Education Sector Plan: Education for All: Embracing Change, Securing Finale | Page 74

Education for All: Embracing Change, Securing the Future
Core Planning Team: This existing planning team will be responsible for ensuring the requisite M&E activities take
place at all levels. The team will lead the preparation of the MoE annual performance operational plans and prepare
overarching technical documents for all identified review processes to be held at specified intervals. As such, this
team functions as the secretariat for the EMEC and all periodic review processes. The Core Planning Team will
also provide guidance to and build capacity among Heads of Divisions and institutions in developing relevant annual
Departmental operational plans and school/institutional improvement plans that are in line with the MoE annual/
performance operational plan.
Additionally, while the Education Advisory Board will not have direct responsibility for monitoring plan implementation,
this entity may also, at the request of the Minister, provide policy and implementation guidance to the senior leadership
and the Sector Plan Monitoring and Evaluation Committee.
6.2. M&E procedures and review processes
Sources of information captured in the Performance Monitoring Matrix, presented in section 6.3.2, will enable the
monitoring of plan implementation on an ongoing basis at the level of the institution and the MoE through standing
meetings and required reports.
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Institutional Level: Progress on School/Institutional Improvement Plans will be discussed and reviewed regularly at
staff meetings, which are typically held monthly. Each term, the institution will draft an End of Term report on School/
Institutional Improvement Plan Progress, which will be shared with the CEO. The Core Planning Team will work with
the CEO on the format for this report.
MoE Divisions: Heads of Division will be responsible for ensuring that adequate quantitative and qualitative data are
captured on plan implementation. Each technical officer in MoE divisions will submit monthly updates to Heads of
Division that will capture, where relevant, activities executed in line with the annual operational plan for the ESP.
These will be discussed in regularly scheduled Divisional meetings, chaired by the Head of each Division. Heads of
Division will also submit monthly reports to the Permanent Secretary, which will outline salient developments in
plan implementation. These will be reviewed at the level of senior leadership, which includes the Chief of Education
Planning.
Instructional Leadership Meeting: An instructional leadership meeting will be held at least once per term to
discuss general issues related to teaching-learning. During these meetings, progress related to strategies in all six
programme areas can be discussed as relevant. Minutes from this meeting will be kept and shared with the senior
leadership and, where relevant, the Core Planning Team. This meeting is chaired by the Chief Education Officer;
meeting attendees will include, but are not be limited to the Permanent Secretary, the Principal Education Officer in
Nevis, the Director of the Curriculum Development Unit, the CFBC Teacher Education Representative, ECD Direct, the
CXC Registrar, the Director for the Student Education Learning Fund, S tudent Support and Learning Support Officers,
and the Chief Librarian.
Several periodic performance reviews will also be conducted:
Quarterly Progress Review: Heads of Division and other identified persons with ‘lead responsibility’ will prepare
quarterly progress reports on plan implementation for their area of responsibility for discussion at the quarterly
EMEC meetings. In an effort to minimize what could become an overly bureaucratic and cumbersome reporting
process, reports are to provide brief updates of major plan activities and, where relevant, focus on challenges to
implementation in an effort to identify corrective actions. The Core Planning Team will provide a template for this
report and will also be responsible for producing a global quarterly progress report on plan implementation to be
shared with the senior leadership committee and other MoE stakeholders, including institutions. Risks and mitigation
strategies will be addressed at these meetings, as necessary.
Annual Performance Review: Nationally, plan performance will be reviewed to: (i) measure progress against key
performance indicators at the input and outcome levels, and (ii) identify key strategies and activities for the following
annual performance plan. Specifically, data and information from quarterly progress reports will be synthesized
into an annual review report that critically analyses the performance of each programme area against agreed-
upon targets, noting risks and mitigation strategies where relevant. The review will be held annually in June to
ensure recommendations for action can be included in the budget preparation processes for the subsequent cycle,
as necessary. Critically, where performance targets have not been met, contributing factors will be identified and
strategies adjusted. Where necessary, targets will be modified to improve feasibility. Participants will include, but
not be limited to, MoE senior leadership and members of the EMEC committee, along with representatives from
the Education Advisory Board, the Teachers’ Union, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the CFBC, and other
ministries such as Finance, Sustainable Development, and Social Development.