Department of Education

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT, DEVELOPMENT, SUPPORT AND UPLIFTMENT PROGRAM

(QIDS-UP)

 

 

 

 

 

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: 2007/08

 

 

 

 

 

“We should move faster to address the challenges of poverty, underdevelopment and marginalisation confronting those caught within the Second Economy, to ensure that the poor in our country share in our growing prosperity.”

 

 

February 2007

QIDS UP KEY FOCUS IN 2007/08

 

  1. In 2007/08, the Department of Education (working in collaboration with provinces) will provide support to 3 500 (3,625) schools located in 14 districts that have been prioritised to receive support in the first three years of the project. These schools amount to 20% of the poorest primary schools, the majority of which are “no fee” schools, and serve over 1.2 million learners.
  2. Individual provinces will collaborate with the DoE in these schools and districts but may also work schools as dictated by provincial contexts. The additional schools will include secondary schools.
  3. Schools participating in the programme – through their principals and school governing bodies - will be asked to commit to particular deliverables agreed to, based on their own School Development plans.
  4. A strong mentorship element will be built into the programme.
  5. The primary focus of the project will be to improve learning through focusing, in 2007/08 – 2010/2011, on:
    1. ensuring adequate provisioning of resources to support learning and teaching
    2. improving learner competency levels in literacy;
    3. improving learner competency levels in numeracy;
    4. improving leadership, management and governance in the targeted schools; and
    5. Strengthening monitoring and evaluation at school level to ensure that there is maximum utilization of available resources and increased focus on learning and teaching.

 

6.       No special allocation was made for the implementation or management of QIDS-UP at DoE level. DoE had however re-prioritised to make funds available to provide leadership through a set of targeted interventions that can be taken to scale in the various provinces.

7.       The Re-prioritisation has made it possible for a contract post of a QIDS-UP Project Manager to drive the project to be created.

8.       In the 2007/08 financial year the DoE will spend approximately R100 million of its own and donor funds on the programme.

 

DOE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: 2007/08

 

Following are key activities that the DoE will drive as part of its literacy and numeracy strategy. This strategy includes:

 

o        Strengthening support to teachers through a) providing critical teaching and reference materials; b) targeted capacity building programmes;

o        Increasing access to books for both schools and learners; and

o        Assisting teachers to appropriately and consistently track reading competency levels in the early grades.

 

ACTIVITY

TIMEFRAME

(end date)

NUMBER. OF DISTRICTS/

SCHOOLS TO BENEFIT

Distribute manuals to guide teachers on the teaching of literacy.

January 2008

All schools

Develop toolkits (boxes of resources) to guide the teaching of reading and numeracy in Foundation and Intermediate Phase

March 2008

1 000l schools in the 14 priority districts

Improve teacher content/knowledge base and teaching skills by providing them with bursaries in order to enrol in the mathematics, science and technology (MST) ACE programme.

March 2008

600 GET teachers from the targeted districts trained as master teachers.

Monitor use of numeracy and literacy teacher guides distributed after the Grade 6 SE evaluation.

June 2007

Selected districts and schools

Deliver reading books (for library corners) in all foundation and intermediate phase classrooms, including storybooks for learners and reference materials for teachers and learners.

March 2007

6 000 schools with foundation and intermediate phase classes

Mount a “Drop all and Read” campaign by providing learners with personal storybooks and bags to take home.

March 2007

Grades R and 1 learners in the targeted 14 districts

Introduce mobile libraries to serve clusters of schools.

March 2008

Selected districts among the 14 targeted districts

Implement Early Grade Reading Assessment Programme (EGRA) to establish easy to measure criteria for tracking reading competency at early grade, identify challenges and provide reliable information to inform interventions

Sept 2007

Schools whose LOLT in foundation phase classes is English, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Xitsonga and seSotho.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Improving leadership, management and governance

 

Improve principals’ management skills by registering practising principals for 2 year Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) in school leadership.

June 2007

400 primary & secondary school principals trained

Develop and distribute a range of protocols to guide school managers on a range of issues, including the interview process, accountability of school managers, maintaining discipline in schools and managing the curriculum.

August 2007

All districts.

Train principals and district officials on curriculum management so that they can support teachers.

 

March 2008

Selected district officials in the targeted 14 districts

Train SGBs on financial management using alternative approaches that are not literacy based.

