8920 Partners for Possibility Case Study FAW.PDF

A shared journey to sustainable transformation

Symphonia Partners for Possibility programme

Contents

The journey begins ... 01

Plotting the course 03

Identifying the challenges andputting the plan into action 04

Making a lasting impact 07

Looking forward 09

When Anthony Naidoo and Annah Lebethe became involved with the Symphonia Partners for Possibility programme, neither realised just what an impact their partnership would have – on each other, on the school, and on an entire community. Theirs is a story that illustrates the immense power of partnership and the transformational impact that can be delivered through a shared vision of quality education for all of South Africa’s children.

‘It felt like I was going back to school. I saw it as a great opportunity to give back to something I am so passionate about, namely education.’Anthony Naidoo

‘I was ecstatic about the potential of the programme and the thought of meeting Anthony Naidoo, who I had come to hear a lot about.’Annah Lebethe

Anthony Naidoo, Senior Manager of Internal Communications at Nedbank, has always believed in the power of education as a mechanism to transform South Africa’s future.

Annah Lebethe, the Principal of Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School in Zandspruit, Johannesburg, has long recognised the value of incorporating proven business principles into the effective operation and governance of schools.

So, when these two passionate and driven individuals were given the opportunity to work together through the Symphonia Partners for Possibility programme, both jumped at the chance. Little did they realise what an impact their journey would have – not just on the school and its learners, but also on the educators, the community, and even on each other, both as people and as professionals.

The journey begins …

A shared journey to sustainable transformation 01

About Symphonia Partners for Possibility

Symphonia for South Africa (SSA) is a non-profit organisation based in Bellville, Cape Town. It has the bold vision to deliver quality education for all children in South Africa by 2022, and one of the key vehicles through which it is working to achieve this vision is the Partners for Possibility (PfP) programme.

Founded in 2010, PfP was established on the understanding that enhancing the quality of education, improving the school environment and facilitating engagement between

parents, teachers and communities will generate an upward spiral of real change in South African society as a whole. The programme seeks to place participating schools at the very centre of their communities to drive radical transformation for all stakeholders.

By creating such a co-action, co-learning partnership between school principals and business leaders, PfP not only offers a creative solution for South Africa’s education crisis, but it also enables greater social cohesion and empowers educators to become change leaders.

The PfP programme establishes a partnership between a business leader and a school principal from an under-resourced school.

Symphonia seeks to mobilise citizens and communities to reclaim the responsibility for educating South Africa’s children.

Left: The children of Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School were thrilled to receive brand new school uniforms, including shoes, shirts, trousers, dresses and jerseys. The uniforms were donated by Nedbank Private Wealth Trust.

Above from left to right: Savannah Steinberg, PfP Coach; Anthony Naidoo, Senior Manager of Internal Communications at Nedbank; and Annah Lebethe, Principal of Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School.


The Symphonia Partners for Possibility programme brought together two people’s passion for quality education, in the process transforming a school and community.

The first step in this exciting new partnership between Anthony and Annah was to set out precisely what they hoped to achieve. Given the massive proven potential of the PfP programme to completely transform schools and their stakeholders, this was no small undertaking. In fact, it took Anthony and Annah a full three months of head scratching, deliberation, and intensive stakeholder discussions to fully explore their options, set out their goals and plot their strategy as partners for possibility.

During informal meetings over coffee, the two individuals from very different walks of life quickly discovered that they shared the same passion and vision for education and the same desire for personal and professional growth.

These informal meetings quickly evolved into indepth strategic planning sessions. Under the watchful eye of their programme coach, Savannah Steinberg, they successfully detailed their objectives and unpacked the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead.

At the end of this intensive mapping process, the two partners established the following main goals for themselves and their partnership:

Annah’s goals• Toshareherexperienceandbeopentolearninginorderto

maximise positive education outcomes for the learners.• Tobecomeamorecompetentandassertiveleader.• Toevolveintoanassertiveandquickdecisionmaker.

Anthony’s goals • Tosharehisbusinessknowledgeandexperienceto

help deliver on the partnership goals for the school.• Togainadeepunderstandingoftheplightof

underprivileged children and use this knowledge to impact their lives in a meaningful way.

• Tobecomemorepeople-centredandawareofthe impact of his thoughts and actions on others.

• Tobecomemoreengagedwiththosearoundhim,particularly the community and learners.

