions help to determine the characteristics of the school development planning process.

The fundamental purpose of School Development Planning is to enable the school to achieve and maintain the highest possible level of effectiveness in meeting the educational needs of its pupils in a culture that is characterised by change. School Development Planning promotes:

◆ School Effectiveness Internationally, there is widespread acceptance among educationalists that collaborative School Development Planning is a powerful means of promoting school effectiveness. It enables the school community to develop a clear vision of what the school is about and where it is going, a shared sense of purpose, a common set of goals, and consensus on the means of attaining them. It constitutes the school as a learning organisation that focuses on meeting the professional needs of teachers in order to meet the educational needs of pupils.

◆ School Improvement School Development Planning is a continuous improvement strategy. It provides a mechanism for systematic self-evaluation that enables the school community to review its progress, identify priorities, and prepare plans for further improvement.

◆ Quality Enhancement School Development Planning directs the attention and energy of the school community in a systematic way on the central task of the school: the provision of a quality education that is appropriate to the abilities and needs of all its pupils. It focuses on enhancing the quality of teaching and learning through collaborative action.

◆ Staff Development School Development Planning enhances the professional role of teachers and promotes their professional development. It helps to ensure that teachers

● Are empowered to contribute decisively to the development of the school

● Are enabled to exercise a greater degree of ownership over the central issues that influence their work, thereby enhancing their sense of being in control of events

● Are offered opportunities to engage in collaborative policy-making, planning and teamwork and to participate in the leadership and management of development work Are involved in the identification of their own professional development needs and the specification of provision to meet those needs

● Are enabled to extend their professional skills

● Are encouraged to reflect on and learn from their professional experiences

● Are affirmed and supported in their work through the creation of an ethos of collegiality and co-operation

◆ Partnership School Development Planning promotes partnership in the school’s development by engaging the major parties in the school community – principal, teachers, parents, pupils, Board of Management, and trustees—in a collaborative dialogue focused on identifying and responding to emerging educational needs. Participation in this dialogue fosters the partners’ commitment to and ownership of school policy.

◆ Effective Deployment of Available Resources Formalised School Development Planning enables the school to specify resource requirements and to target available resources towards meeting priority needs.

◆ Management of Change School Development Planning helps the school community to manage change effectively by enabling it to control the pace and direction of internal change and to build a capacity to respond rapidly to new challenges.

◆ Furtherance of Aims and Priorities of National Education System School Development Planning provides a structure that enables the school community to subscribe to the stated aims of the national education system and to incorporate national education priorities into the work of the school

Please refer to below references for more details:

http://www.sdpi.ie/blue_book/SDPI_Book.pdf

http://www.plkno1whc.edu.hk/plan/schdev_plan.htm