THE IMPORTANCE OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT.pptx

staff development, types of staff development, steps of staff development program. the benefits of staff development. Promoting staff development.

1. THE IMPORTANCE OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT

2. What is staff development? Staff development refers to the process, programs and activities through which every organization develops, enhances and improves the skills, competencies and overall performance of its employees and workers. It provides the activities intended to upgrade and update the knowledge, skills and understanding of the human resource in the school. The aim is to create positive and productive changes in the human resource’s thinking and behaviour, and to secure compliance with school and national policies.

3. TYPES OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT Induction training Job orientation In –service education Continuing education Training for special function

4. Four types of In-Service training 1. Induction or orientation 2. Foundation training 3. Maintenance or refresher 4. Career development

5. WHY TO PARTICIPATE IN STAFF DEVELOPMENT? Interest lifelong learning Sense of moral obligation To maintain and improve professional competence To enhance career progression To keep abreast of new technology and practices

6. Steps of staff development program Asses the educational needs off all staff members Set priorities Develop general objectives for the staff development program Determine the resources needed to reach the desired objectives Develop a master calendar for the entire year

7. Steps of staff development program Develop and maintain staff development record system Establish file on major educational topics Regularly evaluate the staff development program.

8. BENEFIT OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT Gives teacher the ability to get most current information. Gives school the opportunity to affirm their goal Allows teacher’s to perform their job better Personal development of staff Provide students with the latest on the topic that is being taught

9. Promoting staff development The School Plan has an important part to play in the promotion of staff development. In this regard the School Plan will usually include initiatives and steps that can be taken to promote the professional development of the staff. In order to achieve this, it is necessary in the first place to identify the professional needs of the teachers.

10. Promoting staff development • a school self-review system • dialogue at school level • a school report furnished by an external evaluator,

11. THE SCHOOL PLAN

12. The need for a School Plan It is accepted that the most effective organisations are those which place a great emphasis on clarifying their aims and objectives, as well as engaging in corporate, collaborative and comprehensive planning in order to achieve those aims and objectives.

13. The need for a School Plan The school is also an organisation and likewise needs to be effective. In order to be so, it needs to enable all its partners to join in the clarification and statement of its aims and objectives and to agree on strategies to achieve them. School-based planning is the most important means through which this is done.

14. The need for a School Plan To assist the school in becoming effective and in promoting school improvement, a strategy is necessary to harmonise the sometimes differing expectations of teachers, boards of management and parents. Collaborative school planning and the production of a School Plan can provide a framework for the development of such a strategy.

15. While the School Plan will ensure adherence to the school’s own aims and objectives, it will also enable all partners to be aware of and to subscribe to the stated over-arching aims of the education system as expressed • by statute • in curriculum guidelines • in the circulars of the Department of Education and Science • in accepted national policy reports and documents.

16. Purpose of the School Plan The School Plan has as its essential purpose the achievement of school effectiveness as well as being a significant support for school improvement. It will help the school to realise its stated aims and objectives which will be firmly directed towards meeting the present and anticipated needs of the pupils. It will help to ensure quality in teaching and learning throughout the school

17. Features of effective schools The following are regarded as important features of schools which are effective: • purposeful leadership by the principal • curriculum planning and development • appropriate communication structures • teacher/classroom preparation • intellectually challenging teaching • an environment in the classroom which is conducive to learning • a positive climate • parental involvement • assessment and record keeping • consistency in the implementation of agreed policies.

18. What is a School Plan? The School Plan is a statement of the educational philosophy of the school, its aims and how it proposes to achieve them. It deals with the total curriculum and with the organization of the school’s resources, including staff, spa facilities, equipment, time and finance. It includes the school’s policies on such key issues as: pupil assessment, special needs, record-keeping, staff development, teachers’ preparation, homework, the code of behavior, home-school links, equal opportunities in the curriculum for girls and boys, intercultural education, health and safety standards.

19. What does a School Plan contain? A School Plan contains two main sections. The first section deals with the total curriculum to be implemented in the school. The second section describes a range of policies and practices which largely have to do with administrative aspects of school life. Some of these policies will change very little from year to year.

20. The School Plan and school development The School Plan is concerned with the creation of realistic targets which lead, if achieved over a period of time, to improvements in the education offered to children. The School Plan provides a shared long-term vision for the school. It establishes priorities for action and provides a mechanism for reviewing progress. The School Plan enables the school to control the direction and pace of its own development in a professional way.