Shared goals• Tolearnasmuchaspossibleandapplytheselessons

to their respective workplaces, thereby improving their effectiveness and outcomes.

Goals for the school• Toimprovethegeneralexperienceoflearnersattheschool.• Toraisetheresultsandeducationoutcomesofthelearners.• Theenhanceenthusiasmandself-esteemlevelsand

encourage pupil participation at all levels.• Toimproveteachermoraleandofferrealopportunitiesfor

them to contribute to the school’s improvement. • Tocreateopportunitiesforparentsandthebroader

community to take more responsibility for educating the learners at the school.

Plotting the course


A practical example of the true power of Partners for Possibility

From the outset, Anthony and Annah recognised that achieving the transformation they envisaged for the school and all its stakeholders was not going to be easy. They did, however, agree that identifying and quantifying the main challenges would be the first step in addressing and overcoming them. These challenges included the following:

• Criminal activity – The school suffered regular break-ins and theft of equipment and cables which constantly thwarted its attempts at delivering good outcomes.

• Poverty – Like so many schools in South Africa, Masakhane-Tswelelopele attempts to meet the education needs of some of the country’s poorest citizens. This presents real challenges in terms of hunger at school, lack of resources and even low self-esteem and a lack of confidence among learners.

• Poor educator morale – The many challenges teachers face at the school on a daily basis had a profoundly negative effect on their motivation and passion for their work. This resulted in high attrition rates which in turn impacted negatively on education outcomes due to uncertainty among learners.

• Lack of maintenance – Given the many other challenges and priorities, combined with a complete lack of budget, it was understandable that the school suffered from a lack of general maintenance. Litter was particularly a problem.

• Admission challenges – The location of Masakhane-Tswelelopele meant that the school received numerous applications for learners from outside the borders of South Africa. These applications were typically received outside of the accepted admissions period and resulted in disruptions of classes and challenges for educators in terms of acclimatising the children while still giving sufficient attention to the other learners in the classes. Other challenges included the below par English abilities of these learners as well as their lack of books and stationery.

The PfP programme is based on a commitment of at least one year. During that time the partners not only work closely with each other to deliver on the objectives and outcomes they have agreed on, but they also commit to participating in extensive leadership development training, most of which is facilitated by their programme coach.

In addition to undertaking these commitments, which are at the heart of the success of the PfP programme, Anthony and Annah agreed that achieving their goals required the continued and dedicated rollout of a clear partnership strategy, built on the following main pillars:

Ongoing engagement with the school management team Together, Annah and Anthony made it a priority to engage with the school management team throughout 2014. Besides ongoing informal conversations, their engagement comprised a series of formal meetings and discussions at which they agreed on various ways to improve educator morale and commitment as well as to work with learners to raise the levels of literacy, numeracy and overall involvement in the school.

Increased community engagementAs a direct result of the decisions taken by the partners and the school management team, the level of community engagement with the school increased significantly. More parent-teacher meetings were hosted in an effort to gain a clearer understanding of the home and community life of the learners and their families so that steps could be taken to address specific learning challenges.

Initiatives were also undertaken to raise community awareness around ensuring the safety of the children, helping them to improve their literacy, and encouraging overall community understanding of, and commitment to, environmental care and sustainability. Headline events undertaken to entrench this awareness included Arbour Day tree planting and a school readathon.

Identifying the challenges and putting the plan into action


Improvement of the school’s general surroundingsAs a core pillar of the vision to significantly enhance the experience of learners at the school, it was recognised that learners needed to develop a sense of pride in their school. To achieve this Anthony and Annah launched Operation Masakhane Cleanup, a holistic environmental improvement initiative that involved:

• raisingthechildren’sawarenessoftheirresponsibility to keep their environment clean; and

• ongoingeffortstoimprovetheschoolgroundsandsurrounding community areas through cleanup initiatives that involved all the learners and volunteers from the community.

Specific initiatives included regular litter cleanups known as ‘pikitup’ as well as talks by community organisations on the value and importance of keeping the school and community clean and the environmental value of reusing and recycling.


Readathon celebrations mark an exciting new chapter

On 5 September 2014 Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School took part in the National Readathon. Learners jumped at the opportunity to show off the progress they had made throughout the year, proudly displaying their art and demonstrating their literacy competency.

