Cape Town - While learners are thoroughly engaged at Souci Girls’ High School, the Schools Evaluation Authority (SEA) found that cliques among school’s management team affect the staff.
This was revealed in the SEA report which evaluates how well some schools in the Western Cape are performing.
The SEA independently evaluates Western Cape schools and develops reports which are published for parents and communities to know how well the schools in their areas are performing.
The evaluations, which were conducted between 9 – 10 March 2020, provide an independent and external examination of school practices and include recommendations on what should be improved.
The schools are assessed on:
- Learner Achievement: To evaluate the knowledge and skills that learners have acquired, progress made by learners over a period of time and recognition of learners.
- Teaching and Learning: To evaluate the quality of teaching and learning.
- Behaviour and Safety: To evaluate the level at which the school creates a positive learning culture, good behaviour, and a healthy, safe and secure environment for everyone.
- Leadership and Management: To evaluate the effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school.
- Governance, Parents and Community: To evaluate the effectiveness of the governing body in fulfilling its key roles and responsibilities, including financial duties and the effectiveness of the school in building good relationships with its stakeholders.
Sans Souci Girls’ High School
According to the SEA report, the schools were rated out of 4 according to the above criteria – 4 being Outstanding, 3 being Good, 2 being Requires Improvement and 1 being Inadequate.
Sans Souci Girls’ High School received 3 for Learner Achievement, 3 for Teaching and Learning, 3 for Behaviour and Safety, 3 for Leadership and Management, 3 for Governance, Parents and Community.
Overall performance for the school was rated 3.
The report on the school found that in learner interviews and lessons observed, the pupils read, speak, listen and write well.
“Many learners volunteer to read in class. However, a few do not read with comprehension. Most learners speak with confidence and have a good command of vocabulary.
“The majority of learners follow instructions and generally listen intently. Most learners enjoy the arts and do well in public speaking, debating and drama. Learners handle numbers well. They use calculators and other mathematical software, but many are unable to solve maths problems.”
The report states that the differentiation in grades 8 and 9 enables more learners to work at a faster pace and do more challenging tasks.
There is also a wide choice of extra- and co-curricular and cultural activities.
The report highlighted that in interviews with members of the School Management Team (SMT), it was evident that the vision and mission are not shared effectively.
“A few members of the SMT felt that these must be reviewed and updated. The SMT meets to discuss priorities for improvement, but in interviews with members of the SMT, a few felt that they did not have input in the drawing up of the School Improvement Plan (SIP) or strengthening school improvement.
“There is insufficient evidence that the SIP is monitored effectively by the SMT. During interviews with the SMT, it was evident that it is not operating in synergy.”
SMT members said it would be better if they worked as a unit and in the same direction. The SEA also observed that there are cliques among the SMT, which filters down to the rest of the staff.
“Despite these shortcomings, the SMT is currently able to implement initiatives effectively.”
The recommendations that the SEA made were:
- The school must continue with the maths lessons after school hours to improve the overall results.
- Teachers must mark workbooks regularly and include comments to assist learners to understand the areas for improvement.
- The school must introduce additional, more stringent measures to counteract and end the petty theft of learners’ belongings.
- The SMT must reflect and discuss how best to work together as a team and offer clear direction so that despite robust conversations, collective decisions are made in the interest of the learners.
- All members of the SMT must be involved in drawing up and monitoring the SIP.
- The governing body must review and ensure that all staff contracts meet legal requirements.
- Greater parental involvement in school activities must be encouraged.
The full report can be found at: http://seawc.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/School-Evaluation-Report-Sans-Souci-Girls-HS-21-January-2021.pdf
Cape Argus