21. The School Development Planning Process is: Systematic Collaborative On-going Progressive Enhancing

22. School Development Planning promotes: School Effectiveness School Improvement Quality Enhancement Staff Development Partnership Effective Deployment of Available Resources Management of Change Furtherance of Aims and Priorities of National Education System

23. Process of planning School planning is essentially a process in which policy and plans evolve from the ever-changing and developing needs of the school community. An important dimension in this process of planning is the collaborative effort and co-operation that takes place between the principal, the teachers, the board of management and the parents of the pupils attending the school

24. Process of planning The involvement of all the partners in this collaborative exercise enables each to make its own special contribution which in turn is complemented by the contributions of the other partners. The process involved in school planning is of paramount importance to all those engaged in the exercise at all stages of the plan’s development. Effective school planning involves constant review, design, implementation and evaluation

25. Product It is recognized that the outcome of the process of planning results in a product. This will take the form of a document or a series of documents. As already stated, this product will include policies which are almost permanent features of the School Plan and will also include other policies which will be open to more frequent review and development .

26. FRAMEWORK OF THE SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESS The basic framework is a planning cycle that revolves around a central core. The Core consists of the school’s mission, vision and fundamental aims. The Planning Cycle comprises four key operations: review, design implementation and evaluation.

27. The formulation of mission and vision should address the following questions: Whom does the school serve? What service does the school provide? How is that service provided? What are the key ideals, beliefs and values that the school stands for?

28. The function of the statement of Mission, Vision and Aims is: To give a clear sense of direction to the work of the school To inspire the school community with a common sense of purpose To provide a framework from which policies and priorities can be derived To establish a reference point against which the school can evaluate the success of its activities

29. School Development Planning Operations Time-Frame The time-frame for the completion of the Planning Cycle as a whole – review, design, implementation and evaluation – will vary from school to school. It is envisaged, however, that a time-frame in the range from three to five years would be appropriate for most schools.

30. School Development Planning Operations 1. REVIEW The purpose of the review is twofold: Description: to compile a comprehensive account of the school’s current situation with a view to: Heightening the awareness of the school community of how and why the school functions and of the context in which it operates Providing data for analysis as a basis for decision-making

31. Analysis: to establish the school’s internal strengths and challenges and the opportunities and threats presented by its external environment, with a view to: Identifying needs that must be addressed Identifying factors that must be taken into account in planning for the development of the school Prioritising areas for development

32. Areas for Review There are many ways of classifying the various aspects of the school for the purposes of review.

33. Review Instruments Review instruments include: Surveys Questionnaires Interviews Checklists SCOT (Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis Forms Evaluation Grids

34. Prioritisation Where a school is undertaking formalised whole school planning for the first time, priorities to be addressed in the first planning cycle may include the development of an appropriate planning infrastructure: Establishing structures for delegation, collaboration, consultation, and communication. Designing a customised model of the school development planning process. Devising systematic procedures for monitoring and evaluation Clarifying the school’s mission, vision and aims Documenting the school’s policies in key areas

35. DESIGN The Design stage encompasses designing the structure of the overall school plan, devising action plans to address the priorities, and drafting and compiling the component sections of the plan so that it can be communicated to the whole staff and presented to the Board of Management for approval.

36. Action Planning In the Design stage, the priorities identified in the Review are translated into specific objectives or targets, and Action Plan. Outcome of Design Process: The Draft School Plan The outcome of the Design process is the Draft School Plan, a key component of which is a set of action plans related to the development priorities identified in the review process.

37. Action Planning Objectives should be SMART: Specific, Measurable/ Monitorable , Achievable, Realistic , Timed.

38. These plans specify What targets are to be attained Who will do what, when, and with what resources, to attain them What will be done to ascertain how well they are attained

39. IMPLEMENTATION Monitoring The implementation of School Development Planning is greatly assisted by the establishment of appropriate structures for collaboration and consultation. Structures within the staff may include a Steering Group , chaired perhaps by a School Plan Co-ordinator, to oversee the process as a whole , Teams or Task Groups to address particular needs.

40. EVALUATION Evidence can be gathered from: Questionnaires Documents and records Discussions Interviews Pupils’ work Observation Independent evaluation reports

41. THE PARTICIPANT IN SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING Stake Holders The Principal The Teaching Staff The Support Staff Parents Students Local Community

42. Available resources Personnel Materials Funding Time Facilities Equipment Technical assistant Training

43. THANK YOU!!! Prepared by : RHODA C. LIPATA