The school came alive with songs, rhymes, choral verses, speeches and drama. It would have been hard for anyone new to the school to believe that, just a few months ago, these were learners who lacked confidence because their literacy and numeracy skills were not of a high enough standard. The success of the readathon was tangible proof of the positive outcomes being achieved as a direct result of the school’s involvement in the PfP programme.

Arbour Day: Working together to make Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School greener

As part of their efforts to beautify Masakhane and encourage the learners and community members to take more pride in their school, Anthony and Annah organised the Arbour Day. Given that the underprivileged circumstances of most of the learners and their families meant that little, or no, consideration was placed on environmental matters, the Arbour Day initiative was a way of encouraging all stakeholders to take a moment to think about the value of improving the school and community by planting trees.

Anthony consulted with Annah and then set out to gather support and donations from caring businesses in the area. A total of 100 trees were planted and the event proved to be a huge success, with a tangible sense of pride and camaraderie among everyone who attended and got involved.

The day also included a strong education component with talks by Pikitup representatives. Each class in the school was tasked with preparing for the day by producing poems, charts, drawings or posters that outlined what Arbour Day meant to them. Members of the community were also invited to join in the day’s events.

Arbour Day: Working together to make Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School greener.

The PfP programme has given learners many benefits that are not directly education-based, but have an undeniable impact on their ability to learn and develop.

Working together to make Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School greener: 100 trees were planted on Arbour Day.


Above: Anthony Naidoo, Senior Manager of Internal Communications at Nedbank; Annah Lebethe, Principal of Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School; and Sarah Mautjana, Internal Communications Coordinator at Nedbank Integrated Channels: Communications planting a tree in celebration of Arbour Day.

In just one year the partnership between Annah and Anthony has delivered positive results beyond what either of them imagined possible. A few of them are listed below.

Enhanced educator effectivenessAs Annah’s leadership skills, confidence and assertiveness have increased, she has set an exceptional example for all her educators. A direct result of this has been an all-round improvement in drive, passion and leadership ability among her staff, all of whom report that they appreciate the increased engagement and teamwork, and feel a greater sense of belonging, involvement and responsibility for the success of the school and its learners.

‘Our principal is a hard-working, dedicated and humble leader. She always leads by example and is punctual and very hands-on in the way she guides the educators and learners at the school. Since she has been involved in the Partners for Possibility programme she has become an even better leader and her professionalism and passion is even stronger. She is always willing to help out wherever she is needed and her communication, support and leadership skills are very good now. She has a great vision for our school and the changes she has made have helped us all to share that vision and be more motivated to make it a reality.’Ms Moteane, educator at Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School

Improved school resultsOne of the primary objectives of the PfP programme is sustainably improved education outcomes. While this will ultimately be evidenced as a long-term improvement of overall learner results and increasing pass rates, the positive impact is already evident across the school. Teacher morale and passion are vastly improved and will undoubtedly translate into better outcomes for learners. The learners are also demonstrating significantly increased levels of enthusiasm and dedication to their classwork.

Developing motivated and confident learnersOne of the most obvious consequences of the transformation is the much higher levels of confidence that the learners now have in themselves and their abilities. A prime example of this was little Katlego, who was the star of the day at the readathon organised by Anthony and Annah when she showed herself to be an accomplished public speaker. In fact, her confidence inspired the school to enter her in a regional speech contest, which she won, and then went on to represent Masakhane at provincial level in the competition finals in Pretoria.

Making a lasting impact


Nedbank uniform donations give all learners a reason to be proud

In January 2015, just in time for the start of the new school year, the children of Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School were thrilled to receive brand new school uniforms, including shoes, shirts, trousers, dresses and jerseys. The uniforms were donated by Nedbank Private Wealth Trust and handed out by Anthony and Annah as part of their PfP programme.

The young recipients of the uniforms are all from disadvantaged backgrounds and few, if any, of the learners’ parents would have been able to buy uniforms. In addition to ensuring that the children have warm clothes to come to school in, the uniforms – which are all emblazoned with the school’s crest – help to remove any perceived class or financial distinctions between learners while filling them all with a sense of pride in their school.

A school the learners are proud ofMasakhane has undergone a significant aesthetic transformation over the past year. The trees planted as part of Arbour Day now also stand as strong reminders of the importance of looking after the environment to enjoy a happier place of learning.

