Changing lives and futures through the Symphonia Partners ... · Stoneridge Primary School...

Symphonia Partners for Possibility ProgrammeStoneridge Primary School and Nedbank – A case study

Changing lives and futures through the

“Real change only comes from being actively involved in communities and the environment.”

This belief lies at the heart of Nedbank’s involvement with Stoneridge Primary School (Stoneridge) in Alberton as part of the Symphonia Partners for Possibility (PfP) Programme. Since it was first undertaken in 2012, the partnership – which sees Nedbank’s Sustainability Manager, Nina Wellsted, working hand in hand with Stoneridge Principal, Richard Carelse, has prompted and enabled the transformation of the school and it’s learners, educators and parents, into active and effective champions of change in the surrounding communities.

About Stoneridge Primary School

Located in Eden Park, Alberton, Stoneridge Primary School has 1 280 learners in Grade R to Grade 7 and 34 educators. The learners range in age from 6 years to 15 years old and there are typically between 45-50 learners per class.

The learners come from various and highly diverse communities surrounding the school and further afield. As a result, learners stem from vastly different socio-economic backgrounds and demonstrate a wide full spectrum of abilities and challenges across all subjects offered at Stoneridge.Like many other schools in South Africa, Stoneridge Primary School faces a great many challenges, not least of which are:

• Languagebarriers;• Belowaveragereadingskillsandhighlevelsofilliteracy;• Unmanageableclassnumbers;• Environmentalneglect;• Bullyingandsubstanceabuse;• Alackoflearnerdiscipline;• Ashortageofessentialsupportservices;• Non-paymentoffees;• Nofinancialsupportformaintenanceorsportsfacilities;and• Minimalparentalorcommunityinvolvement.

The school principal, Richard Carelse, is passionate about the role he has to play both in terms of leading his school, educators and learners to high levels of success and achievement, and the opportunity he believes he and his staff have to play a leadership role within the surrounding communities.

WhenapproachedtopartnerwithNinaWellsted,Richardjumped at the chance and together, these two passionate and driven individuals have spent the past 18 months learning valuable lessons from one another and, in the process, realising Richard’s vision for the school he loves.

About Stoneridge PrimarySchool

Acasestudy–StoneridgePrimarySchoolandNedbank 01

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.

Nedbank Sustainability Manager Nina Wellsted partnered with Stoneridge Principal Richard Carelse, to realise his vision for the school.


Symphonia seeks to mobilise citizens and communities to reclaim the responsibility for educating South Africa’s children rather than leaving education solely in the hands of government.

It seeks to do this primarily by placing schools at the centre of communities, thereby ultimately strengthening the fabric of South African society.

Key to the initiative is the Partners for Possibility programme that sees experienced business and community leaders partner with school principals to help them strengthen and entrench their leadership abilities and then enrol the entire community to engage with the school, become involved in the education of their youth, and help each other address and overcome challenges.

To achieve this, the PfP programme establishes a partnership between a business leader and a school principal from an under-resourced school.

These two leaders commit to partnering with each other for a period of at least one year, during which time they undertake a comprehensive leadership development course that includes:

• ProfessionalcoachingbyanexperiencedLearningProcessFacilitator.

• TheestablishmentanddevelopmentofaLeadershipCircleof eight to ten partners that serves as a platform for idea sharing, problem solving and ongoing support.

• Fivedaysoftraining,includingcoursessuchas‘TimetoThink’,‘CommunityBuilding’and‘FlawlessConsulting’.These valuable skills are then bought back into the corporate and school environment.

• Thedesignofacustomisedimprovementplanthataddresses the specific challenges facing the school.

• Effectiveengagementwiththecommunitytoenableallstakeholders and community members to become actively involved in the execution of the improvement plan.

What is the Symphonia Partners for Possibility programme?


A practical example of the true power of Partners for Possibility

While the PfP programme is still in its relative infancy, having only existed for a few years, the strongly outcomes-driven approach is delivering tangible and sustainable results in the schools that are participating.

