What is the SQAA Framework & Why should every School abide by it?

School Quality Assessment and Assurance Framework (SQAAF) is a set of standards and best practices as paradigms for attaining individual and institutional excellence. It is a tool for educationists, leaders, management and all those involved in making a difference in the lives of children.

The SQAAF-School Quality Assessment and Assurance Framework encompass various aspects related to school quality, including:

1. Curriculum and Pedagogy:
Evaluating the curriculum's relevance, alignment with educational standards, and effective teaching methodologies.

2. Infrastructure and Facilities:
Evaluating the physical infrastructure, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and other facilities that contribute to the learning environment.

3. Human Resources:
Policies and practices for staff that are conducive to a working environment, nurturing in nature, promote and encourage innovation and collaboration - are the hallmarks of a learning organisation.Policies and practices for staff that are conducive to a working environment, nurturing in nature, promote and encourage innovation and collaboration - are the hallmarks of a learning organisation.

4. Inclusive Practices: Schools must adopt an effective model of inclusive education and create such an environment in which all students have an opportunity or opportunities to flourish. Inclusive schools value all students as equal members of the school community; engage all students irrespective of their abilities in a wide range of activities – both academic and non-academic.

5. Management and Governance:
Core Values and Beliefs of the school form a culture of the school wherein everyone speaks and breathes the same value and belief. Policies for institutional planning, conservative use of resources, financial management, interconnectedness within school to ensure efficiency, etc. are made but tempered with human values of care and compassion.

6. Leadership:
A leader is sensitive to the social, professional and administrative contexts needed to operate and develops appropriate competencies to be able to create actual situations for scaffolding. Apart from developing the mental faculties of the students, an effective leader also develops an artistic and aesthetic sense in students and addresses the learning needs of all children, including those who are marginalised and differently abled.

7. Beneficiary Satisfaction:
The school should foster effective communication and interpersonal skills which lead to better social skills. The benefits of involving all stakeholders in decision making are that schools can foster collaboration with community stakeholders to support student learning, have a formal channel to listen to and communicate and productively use the knowledge and skills to enhance the work of the school and improve student learning outcomes.