More professional PfP partners

‘Anthony is a powerful communicator, an absolute professional and an excellent leader. I and my fellow educators and heads of department have learned a great deal from him and we can see the positive influence that his partnership with our principal is having on our school and the wider community. Between them, these two leaders have inspired and motivated all of us to become more involved and more passionate about our school and the potential it has to change the lives of our learners and their families. Anthony’s drive is especially motivating. In the time he has been with us, he has done so much – from organising our arbour day to acquiring donations of wonderful new school uniforms. Partnering with him, and Nedbank, has been transformational for our school and we will always be grateful for the change he has brought about.’ Mr Maponyane, Deputy Principal, Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School

It wasn’t just Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School that benefited from the PfP programme – the two partners were also transformed by their professional Leadership Development Journey. They had the opportunity to attend a variety of targeted development course, including Time to Think, Flawless Consulting, Community of Practise and the Art of Possibility. These have equipped them with the theoretical understanding and practical tools to raise their status as professional leaders in their respective fields and continue to deliver transformational change in their respective environments.

‘The courses and coaching played an instrumental role in my leadership and personal development. I feel more confident now and believe that I can make a difference in any situation.’ Annah

‘I learnt insightful, inspiring and practical lessons that I can implement immediately back in my professional corporate environment.’ Anthony

In addition to ensuring individual professional development, PfP helped Annah to become part of an extensive network of like-minded principals in schools much like her own. This network has already proved invaluable in terms of passing on lessons and guidance to one another, while building a united front in order to tackle their challenges head-on and come out the other side victorious.

‘I have not just grown as a person and a leader, but by connecting with other principals who face challenges similar to those of Masakhane, I have realised that I can achieve more. Blaming and complaining will not change the situation; what South African education needs most is like- minded people who are willing to work as a team to get the desired results.’Annah


Savannah’s journey

Savannah Steinberg is a PfP programme coach and was an integral part of the success achieved by Annah and Anthony in their partnership. She shares her story:

Being part of this partnership was a real privilege. Annah happened to be the first principal I approached for this programme. I instantly loved her. She was so positive and excited about the opportunity.

When meeting Anthony, the first thing that struck me was his passion, which he has maintained throughout the programme. After meeting them both I was confident that these two professionals were the perfect fit, and given the success they have achieved, it appears I was right. For a process like this to work, in fact for any process to work, it requires the input and drive of everyone involved. What made this particular partnership so effective was the fact that neither Annah nor Anthony were ever scared to take the initiative or shy to give their input and ideas. Annah is very powerful in her own right, a real team player and a leader who makes things happen. For me the real test of a leader is their willingness to be lead, and Annah was so receptive and open to this. I was always impressed by how professional she looked every time I met with her. She is a real inspiration and a role model in her community. Anthony consistently brought structure and commitment to the partnership. The things he managed to achieve through the time and energy he put into everything made a massive difference. The Arbour Day was pretty much his idea, and the results of his initiative and hard work will be there for many years to come.

This partnership was such a beautiful reflection of what is possible when two powerful individuals collaborate in service of the community and the whole. To bring about a real shift in our country we need more people like these two.

While the partnership required a minimum commitment of one year from Anthony and Annah, they both agree that theirs is now a partnership for life. Not only have they become good friends, but the personal and professional growth that each enjoyed has also enabled them to completely transform the way they think, act and work.

Given everything that they were able to achieve in the space of a year, they are excited about the opportunities that they still have to not just keep on transforming Masakhane-Tswelelopele Primary School, but also to have a positive impact on the way in which South Africa approaches education in the future.

‘It’s been a hugely empowering journey both personally and professionally. Today, thanks to this programme, I see my pupils, teachers and the community as my clients, and I am ready to serve them so that they can achieve their desired results.’Annah

‘I feel uplifted on so many levels. Most significantly, my eyes are now open to the challenges our school system faces and I have been reminded just how much we all need to pull together in order to contribute to its improvement. For me, the journey has just begun!’ Anthony

Lookingforward


Annah Lebethe presenting Anthony Naidoo with a photo collage commemorating their finest moments together on their PfP journey at the school.

Nedbank 135 Rivonia Campus135 Rivonia Road Sandown Sandton 2196PO Box 1144 Johannesburg 2000 South Africanedbank.co.za

Nedbank Limited Reg No 1951/000009/06. Authorised financial services and registered credit provider (NCRCP16).

purp

lebe

rry

0415

/892

0

8920 Partners for Possibility Case Study FAW.PDF

Documents

Transcript of 8920 Partners for Possibility Case Study FAW.PDF