Stoneridge Primary is a prime example of these positive results, having delivered various successes across the four main outcomes targeted by the programme, namely: 1. Strong leadership and management2. An empowered and effective teaching body3. A highly involved parent body and greater community4. Motivated,inspiredandsuccessfullearners

Some of these Partners for Possibility achievements delivered throughthepartnershipbetweenNinaWellstedandRichardCarelse at Stoneridge – as well as the contributions they have made to the school, leadership, educators, learners and surrounding communities - are outlined below.

Outcome: Enabling strong leadership

Creating a professional support networkAs part of the PfP programme, a close-knit network of principals from schools similar to Stoneridge was formed. These school leaders met on a regular basis, with their PfP Partners, to discuss their challenges, share the solutions that have worked for them, and agree on best practices for the management and leadership of their schools. Outside of the formal meetings, this network of principals is in regular contact via telephone or email and serves as a valuable source of support, help and guidance for all those involved.

According to Richard, simply by being there for each other and learning from one another, the principals involved in this leadership circle have already grown in confidence and leadership ability. Possibly more importantly, they have the security of knowing that they are not alone in the challenges they face, and this, combined with the knowledge they gain via the network, allows them to approach their roles with renewed vigour and passion.

Developing the principal as leaderOver the year, and as the relationship has continued beyond the formal partnership, Richard has grown in leadership stature and influence, not only within his school, but also in the community as a whole.

In addition to gaining confidence as a leader, his understanding of the need for focused prioritisation and his ability to mobilise active involvement and partnership by all stakeholders has allowed him to drive the transformation of the school. He also came to understand his role from an entrepreneurial point of view and as a direct result of this paradigm shift, his role has been transformed from one in which he focused primarily on ‘puttingoutfires’tooneinwhichheactsasavisionary,leaderand strong manager.

This confident leadership is also having a knock-on effect with Richard’s educators and school management team members, many of who have recognised the change in his leadership style and now feel confident enough to step up as leaders in their own fields.

“Thanks to my partnership with Nina, I am a more confident leader now. I lead from the front, by example, and with the knowledge that I am able to positively influence not just my staff and learners, but my entire community.” Richard Carelse

The Stoneridge Primary School Transformation


Outcome: Empowered and effective educators and management

Nedbank Lean & Personal Mastery AcademyAfter being exposed to the immense challenges faced by Richard andtheotherprincipalsinthePfPnetwork,Ninarecognisedthe value that could be unlocked by introducing the schools’ leadership, management and governing bodies to the Personal Mastery&LEANmethodologypracticedatNedbank.RichardagreedtopilottheNedbankLean&PersonalMasteryAcademy at Stoneridge.

The sessions, facilitated through the Academy, covered Personal MasterySkillsincluding‘RealityAwarenessConditioning’,‘BeliefWindowsandBehaviour’and‘CultivatingaWinningAttitude’.VitalLEANmanagementskills,including‘Eliminatingthe8typesofwaste’and‘Promotingvalue-addingactivities’,werealsocovered in the workshops.

Financial management trainingAs part of the PfP programme, Richard highlighted the need by Stoneridge for financial management training and support, particularlyatgoverningbodylevel.Ninarespondedbybringinginhercolleague,aNedbankFinanceManager,whospenttimewith the school’s finance team. While the initial intention was to conduct a session to introduce the team to basic financial management principles such as budgeting, project management and fundraising, the response was so positive and enthusiastic, that the session ended up delivering comprehensive financial management training, including in-depth strategic financial components. In fact, the passion with which the finance team embraced the training led to the development of a comprehensive three-year financial strategy for the school.

Following these interventions, the teaching body displayed greateraccountabilityandteamworkinadditiontothe‘domino’effect of motivating and mobilising these stakeholders to be highly proactive in initiating, managing and even sourcing funding for a variety of school projects. The positive impacts have included the successful application for Lotto funds to put towards new sporting facilities and equipment, the promotion oftheschoolMarimbabandthatcompetessuccessfullyagainstother top school bands (and application for funding for new equipment), the installation of a large covered carport on the premises, and various other maintenance and improvement initiatives that have contributed significantly to enhancing the learning environment and instilling pride in learners, educators and the broader community.

