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Unit 3 – The development of a school development plan and school improvement plan process

The learning outcomes for this unit are:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how to develop a School Development Plan (SDP) and School Improvement Plan
  • Show understanding of these plans as being strategic or operational.



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KT0103.1: The Development of School Development Plan and School Improvement Plan process

The School Development Plan (SDP) should be completed by the School Manager and SGB, in consultation with the broader stakeholder community, once every three years. The school circuit manager is required to provide support to the school in completing this process. The school’s budget is linked to the SDP 3-year projected plan. The SDP must be signed by the School Principal, SGB Chairperson and circuit manager and submitted to the District Office for verification and approval:

    1. The School Development Plan is a medium-term plan which outlines the school’s achievable goals, activities and priorities over a period of three years. The plan must cover all Nine Areas of Evaluation and is usually done at the beginning of a Governing Body’s term of office.a) The School Development Plan is a medium-term plan which outlines the school’s achievable goals, activities and priorities over a period of three years. The plan must cover all Nine Areas of Evaluation and is usually done at the beginning of a Governing Body’s term of office.

    2. This plan is based on the findings of the SWOT analysis and IWSE / SSE process to decide on priorities for the school.
    3. These medium-term goals must be aligned to the 3 – year term of office of the SGB.
    4. All contracts entered into by the SGB must be aligned to the SDP and must be reflected as such.
    5. The 3-year plan must be reflected in the annual plans linked to the budget

The School Improvement Plan (SIP) must be developed by the School Manager and SGB, in consultation with the broader stakeholder community, annually in the year preceding the next academic year. The school circuit manager is required to provide support. The SIP comprises short term school-based needs and extracts of the SDP and is linked to the annual budget as tabled at the Annual General Meeting. The SIP must be signed by the School Principal, SGB Chairperson and Cluster Leader / IDSO and submitted to the District Office for verification and approval:</p

  1. The SIP is a short-term annual plan of action which comprises short term school-based needs and extracts of the SDP and must be based on the Nine Areas of Evaluation emanating from the SSE / IWSE.
  2. The SIP Action Plan helps the school to achieve its priorities and must outline the following:
    • The action required.
    • Who is responsible for the activity?
    • the time-frame required for the activity to be completed;
    • what resources are required; and
    • A quarterly report on the implementation of the actions
  3. The SIP must reflect a continuous improvement plan on a year-to-year basis.
  4. The SIP is a road map that sets out the changes that a school needs to make to improve the level of learning and learner achievement and the school environment, as well as how and when these changes will be made.
  5. The SIP should reflect the following:
    • interventions that lead to improved learner performance;
    • interventions that lead to improved learner support;
    • interventions that lead to an improved school environment;
    • teacher initiated improvement;
    • School Management Team organised activities; and
    • District / Provincial / other support structures / interventions must be factored in after agreement by all stakeholders.
  6. The verified, approved SIP must be submitted to the District Director for integration into the District Improvement Plan (DIP).
  • On the election of a new SGB, a School Development Plan (SDP) which outlines the school’s achievable goals, activities and priorities over a period of three years, is developed
  • The needs analysis should be sourced from the Internal Whole School Evaluation(IWSE)/School Self Evaluation(SSE) process
  • Extracts from the 3-year macro plan will be incorporated into a year-by-year school improvement operational plan which is the SIP
KT0103.2: The Difference Between Strategic and Operational Planning

Strategic planning is critical to successful organisations, as it provides forward-looking direction, outlines measurable goals, helps guide key decisions, and provides structure for evaluating progress and data for taking corrective action.

An operational plan (also known as a work plan) is a highly detailed outline of what your department will focus on for the near future—usually the upcoming year. The plan will answer questions – who, what, when, and how much – regarding daily or weekly.

Without following a strategic planning process, you risk not doing the right things right to support the priorities of the organization. While it may seem like a lot of work, remember the adage:

“If you don’t plan, then you are planning to fail.”

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References