To help principals and teachers manage the delivery of the curriculum, Siyawela offers two short learning programmes (SLPs):

• Subject Head Roles and Responsibilities

This SLP aims to build the capacity of heads of departments (HODs) and subject heads, so that they can contribute effectively to the management of their subjects.

• Curriculum and Instructional Leadership

This SLP aims to support deputy principals and phase heads by teaching them how to structure their schools’ teaching and learning processes.

Directed at primary schools, this two-year programme helps school management teams (SMTs) to create a learning culture within their schools. It focuses on leadership, development and support, and on personal growth.

Capacity-building workshops and retreats are held over the course of the programme. After these events, resources and on-site support are provided to ensure that new skills are implemented.

This programme aims to:

• develop and strengthen the leadership of high school principals and school management teams (SMTs), in order to ensure sustained improvement in learner achievement; and
• help the Department of Basic Education develop an effective, standardised approach to training South African high school principals.

The Department of Basic Education requires every school to conduct an annual School Self-Evaluation (SSE) to get an honest assessment of their school’s performance. The results are then used to develop a School Improvement Plan (SIP), detailing what the key challenges of the school are and how these will be addressed.

Through a series of workshops, Siyawela helps primary and high schools with this process – aided by the GM South Africa Foundation’s web-based SSE instrument which helps schools determine their strengths and areas that need improvement.