Schools as Organisations
TDA 2. 5 Schools as Organisations 1 Know the different types of schools in the education sector 1. 1There are four main types of mainstream state schools which will all be funded by local authorities and these are maintained schools and follow the National Curriculum. They are as follows: Community schools – These are managed and owned by the local authority. The authority will support the school and will be helped with links made with the local community for example – community officers – local businesses and parents. The school will be utilised by local groups such as adult education.
They are usually responsible for their own admissions policy. Foundation and trust schools – These types of schools are run by their own governing body. The governors are responsible for the admissions policy alongside the local education authority. The school, land and buildings will also be owned by the governing body or a charitable trust with an outside partner such as a business. The governing body and the parents have control of decisions made on behalf of the school egg finances and equipment and any support services.
Voluntary schools – There are two types – voluntary aided and voluntary controlled •Voluntary aided schools will mainly be religious or faith schools although they can be attended by those of any religion. They are run by their own governing body but are normally attached in some way by a religious organisation eg Church of England or Catholic. They are funded partly by the governing body, partly by the local education authority which also provides support services. •Voluntary controlled schools are similar to Voluntary aided – the difference being that they are run and funded by the local authority.
The land ad buildings are usually owned by a charity – often with religious connections. Specialist Schools – These are normally secondary schools. They receive extra government funding to develop specialisms such as engineering, technology, languages, arts and many more. Special schools can also apply for specialist school status to be given under one of the four areas of the SEN Code of Practice There are also INDEPENDENT Schools and ACADEMIES – these are not funded directly by the local education authority.
Independent Schools are funded by fees paid by parents and charitable endowments. Just over half of these schools have charitable status. They do not have to follow the National Curriculum and the head teacher and governors are responsible of the admissions policy. Academies are set up by sponsors from business and are independently managed. They have close links with the local education authority but are not maintained by it. TDA 2. 5 Schools as Organisations 2 Know how schools are organised in terms of roles and responsibilities 2. The school as an organisation is dependent on many different roles and responsibilities of the school team. There are a team of school governors of maybe 10 to 20 people who are responsible for setting aims and objectives and trying to make sure they are implemented. The governors are made up of a variety of people who have links with the school and local community. The Governors will work closely with the Senior Management Team and will be made of at least one parent governor and at least one staff governor in addition to the Head Teacher.
They will be responsible for various areas of school management such us school caretaking and staff issues. The school has a Senior Management Team which is made up of more experienced staff such as Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, SENCOs, Year Group Heads, Governor. The SMT will usually meet on a regular basis to discuss issues and implement a school improvement plan. These plans will then be filtered to the rest of the teachers and support staff. The plan sets out priorities over a four or five year period. SENCOs are a legal requirement in both senior and primary schools.
There will also be a Foundation Stage Manager in a primary school. The FSM has the role of ensuring that the Reception class is being run in accordance with statutory requirements and that all observations are kept up to date and the correct training is being given to all concerned. The SENCO has a wide range of responsibilities including ensuring that the appropriate Individual Education Plan is in place. They also need to ensure that all agencies are aware of all the special needs and requirements of each individual child.
Teachers have a wide responsibility along with the teaching assistants and HLTAs in the role of planning and preparing. They are constantly assessing, evaluating and reporting on progress. Support staff play a large role in the school organisation. These include mid-day supervisors, dinner ladies, volunteers/parent helpers, after school and breakfast club co-ordinators, office and administrative staff, individual support assistants for SEN children and learning mentors. 2. 2There are also external professionals who make up the school as an organisation.
These are likely to include an Education Welfare Officer, Family Liaison Officer, Educational Psychologist, Cycling Proficiency Officer, Community Safety Officers, Specialist Teachers (Music/IT), Speech and Language Therapists. An Educational Welfare Officer and/or an Educational Psychologist would usually be invited into the school on different occasions to pick out any educational, emotional or behavioural issues that may be affecting individual students. They would be asked to assess and monitor any issues that teachers or staff have noticed in the day to day running of the school.
They also would have a part in attendance and neglect issues. A School Improvement Partner will be responsible for looking at ways of developing the school both through school self-evaluation and pupil progress and attainment. They are looking at ways of improvement with out of school activities and liaison with parents. Other teachers may visit schools for meetings such as ‘cluster groups’. These groups can prove very helpful as tools and arenas to enhance school teachers knowledge and awareness of various practices and ideas.
