Induction for newly appointed principals and deputy principals

5: Administration

• TED Talk Education. Pierson, R. (2013). Every kid needs a champion (Standard YouTube licence)

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

• Introduction

  The term 'administration' refers to a process or an activity of running an organisation. In essence, the administration of the school is closely related to the management of school affairs to ensure the smooth running of the school. Administration is the heartbeat of any organisation and school principals are expected to be in the forefront in directing the administrative practices of the school.
  

• Learning outcomes

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

  • Understand the general administrative matters in a school
    
  • Have a clearer understanding of the required planning, policy and procedural documents needed for effective school management
  • Have a clearer understanding of major professional tasks to be executed in the upcoming year
  • Understand the principal is ultimately responsible for completion of tasks within prescribed timeframes.

• General administrative systems

  The principal is entrusted with the responsibility to ensure that procedurally, and in line with related legislation, national and provincial policies including circulars, the administration of admissions is carried out and time frames are adhered to. It is also your responsibility as a school principal, working in collaboration with the School Management Team (SMTs), to ensure that there are policies and procedures for all the administrative matters of the school.
  

• • Learner admissions management

  Learner registration is administered in line with the National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act No.27 of 1996): Admission Policy for Ordinary Public Schools. Section 5 of the Act, requires the Head of Department to determine a process of registration of admissions in public schools in order to enable the admission of learners to take place in a timely and an efficient manner. This includes encouraging parents to apply for the registration of their children before the end of the preceding school year as determined by the relevant circular.
  

  Online application for learner admission
  In its quest to implement Pillar 6 of the Gauteng Strategy for Education, the Gauteng Department of Education has phased out the manual admission process and introduced an online application system to facilitate online applications for 2017 admissions. You need to have procedures in place, through your admissions policy, to be able to manage admissions issues at a school level.

• • Attendance management

  Section 2(3) of the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996 as amended) provides for compulsory attendance of learners at school. It is the responsibility of parents and a school principal to manage learner attendance. The importance of school attendance applies equally to teachers and support staff. It is your role to promote a culture of attendance by both teachers and learners in the school and to show zero tolerance for this behaviour.
  

  In most instances, some teacher absenteeism is obviously due to sickness which can happen to any person in the workplace. However, some are for official business which include, amongst others, cluster meetings, workshops and union meetings. It is important that stringent measures are introduced through policies.
  

  
  

• Activity 14

  Teacher and learner absenteeism has been rife. 

  Using the tool below, identify what the most common causes of absenteeism are by both learners and educators. Suggest strategies to eradicate or minimise absenteeism.
  

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  • Timetable management

  Timetabling is more about coordinating teachers, classrooms, subjects and the schedules of classes. The timetable parameters define the time-table structure, periods, teacher movement between classes, etc. As a principal, you will need to establish a timetable planning team to design the entire school timetable. This will also include the Annual National Assessments (ANA) and rosters (walk-about, substitution and duty roster). It is mandatory that all educators must work 1800 hours per year. This matter will be discussed in detail in module 2.
  

• • Fee management

  Section 39 of SASA describes school fees as an agreed amount of money that parents pay to schools, aimed at improving the quality of education of learners in accordance with the Department of Basic Education requirements. According to SASA, all SGBs of public schools must supplement government funding by charging school fees and by doing other reasonable forms of fundraising. There are some schools in all the provinces that are exempted from charging school fees (Quintile 1, 2, 3 schools) and such a provision must be taken into consideration when formulating policies and procedures for admissions.
  

• • Examination management

  An examination is a test that is scheduled within an official examination period, normally at the end of the school term. It serves as a final evaluation of learner performance. You need to develop a management plan for examinations (please refer to the annexure regarding Ubuntu Secondary School) as an example.
  

