Planning for the 2013 School Year

While the 2012 school year is still in full swing, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has been working hard to ensure that it is prepared and ready for the 2013 school year.

This is a massive task and requires extensive communication, planning and organisation by both the schools and the WCED.

Tomorrow, 24 October 2012, Minister of Education, Donald Grant and Head of Department Penny Vinjevold, will be announcing its preparations for the 2013 school year including details on educator post allocations, textbook provisioning and a schedule of dates for training programmes, meetings, tests and examinations, as well as other important administrative deadlines.

They will also be announcing details on the School Improvement Plan (SIPS), which is an online management tool that was piloted in all schools this year. It contains a wealth of information that can be used for effective planning purposes. The "Academic Performance Improvement" function is extremely important in monitoring the performance and improvement levels of each school.

This function also enhances accountability across the system and allows us to identify schools that are not meeting targets, so that we can provide the necessary support and assistance.