What is Good Governance and Why Does Your School Need It?

Good governance is a set of responsibilities, practices, policies, and procedures used by your school to:

• Provide direction to the staff and children through a strong framework.
• Ensure objectives are achieved.
• Manage your resources so that you can deliver quality early childhood education.

How Will Good Governance Benefit Your School?

• More efficient utilization of resources.
• Greater participation by the teachers and parents in the continued development of the school.
• Opens communication channels between the school and the parents, and with the staff at school.
• Positive transparency to the stakeholders (parents, staff and other interested people).
• More Governing Body and School Management accountability.
• Cooperation between your school and Health and Social Development.
• When relevant contracts, job descriptions and the code of conduct are implemented every body knows what it expected of them.

Basics of Good Governance at School

1. Have meetings:
   1. Form a Governing Body, Management Committee and/or PTA.
   2. Join the Forum or ECD Association in your area.
   3. Join the Rate Payers Association in your area.
2. Manage your staff transparently, firmly and with empathy:
   1. Have prep meetings, acknowledge birthdays.
   2. Do Teacher Performance Evaluations.
3. Resource Management:
   1. Generate (essential) resources for the school through the active participation of stakeholders.
   2. Manage and maintain the school building, kitchen, sickbay, classrooms, storage facilities, toilets, food, toys, stationery and furniture.
   3. Keep a record of resources generated from donors.
   4. Keep a stock list of everything that is in your school.
   5. Conduct fund-raising activities.
4. Monitoring:
   1. Monitor the management of toilet cleaning, library, and other basic facilities.
   2. Monitor classroom conditions and generl classroom management.
   3. Monitor the arrival and management of the children.
   4. Monitor teacher arrival times and time spent teaching and doing other duties.
   5. Monitor that the daily routines, quarterly plan and annual plan take place as planned.
   6. Monitor the teaching environment based on the following:
      1. Child-friendly teaching.
      2. Use of various methods of teaching.
      3. Safe, clean classroom.
5. School Policy and Guidelines:
   1. Develop detailed rules and code of conduct through discussion in the meetings of stakeholders.
   2. Application of these rules and code of conduct.
   3. Develop and apply a code of conduct for the school.
   4. Make available and maintain a complaint box
   5. Frame policies on professional development of teachers and preparation of training materials.
   6. Management of penalizing teacher disobeying those rules and code of conducct.
6. Information Disclosure (PAIA):
   1. Implement PAIA.
   2. Disclose social and financial audit reports (if managed by a Governing Body).
   3. Disclose the school’s annual plan.
   4. Disseminate information received from the Departments to relevant stakeholders.
   5. Notify relevant stakeholder of school programs.
   6. Disclose decisions made at meetings to stakeholders.
7. Accountability:
   1. The PTA is accountable to the school and community.
   2. PTA members, Governing Body and staff  are aware of their roles and responsibilities.
   3. The Principal and teachers are accountable to school management.
   4. The Principal and teachers are committed to their jobs.
   5. The Principal and teachers are disciplined
   6. The children show a level of happiness to come to school.
   7. Stakeholders actively participate in the decision-making processes.

Adapted from: World Bank Social Development, School Good Governance Guidelines

Read the full Article – http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTSOCIALDEVELOPMENT/Resources/244362-1193949504055/4348035-1352736698664/SCHOOL_GOOD_GOVERNANCE_FAQ.pdf