Outcome: A highly involved parent body and greater community involvement

Opening channels of communication and engagementA significant outcome of the PfP programme for Stoneridge

has been a massive improvement in engagement with, and involvement by, the parent body and the broader community.

Prior to the PfP programme, Stoneridge had little to no involvement in the school by its parent body. Paper-based communications, sent home via the learners, seldom reached the parents or generated any significant response and, as a result, school functions received dismal parent attendance and dealing with incidents or underperformance that needed parental involvement had become extremely difficult for the educators and principal.

Together,NinaandRicharddevisedastrategytosignificantlyimprove the two-way communication between school and parents, while also enhancing the levels of engagement and the sense of partnership between parents and educators. Just two of the initiatives have been the implementation of a bulk SMScommunicationssystemthathasprovenveryeffectiveinreaching the parent body, and a homework diary system that requires parents to check and sign off homework assignments daily. The diary is also a means for the parents to communicate easily and directly with educators and is proving increasingly successful in enabling this type of two-way communication.

Thediary,whichwassponsoredbyNedbank,alsocontainsuseful information for learners on personal financial management, particularly household budgeting and saving.

At the heart of both of these communications systems is a sincere desire by Richard and his educator body to really connect with the parents and broader community and make them feel part of the education of their children. This has been very well received by the parents and, already, parent evenings are enjoying significantly higher parent attendance, while daily communication lines between parents and the teachers are more open and constructive.

Outcome:Motivated,inspiredandsuccessfullearners

Sustainability in actionInherroleasNedbankRetail’sSustainabilityManager,Ninahas extensive experience in making sustainability a reality in SouthAfricanschoolsandcommunitiesthroughtheNedbankCaring for Communities programme. She leveraged this experience,andthestrongvolunteercontingentofNedbankstaff to deliver a rainwater harvesting tank, vegetable tunnel and solar cookers to Stoneridge.

To ensure that the school and communities could extract maximumvaluefromthese,theNedbankvolunteersalsospenta morning with the school’s grade 6 and 7 learners, educators and a number of community members, teaching them the practicalities of sustainability to enable them to fully maintain the new food-generating facilities the school now owns.


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

Under Richard’s strengthened and more focused leadership, the school has taken massive strides forward.

“In addition to learning to read and understand better, these learners are gaining massive amounts of confidence in themselves and their own abilities and this has had a definite knock-on effect in terms of benefiting their performance in all their school subjects.”Richard Carelse


In addition to giving the learners valuable hands-on knowledge regarding sustainable living, the responsibility they now have to manage and maintain these valuable facilities has instilled renewed motivation and pride in many of the learners.

Putting learners on the path to successUnderRichard’sstrengthenedandmorefocusedleadership,theschool has taken massive strides forward in terms of enhancing the quality of educational outcomes amongst its learners.

Richard identified the urgent need for a sustainable reading programme, which the partners then proceeded to implement viatheintroductionoftheStimulusMaximaReadingprogrammeunderthebannerof‘Readersareleadersandleaders are readers’.

The programme was launched to Stoneridge Foundation Phase learners in 2013.

In 2014, the school has set bold targets, as follows:-Grade 1 Target reading speed for end 2014 = 80 words per minute (currently 68 words per minute)Minimum80%comprehension(currently79%)Grade 2 Target reading speed for end 2014 = 115 words per minute (currently 10 words per minute) Minimum80%comprehension(currently71%)Grade 3 Target reading speed for end 2014 = 138 words per minute (currently 22 words per minute) Minimum80%comprehension(currently76%)

AcomparisonofANAresultsin2011and2013revealsanincredible improvement in performance from the learners.

