Developing the Standards & Indicators

OISESA developed a set of globally aligned Standards & Indicators for quality assurance in schools. These standards focus on the important aspects of the overall concept, whilst the indicators are used to show that a standard has been met. Schools might choose to use different indicators where appropriate or decide that a particular indicator is not relevant. Any variation is discussed with the mentor during the school visit.

Global advice was sought from ICAISA (International Council Advancing Independent Schools’ Accreditation) and from CIS (Council of International Schools) along with several other global agencies. However, it is equally important that these standards recognise the complexity and diversity of independent schooling in Southern Africa.

Draft Standards & Indicators were shared with heads of Southern African schools in June 2022, calling for comment and feedback. In addition, a series of online workshops were held during July to discuss the process with heads.

The pilot programme was completed across a diverse range of 55 schools around Southern Africa, during September and October 2022. Feedback from this process enabled a full revision of the Standards & Indicators for 2023.

During 2023, OISESA completed a further 151 school quality assurance visits. ECD and LSEN schools were included in the programme, bespoke Standards & Indicators developed in consultation with these sectors.

Feedback from the mentors and the 2023 schools enabled further honing and refinement of the Standards and Indicators. The 2024 revisions of all these documents are available under the Resources tab.