Cape Town – The school environment at Zonnebloem Nest Senior in Woodstock is unsafe, the Schools Evaluation Authority report has found.
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 inform them how well the schools in their areas are performing.
The evaluations, which was conducted on 24 and 25 February 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 learners have acquired, progress made by learners 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.
Zonnebloem Nest Senior
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.
Zonnebloem Nest Senior received 2 for Learner Achievement, 2 for Teaching and Learning, 2 for Behaviour and Safety, 2 for Leadership and Management, 3 for Governance, Parents and Community.
Overall performance for the school was rated 2.
“Learners were not always actively involved during lessons. Most learners’ workbooks reflect broad and appropriate exercises but are not marked regularly.
“Most teachers do not give feedback to assist learners in understanding the work. Some teachers adjusted their pace of teaching to the level of understanding of the learners,” the report said.
“There is very little evidence that the teaching was influenced by the assessment of the learners’ understanding.”
The report added that none of the learners knew the vision and mission of the school, and only a few were aware of the values of the school. It further mentioned that disorderly conduct of a small number of learners impacted the school’s ethos.
The state of the school environment was also mentioned as threat to the safety of staff and learners.
“The ablution facilities are cleaned daily, but not all the taps and lights are in working order. The stairs leading to the first floor were dirty, and the school grounds were littered with papers
“Ceilings in the school hall and two classrooms pose a threat to the safety of the staff and the learners. The steps from the road to the main entrance of the school are steep and without railings,” the report said.
“Most of the learners feel safe and secure at school, but not outside the school grounds. Learner attendance is good, but there is very little control over the movement of learners during the school day.
“Some of the school management team (SMT) need coaching and guidance to enable them to evaluate the quality of classroom teaching.
“The departmental heads have limited responsibilities and are not held accountable for the successful management of the school and its resources,” the report said.
The recommendations made by the SEA include:
- The SMT must reach a common understanding of the performance of the learners and jointly take the lead in developing a School Improvement Plan (SIP) that addresses all the needs of the school.
- The SMT must conduct an in-depth analysis of the NSC results to understand and address the significant differences in the performance between the boys and girls. They must take the lead in the implementation of the intervention plans.
- Teaching time must be protected by ensuring that teaching happens for the whole period and the tardiness of learners is urgently addressed. A period register with daily follow-up by the SMT could assist in curbing bunking of classes and tardiness.
- There must be greater co-operation and sharing of responsibilities amongst the SMT. This could be achieved by providing a well-defined job description for each SMT member and creating a platform for reporting and accountability.
- The school must let the learners give input into the sport and cultural activities for their after-school programme. They can start with a few activities and add more once the programme is well established.
- A platform must be created for the Representative Council of Learners (RCL) to give input into matters that affect them. The SMT must regularly monitor the functioning of the RCL.
The full report can be found at: http://seawc.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/School-Evaluation-Report-Zonnebloem-Nest-21-January-2021.pdf
Cape Argus