Reflections on managing a school : a visit to Wallace High School, Stirling, Scotland

Abstract

Providing Quality Education is the focus of each educational institution. Therefore, each school strives to enhance school effectiveness by focusing on particular Key Areas. Schools in Scotland, which are continuously monitored and evaluated in terms of quality assurance, also adopt such practice. This report documents how Wallace High School; a comprehensive, non-denominational school in Stirling, Scotland; works towards providing the best educational experience to students. Based on a fortnight observation period, this report starts by describing the physical aspect of the school's building, its resources and the human structure of the school. Chapter 2, then recounts the management organizational structure of the school, describing the roles and duties of the SMT, the faculty managers and the teachers. Delegation and effective communication practices are the foundations of such organization. Values, aims objectives and policies are then discussed in Chapter 3, shedding light on how these are planned, organised and practiced. The curricular experience offered to students is documented in the next chapter, describing the courses offered at Wallace High, the assessment procedures and the informal curriculum presented to students. School evaluation and the process of monitoring school effectiveness are then described in the following chapter, along with details of the practices of the SDP and teachers' continuous professional development. Finally concluding comments analyse and compare whether the applied management and organizational practices at Wallace High School, can be effectively adopted into the local situation.