March 2008

All SGBs in Lusikisiki, Obonjeni and Sedibeng West

Establish and strengthen district-based support teams in order to pilot a South African model of Inclusive Education.

March 2008

All districts

 

 

 

Monitoring and evaluating

 

ACTIVITY

TIMEFRAME

(end date)

NUMBER. OF DISTRICTS/ SCHOOLS INVOLVED

Establish baseline information on learner achievement in numeracy and literacy (in grade 3) so that schools and districts can set performance targets over the baseline and to monitor learner achievement progress.

June 2007

All schools Lusikisiki, Obonjeni and Sedibeng West. (Remaining schools targeted for 2008/09)

Develop and pilot literacy and numeracy item banks to assist teachers to model and strengthen school-based assessments.

March 2008

All schools

Establish baseline information on school performance in the nine key areas identified WSE policy as affecting learner performance and assist schools to develop School Improvement Plans

 

March 2008

Primary schools in Lusikisiki, Obonjeni and Sedibeng West. Remaining 11 districts to be targeted in 2008/09 and 2009/10

 

 


 

FOCUS OF PROVINCIAL EUCATION DEPARTMENTS: 2007/08

 

q       Provincial implementation plans for 2007 differ in respect of the following:

 

o        The kind of support that each province will provide to schools and is guided by provincial contexts. While some provinces will focus primarily on the provision of resources, others will concentrate on other kinds of support for teachers and school managers.

o        Similarly, provinces differ in their implementation strategies. Some provinces have specific teams that manage QIDS-UP as a distinct programme; other provinces have opted not to “projectize” QIDS-UP and are using an all embracing, integrated and collaborative programme that is infused into existing provincial strategies to improve learner competencies in different learning areas, with special emphasis on literacy and numeracy.

o        Some provinces are using a phased approach, i.e. targeting specific districts and no fee schools at a time, while others are targeting all no fee (quintile 1 and 2 schools primarily) and incrementally providing them with resources and support.

 

q       All provinces are however anchoring the project around

o        Literacy and numeracy,

o        Adequate resourcing,

o        School leadership, management and governance and

o        Monitoring and evaluation

 

NORTHWEST DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

q                   In 2007, the North-West DoE will target 208 no fee primary schools that serve about 60,183 learners.

q                   A needs assessment has been conducted in order to establish specific needs of each of the 208 schools that will participate in the programme in 2007.

q                   A basic resource package that will be provided to individual learners and schools has also been determined.

q                   The North West DoE will provide timeframes and specific budgets associated with these deliverables by 28 February 2007.

 

KWAZULU-NATAL DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

q       In 2007, the KZN DoE will target 1,456 quintile 1 “no fee” schools, serving about 328,654 learners who are taught by about 9,000 teachers.

q       A needs analysis on the performance of learners in a sample of 340 of these schools has been completed.

q       Quintile 1 schools that have electricity have been provided with one computer each to assist with administration.

q       Key deliverable for 2007 include:

1.       Providing reading resources and increasing access to library books.

2.       Improving basic infrastructure.

3.       Conducting research on factors influencing learner performance and provide baseline data on learner achievement.

 

q                   The KZN DoE will provide more specific activities, timeframes and budgets associated with these deliverables by 28 February 2007.

 

 

FREE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

q                   In 2007, the Free State will target 279 primary schools including a mix of quintile 1 to 3 schools, which include “no fee” schools.

q                   Using an integrated approach to implementing the programme, the Free State DoE will involve a number of units in the department, including Education Library Information System, Quality Assurance, Governance and Management, GET Curriculum, Infrastructure, and Logistics.

q                   Key deliverable for 2007 include:

1.       Providing reading resources and increasing access to library books

2.       Providing mobile library units to improve learner competences in literacy

3.       Providing training to principals in order to support teachers with curriculum implementation.

q                   The Free State DoE will provide more specific activities, timeframes and specific budgets associated with these deliverables by 28 February 2007.

 

 

EASTERN CAPE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

q                   In 2007, the Eastern Cape DoE will target 692 quintiles 1 and 2 “no fee” schools in Lusikisiki and Libode.

q                   The targeted districts are the poorest in the province and have the highest dropout rate in grade 12 as well as the highest pupil-teacher ratio in the province.

q                   Key deliverable for 2007 include:

1.       Conducting a baseline study to establish learner competencies in literacy and numeracy;

2.       Improving basic infrastructure and

3.       Assisting schools to develop and implement School Improvement Plans.

q                   The Eastern Cape DoE will provide more specific activities, timeframes and specific budget associated with these deliverables by 28 February 2007.

