ACADEMIC POLICY

The academic affairs of the school are managed by the Deputy Head through the Academic Committee comprising academic educators. This committee is effectively the Academic Board. The Rector is also a member of this committee. The committee meets weekly under the chair of the Deputy Head and deals with all issues relating to the academic activities of the school. The body creates policy and ensures that policy is adhered to. The committee will ensure that the academic programme for the year is properly planned and executed, including the assessment procedures, timing of assessment, and the administration of mid and end of year assessment. It will also ensure the maintenance of academic standards through the moderation of results reported on by each department member. The committee will also ensure an annual review teaching and learning programmes, including decisions to be implemented to ensure improvements on a regular basis.

 IEB as examinations provider

DBCS falls under the KZNED and we enter our learners for the Grade 9 GET certificate through the IEB.

 Language Policy

The official language of teaching and learning is English and Afrikaans, and the administration of the school is in English.  

Learning programme development, design and review Policy

All departments review regularly the teaching materials and programmes they are using. This review is minuted in academic minutes to form an ongoing record of the learning material. From time to time, the Academic Board will ask each of the departments to complete a review of its learning programme for the past year, for every grade, and to table the findings of this review to the Committee at the last meeting of each year. These review findings are made available to the Executive (SMT) for incorporation into the annual review conducted by the Executive (SMT) for Quality Management Reports.

Information Technology

The expectation also exists that using ICT for teaching and learning in the learning areas in the curriculum also teaches the skills relating to ICT that all learners will need to acquire to be successful in the world at large. The school’s whole academic and administrative infrastructure relies completely on the school’s network and all entering, manipulation and storing of marks, reports and comments happens on the network and edupac administration programme. The academic staff are expected to be fully computer literate, and to be able to compose and place learning programmes on the network and intranet.

Evaluation, monitoring and reporting on the quality of delivery, teaching and learning Policy

All departments review regularly the teaching materials and programmes they are using. This review is minuted in academic minutes to form an ongoing record of the learning material. From time to time, the Academic Board will ask each of the departments to complete a review of its learning programme for the past year, for every grade, and to table the findings of this review to the Committee at the last meeting of each year. These review findings are made available to the Executive (SMT) for incorporation into the annual review conducted by the Executive (SMT) for Quality Management Reports.