Managing Resources Day 3 Session 2 and 3 April 21, 2010

Introductory Activity-whole class discussion What do we understand by the term ‘resource management’?

Resource Management is: a system within which resources are transformed into educational outcomes through a number of stages: financial resources are obtained to produce a budget; real resources are purchased from that budget. these real resources are deployed among the activities of the school to, produce learning and other outcomes of the school. At each point, choices or decisions have to be made.

Consider the following statement: “In England an ‘efficient school’ is one which makes good use of all its available resources to achieve the best possible educational outcomes for all its pupils – and in doing so provides excellent value for money” (Ofsted, 1995, cited in Fidler, Russel, & Simkins, 1997, p. 164). Does the above statement apply to your school?

Class activity What factors do you usually consider when identifying resources for your school?

4 important concepts regarding resource management are: Economy: the purchase of a given standard of goods or service at lowest cost Efficiency: the achievement of given outcomes at least cost Effectiveness: the matching of results with objectives Equity: the fair distribution of resources among individuals and groups.

Resource management requires; the ability to think creatively and innovatively about the ways in which resources may be deployed in pursuit of a school’s objectives This can be facilitated by the following approaches: ‘whole-school thinking’ ‘zero-base thinking’ ‘longer-term thinking’

Whole-school thinking:  the ability to look at the overall pattern of resource deployment (use) in relation to key purposes, priorities and challenges rather than simply focusing on particular aspects of expenditure or areas of activity.

Zero-base thinking  the ability to question all aspects of current expenditure rather than simply to focus on changes at the margin. Linked to whole-school thinking this approach raises questions such as could we carry out this activity in a different way, or do we need to do it at all?

Longer term thinking  the ability to view choice not just within the constraints and pressures of the annual budgetary cycle, but in terms of a broader vision of where the school should be in 3, 5 or even 10 years’ time, despite the uncertainties that such considerations involve.

Managing Human Resources Use of [staff] in such a way that the school leader obtains the greatest possible benefit from the staff’s abilities and the staff obtain both material and psychological rewards from their work (Graham & Bennett, 1998).

Think-Pair-Share Which human resources do you manage as a school leader? In your pairs, discuss some of the strategies you engage in to manage the human resources in your school. What are some of the challenges you encounter in managing people in an institutional set up?

Group activity What is your general approach to managing staff? What processes do you engage in to do the following: Staff selection – group 1 Induction – group 2 Motivation – group 3 Monitoring – group 4

Managing others-Stakeholders Teachers Learners Non teaching staff Parents BOG/SMC Other stakeholders

People management strategies Staff briefs Staff meetings Clocking in Establishing rules and regulations Communication-circulars/memos/minutes Notices Student-led meetings One-to-one meetings Retreats Open-door policy

People management skills Communication Administrative skills-interpret and negotiate government policy Planning and organisational skills Leadership and team building skills Self assessment skills Conflict resolution skills

Managing Physical Resources School Building

Learning Resources

Learning Environment

Important: buildings, furniture and equipment are a highly visible aspect of the school for anyone who visits the school and it can create an immediate good or bad impression.

Group activity Carefully read the given scenarios on physical resources and in groups: Respond to the question asked after each scenario Identify the aspect of physical resource management that is brought out in each scenario