Induction for newly appointed principals and deputy principals

4: The principal's roles and responsibilities

• The Scarfoot1. (2011). Nobody wants to be a principal (Standard YouTube licence)

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  This online synchronous meeting will take place on Date | Time. Attendance is compulsory.
  

• Introduction

  The work of a school principal is essential and complex, as teaching and learning takes place in the context of complex, interdependent human relations, This requires a leader who possesses deep knowledge of education and sophisticated relationship skills. History shows that there is a need for South African schools to be transformed and for improved conditions. School principals therefore need to play the transitional role in responding to the needs of the position to establish the necessary parameters for holistic, successful teaching and learning in the school.
  

• Learning outcomes

  By the end of this unit of study, participants will:

  • Understand the roles and responsibilities of the principal based on the legislative framework
    
  • Understand the distinctions in roles and responsibilities of school principal and those of the school governing body
    
  • Gain practical knowledge of interventions needed to ensure the sound professional management of a school.
    

• South African Standard for Principalship

  The policy on the South African Standard for Principalship established in 2014 (Government Gazette No. 37897 dated 7 August 2014) promotes the core values underpinned by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The Standard gives a clear role description for school principals and the requisite applied competence (foundational, reflexive and practical) required of effective school principals to fulfil their roles in a consistent and competent way thus informing ‘good practice’.

  The Standard aims to address poor leadership and management in schools to enable the school principal to work in collaboration with school management teams (SMTs), School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and the broader communities to effectively lead and manage the school, to attain high performing schools for sustainable transformation and improvement, with high levels of achievement for their own good, the good of their community and of the country as a whole.

  The Standard serves as a template against which school leaders may constantly evaluate themselves in lieu of their performance against the Standard. The figure below outlines the key areas of the Standard:

  
  

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  Figure 2: South African Standard for Principalship

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• Activity 10

  Access the activity below. Match the actions to the relevant SA standard for principalship.

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  Core duties and responsibilities of the principal

  The term responsibility refers to the duties of a person in terms of his/her post and the work allocated to him/her. The Personnel Administrative Measures (Government Gazette No. 39684 dated 12 February 2016, Annexure A: 7) outlines the duties and responsibilities of the job as depending on the individual and are, therefore varied, depending on the approaches and needs of the particular school. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
  

  • General/administrative duties
  • Personnel
  • Academic performance of the school in terms of the South African Schools Act, SA Section 16 A (1)(b)(i-iv)] 
  • Teaching
  • Extra and co-curricular activities
  • Interaction with stakeholders
  • Communication.

  
  
  

  
  Understanding the functional roles of the school principal and the school governing body is crucial for the effective functioning of the school. The governance of the school is vested in the School Governing Body and the principal leads and manages the school and is responsible for effective curriculum delivery to all learners. Click on the link below to view the table which shows, for each area of school activity, the roles and responsibilities of the SGB and the principal.

• Table detailing roles and responsibilities of SGB and principal Page
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  Accountabilities of school principals

  The core accountabilities of all principals are to:

  • Comply with legislative, regulatory requirements and department policies and procedures
  • Contribute to system-wide activities, including leading and managing policy and strategic planning and development
  • Ensure the delivery of a comprehensive, high quality education program to all learners in a balanced way
  • Be executive officer of the school governing body
  • Implement decisions of the school governing body
  • Establish and manage financial systems in accordance with the Department and school governing body requirements
  • Represent the department in the school and the local community
  • Effectively manage and integrate the resources available to the school
  • Appropriately involve staff, parents, learners and the community in the development, implementation and review of school policies, programs and operations
  • Report to the department, school community, parents and learners on the achievements of the school.

• Safety in public schools

  Schools today are marred by acts of violence, i.e. learners attacking teachers and principals and learners attacking other learners. This threatens the safety of staff and learners in schools. Some acts often involve intimidation, assault, harassment, humiliation, degradation, etc which endangers the mental or physical health or safety of learners and educators. School leadership has the responsibility to create a safe, disciplined environment thus giving effect to the right of leaners and educators to their freedom and security. The Minister of Education has in accordance with Section 61(a) of the South African Schools Act, 1996, provided regulations for Safety Measures at Public Schools (Government Gazette No. 22754 dated 12 October 2001). This includes regulations to prohibit initiation practices in schools (Government Gazette No. 24165 dated 13 December 2002).

• Activity 11

  Dealing with incidents of violence or abusive behaviour in schools
  Some learners bring dangerous objects like knives and guns including illegal drugs onto school premises. They perpetrate acts of violence against teachers, principals and other learners at schools. 

  In your groups, using the forum tool below, discuss how you would deal with incidents of violence and drug abuse taking the guidelines of Circular 74 of 2007 into consideration.

• Forum discussion tool: Activity 11
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  Activity 12

  The purpose of this activity is to read the case study detailed below and reflect on your context as the new principal. Answer the questions that follow. Thereafter discuss your answers within your group by accessing the forum discussion tool.

• Forum discussion tool: Activity 12
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  Activity 13

  In your groups, distinguish the difference between:

  • Vision
  • Mission
  • Goals

  
  Discuss these differences in the forum tool below. Justify your opinions by formulating an example of each, considering the introduction of ICTs and teaching in the 21st century.

• Forum discussion tool: Activity 13
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  Hint

  Remember:

  • Please refer to PAM, Standards for Principalship and SASA
  • Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader... they set out to make a difference. It’s never about the role – always about the goal
  • The principal is ultimately responsible and accountable!