 

WESTERN CAPE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

q                   In 2007, the Western Cape DoE will target 379 quintiles 1 and 2 schools, including 76 secondary schools that did not perform well in the 2006 Grade 12 exams. Many of these schools are “no fee” schools.

q                   An audit to establish individual school needs is underway and will be completed by April 2007. Procurement of resources will be based on the findings of the audit.

q                   Three people have been employed to manage the implementation of the programme.

q                   Key deliverable for 2007 include:

1.       Improving basic infrastructure;

2.       Programmes to improve leadership and management skills of principals and School Governing Bodies;

3.       Training Representative Councils of Learners to create strong leadership amongst learners;

4.       Mounting a Family Literacy Programme;

5.       Organising a conference for districts and schools targeted for support.

q                   The Western Cape DoE will provide more specific activities, timeframes and specific budget associated with these deliverables by 28 February 2007.

 

GAUTENG DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

q                   In 2007, the Gauteng DoE will target 263 quintile 1 schools, serving about 328,654. These schools are primarily “no fee” schools.

q                   The basic resource package that all schools targeted for support will receive has been finalised.

q                   The programme will focus on five primary areas: (a) communication of the programme to all levels, (b) provision of essential resources, (c) a focus on effective management and leadership; (d) improving learner achievement in literacy and numeracy. (e) strong monitoring and evaluation.

q                   Key deliverable for 2007 include:

1.       providing each learner with a minimum resource pack;

2.       Ensuring minimum resource pack to all targeted schools;

3.       Conducting baseline study to establish learner competencies in literacy and numeracy; and

4.       Supporting schools to deliver a comprehensive education to learners – including sports, art and music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

q                   The Gauteng DoE will provide more specific activities, timeframes and specific budget associated with these deliverables by 28 February 2007.

 

MPUMALANGA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

q                   In 2007, the Mpumalanga DoE will target 503 quintile 1 schools, mostly “no fee” schools.

q                   A basic resource package that all schools targeted for support will receive has been finalised.

q                   The programme will focus on five primary areas: (a) communication of the programme to all levels, (b) provision of essential resources, (c) a focus on effective management and leadership; (d) improving learner achievement in literacy and numeracy. (e) strong monitoring and evaluation.

 


 

APPENDIX A: TARGETED DISTRICTS

TOTAL NO. OF SCHOOLS:  3,625

 

TOTAL NO. OF LEARNERS:  1,271,263

 

 

 

 

Province

District

Total Q. 1

Total Q. 2

Total Q. 3

Total Q. 1-3

Q. 1

Q. 2

Q. 3

Total Q. 1-3

Schools

Schools

Schools

Schools

Learners

Learners

Learners

Learners

EASTERN CAPE

Libode

234

111

30

375

87,153

34,539

11,646

133,338

Lusikisiki

242

56

18

316

91,279

21,760

6,844

119,883

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FREE STATE

Thabo Mofutsanyane

466

24

22

512

86,863

19,534

13,418

119,815

Lejweleputswa

243

42

29

314

30,872

33,253

21,378

85,503

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GAUTENG

Sedibeng West

34

35

10

79

21,883

22,197

6,244

50,324

Johannesburg North

13

26

25

64

12,816

15,114

20,109

48,039

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KWAZULU-NATAL

Obonjeni

168

100

64

332

44,752

41,112

26,692

112,556

Umzinyathi

150

55

56

261

34,427

18,589

16,324

69,340

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIMPOPO

Sekhukhune

448

26

35

509

171,857

8,609

17,356

197,822

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MPUMALANGA

Nkangala

91

121

127

339

29394

47640

70709

147743

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NORTHERN CAPE

Kgalagadi

65

37

23

125

13,103

8,561

6,647

28,311

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NORTH WEST

Bophirima

218

51

27

296

52,715

13,915

11,112

77,742

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WESTERN CAPE

Metropole South

No Q1 Schools

5

40

45

No Q1 Schools

5,638

27,079

32,717

 

Metropole East

2

10

46

58

2,819

9,386

35,925

48,130

TOTAL

 

2,374

699

552

3,625

679,933

299,847

291,483

1,271,263