The Adopt-a-School Foundation reported on having undergone an intensive in-house leadership development programme and developed internal capacity of the Foundation’s staff as competent assessors to facilitate leadership programmes in schools. We are delighted that the programme has been implemented in three schools and many of our donors have expressed interest in the programme.
On the 3rd to the 5th of May 2019, Adopt-a-School Foundation conducted a leadership training programme for Merete Secondary School in Rustenburg, North West funded by Merafe Resources. The 3-day leadership training programme catered for over 30 educators and School Management empowering them with strong leadership skills to function as leaders, whilst improving teamwork and the practice of leadership in the school.
The programme is aimed to equip the educators with the necessary knowledge and skills to lead effectively in their own spaces: be at school, home or community. The emphasis is on self-leadership, and development along this path requires patience and practice. The programme started off by self-assessment and progressed to look at different perspectives on management and leadership, before concluding with a practical portfolio of evidence (POE) on the application of learnt principles in the workplace.
The 3 day workshop objectives were to enable the educators to:
- Analyse the leadership qualities that are essential for leading in their domain of work
- Distinguish between management skills and leadership competencies and explore various past and recent leadership theories.
- Describe the leader’s role in creating a productive school work environment, including shaping culture and building trust among team members.
- Describe the manager’s responsibility in promoting ethical principles and professional conduct in a team as well as creating sustainability within the school.
With a new principal at the helm as of late last year, this could not have come at a better time for Meriti Secondary School. “The School had been functioning without a vision, mission and proper strategic direction and goals in place. Thanks to our funder Merafe Resources and Adopt-a-School Foundation for enabling us to have a different view towards management and leadership, making us better managers and leaders for our learners. We now have a vision, mission and goals for our school,” said Mr Mukgwe, the School Principal of Meriti Secondary School.
