FUNCTIONS
The overall function of School operations is to assure quality of education through the continuing development of student performance, teacher management (Posting) and overall enhanced school improvement and performance:
- Manages and implements the Minimum Service Standards (MSS) in schools with a focus on school environment, hygiene and safety; school partnership, governance and management; teacher quality; student achievement and classroom assessment.
- Manages school improvement processes through continuous assessment and development of School Improvement Plans and School Annual Management Plans.
- Regulates and monitors school registration, governance and management requirements as stipulated in the Education Act 2009 (or its amended version), School Governance Framework and policies and the School Organisational Manual;
- Monitors compliance of schools with the Compulsory Education Provision in the Education Act 2009 (or its amended version) and other relevant legislations;
- Leads and manage all teaching personnel and ensure staffing requirements are addressed efficiently and effectively in compliance with prevailing MESC legislations and policies;
- Manages School Staffing and School Personnel to ensure compliance with established policies.
- The following sets out each of the key responsibilities of each of the Units
1. School Performance & Improvement Units (Savaii, Manono & Upolu)
The SPI Units responsibilities are:
a) School Performance:
- Develop and maintain a School Performance database.
- Monitoring of schools’ Annual Reports on their Annual Plans and School Improvement Plans.
- Develop criteria and benchmarks for performance that will enable school management
2. School Personnel & Staffing Unit (SPSU)
The SPS Unit is responsible for:
a) School Personnel:
- Ensure Performance Plans for PORs are aligned with their respective schools School Improvement Plans and School Annual Plans
- Ensure timely submission of all Performance Plans for PORs to PSC.
- Ensure timely preparation and submission of all Performance Review reports for PORs to CMM and PSC.
- Ensure timely submission to PSC of extension requests.
- Liaise with School Inspectors on complaints and investigations regarding teaching personnel
- Manage the counseling and discipline of teaching personnel.
- Coordinate with the Media Unit to design and prepare promotional materials advertising the teaching profession
- Collaborate with Teacher Development Division to ensure that all new appointees receive appropriate induction training
b) School Staffing:
- Work closely with School Inspectors, School Principals and School Committees to ensure school staffing needs are managed adequately
- Identify staffing needs according to policies on staffing ratios outline in the MESC Staffing Manual
- Prepare requests for donor funded/volunteer staff on an as need basis and ensure schools have exit plans for volunteers
- Prepare and submit Staffing Verification visits Work-Plan to ACEO SOD for endorsement
- Prepare and submit Staffing Monitoring Visit reports
- Coordinate Posting Committee meetings
3. School Inspectors (SI)
The School Inspectors (School Support Advisors) responsibilities are to:
- Monitor regularly the collection and efficient communication of school data as required by various ministry divisions;
- Monitor, evaluate, review, and report the compliance of each assigned school with the MSS on a regular basis;
- Identify areas of non-compliance of each school and provide strategic advice for school improvement in the identified areas;
- Monitor, review and report monthly on the progress of cluster schools against their respective School Improvement and School Management Plans;
- Foster closer professional collaborations between cluster schools for professional development and professional learning opportunities;
- Strategically advise cluster school principals to execute their leadership roles more effectively and inclusively in close collaboration with the School Committees, PTA and wider community.
- Assist with the management of school resources efficiently in accordance with Ministry mandates, policy and processes, in order to foster quality assurance and ethical standards of all services;
- Provide advice to SOD of the cluster schools’ performance and development work and progress through verbal and written reports.
- Liaise with School Inspectors to identify either school specific or system wide training needs and liaise with the PEO Teacher Development (TDAD) to design and provide that training.