Comparison of ANA results 2011 and 2013

“The learners have four reading lessons per week and their stellar improvement is matched only by their undying enthusiasm for these learning experiences. I have watched them as they line up for their reading lessons and the excitement they show is incredible.”NinaWellsted

RichardtoprovideinfoonANAandfinalyearperformanceimprovement of learners over past 2 years.

Creating a positive learning environmentAnd the PfP programme has delivered many benefits to learners that are not directly education-based, but have an undeniable impact on their ability to learn and develop. For instance, bullying and intimidation had long been a challenge at the school and was inhibiting the effectiveness oftheeducationofferedtolearners.Usingtheconceptof an Anonymous tip-off line as used for corporate crime reportinginthebusinessworld,RichardandNinaintroduceda customised anonymous bullying reporting system that allows learners who are victims of, or witnesses to, bullying to report this directly to Richard. He then proactively addresses the situation with the alleged perpetrators and, if necessary, escalates this to their parents.

The system has proven to be highly effective as a deterrent to bullying behaviour and, within a very short period, the incidences of bullying and intimidation in the school has dropped off dramatically.

Litter was also an ongoing challenge for the school and was having the negative effect of reducing the levels of pride that learnersfeltintheirschool.RichardandNinaintroduceda‘LitterBlitz’initiativetoencouragelearnerstobecomelitter-minded and be more proactive in creating a cleaner, healthier, litter-free learning environment. The initiative kicked off with a school-wide clean-up programme, but includes ongoing awareness and education that is gradually causing a shift in mindset amongst the learners, many of who can regularly be seen picking up litter on their school grounds.

Over time, the litter awareness programme will grow into a fully-fledged recycling initiative that will generate an additional income for the school. Anecdotal evidence from some of the parents also points to this desire for a cleaner environment spilling out beyond the school premises, with some learners taking it upon themselves to educate their family members and friends on the importance of keeping their community environment clean.

Subjects 2011 2013

Grade 1 Literacy/EnglishH.L. 51% 67.2% Mathematics 53% 62%

Grade 2 Literacy/EnglishH.L. 43% 50% Mathematics 57% 50%

Grade 3 Literacy/EnglishH.L. 32% 36% Mathematics 20% 42%

Grade 4 EnglishH.L. 25% 44% Mathematics 19% 44%




WhenNinaenteredintothePfPprogramme,shehopeditwould allow her to make at least some small positive difference at Stoneridge Primary. Instead, the year-long partnership not only allowed her to be a part of a massive turnaround at the school and the transformation of its leadership, but it also completely transformed her life.

According to her, the programme, and the friendship it allowed her to build with Richard, has been life-changing and brought her to the realisation that she will never be truly satisfied in her life or career unless she is playing a role in improving and enhancing South Africa’s education.

This personal transformation in lives of the PfP partners is the true power of the programme. For principals and schools, the programme offers a fundamental change to the way they think, act and operate, resulting in tangible and sustainable improvements within the relatively short space of just one year.

For the business partners, the programme gives back so much more than the effort it requires. And by giving business individuals,likeNina,anunderstandingofthechallengesourcountry’s schools face, and the recognition that they have the ability – in their personal capacity and using the resources at their company’s disposal – to help address those challenges, PfP has the potential to bring SA business and education together for the future benefit of both, and the country as a whole.

“I had no idea how much the programme would impact my life and my thinking. It has made me more determined than ever to contribute to making a difference in my corporate and personal capacity to our country with so much potential. I am truly blessed to be in a corporate environment which has enabled me to use my influence towards something so meaningful.”NinaWellsted

“Before Partners for Possibility, I used to come to school every day and just work by default. My partnership with Nina has changed this completely, and I now have a passion for what I do, a sense of responsibility and accountability for my school and all the people involved in it, and a massive feeling of pride in what we have all been able to accomplish – and will continue to accomplish in the future.”Richard Carelse

A programme that transforms both partners… and the future


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Changing lives and futures through the Symphonia Partners ... · Stoneridge Primary School...

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