• • Inventory management

  For the school to function normally, it is critical that all inventory items, including consumables of an educational and non-educational nature, are maintained and kept. These items must be subdivided into capital items and non-capital items. This may include the following:

  1. Database of all records related to Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM) such as textbooks, library books, charts, models, computer hardware and software, television, video recorders, video tapes, home economic equipment, science laboratory equipment, musical instruments, learner desks and chairs
  2. Office furniture
  3. Non-LTSM equipment including paper copier machines, telephone sets, fax machines, equipment for connectivity with the school, hardware tools, cleaning equipment, first-aid-kits, protective clothing for cleaners and ground staff, sporting equipment, vehicles, and electrical accessories
  4. Computers and laptops
  5. Intercom systems
  6. Fleet/vehicles

• • Library management

  This is a crucial element and resource for successful learning. Schools must ensure that learning materials such as books, journals, video recordings, newspapers, etc are securely kept in a library or are electronically available for learners to have reference materials to enhance their learning. E-Learning materials must also be made available for learning and teaching purposes.
  

• • Transport management

  Some schools have vehicles that serve as a resource for the school’s day-to-day operations requiring transport. This resource is value-adding to the functioning of the school and must be efficiently and effectively managed. The vehicles for the school must be legally registered.
  

• • Planning, policy and procedure documents

  Management is about getting systems to operate effectively. Every school should have a set of planning, policy and procedure documents. Documents do not themselves promote effective management. They simply set out expectations about the way things should be done.

  There are different documents that the school principal must develop and/or adapt to manage the school’s administrative system. Click on the link below to review a list of documents for the effective management of schools.

• Documents used in the effective management of schools Page
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  Activity 15

  This activity explores the role of the principal in the policy-making process. Access the tool below to complete this activity.

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  Activity 16

  Read the case study in the activity tool below and then draft a SWOT analysis for the school.

  Hint: Remember that...

  • Although a SWAT analysis is an integral part of strategic planning, it should not be left to an occasional once-off evaluation of the school. The existing status quo of the school, and any progress made, needs to be continuously assessed
  • The principal's is ultimately responsible and accountable!
  • The principal's responsibility can be delegated but he / she will still remain accountable
  • Accountability can never be delegated.

  
  

• Individual activity 16 Assignment
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  Activity 17

  BEAT THE HEAT: To do list for the upcoming year

  Using the 'Beat the Heat', engage with the contents and the exemplars.

• DBE. (nd). Beat the heat to-do list for the year File
• South African School Administration and Management System (SA-SAMS)

  SA-SAMS is a tool to assess and improve school performance. School principals need to work with SA-SAMS as they are expected to deal with admissions, timetabling, scheduling relief timetables, rosters and exams. School principals need to view data as a means, not only to pinpoint problems, but also to understand their nature and causes. Effective school principals do not just use data to determine the test scores, but skilfully use it to motivate teachers and learners, to improve instruction, track progress and effect positive change in the school.

  The school principal must:
  

  • Ensure that all forms (learner registration forms; educator registration forms and PS Staff registration forms) are distributed, completed and collected
  • Select two administrative staff and all SMT members to undergo training
  • Ensure that the training, data collection and functionality of SA-SAMS are signed-off with the service provider
  • Ensure that the relevant data (e.g ANA, finance, assessment, LTSM, physical resources) are submitted quarterly or whenever required, to the relevant line functions
  • Ensure that all compulsory data fields required by the National Department of Basic Education (e.g school safety, school sport and enrichment programmes, the National School Nutrition Programme and school infrastructure) are completed as soon as possible
  • Ensure that learner and educator attendance data is captured daily
  • Ensure that the school-based assessment is recorded.

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  Conclusion

  Now it is time for you to return to school and lead the change of the institution as instructional school leader and manager. This can only be done by implementing the SOUTH AFRICAN STANDARD FOR PRINCIPALSHIP and by applying everything you have learnt about:
  

  1) Managing change for improvement
  

  • Living in a globalised world
  • Setting clear goals
  • Building an ethical values-based school
  • Leading transformation and the change process
  • Managing change in your school.

  
  2) Organisational culture and structure
  

  • Roles and responsibilities
  • Providing leadership and management for teams to work effectively
  • Managing performance
  • Understanding the school in its environment
  • Support.

  
  We wish you well in your endeavours!

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