Terms of Reference (TOR) For engaging a Consultant to undertake the assessment of the Pharo Schools – Hargeisa & Sheikh, Somaliland

Terms of Reference (TOR)

For engaging a Consultant to undertake the assessment of the Pharo Schools

Post Title: Consultant

Title: Assessment of Pharo Schools

Organisation: The Pharo Foundation

Location: Hargeisa & Sheikh, Somaliland

Duration: Two months (1 September 2020 – 31 October 2020)

 

Background

The Pharo Foundation is a private foundation based in the United Kingdom and established in 2011. Committed to the development of Africa, the Foundation has been supporting projects in the Horn of Africa since its establishment. The Foundation’s projects contribute towards increasing access to education, agriculture, health, and water, and help improve people’s livelihoods. In 2016, the Foundation made a strategic shift to directly design and implement its own programmes to ensure greater engagement with communities, better results and increased accountability. Since 2019, the Foundation has also been focusing on establishing social enterprises with the objective of job creation.

When it comes to education, investing in the knowledge and skills of a growing young generation is critical for Africa’s economic growth. In line with the Foundation’s mission of investing in human and physical capital of communities, the Foundation has implemented standalone and integrated education projects that aim at improving access to and quality of education.

In Somaliland, the Foundation has supported different education

initiatives such as computerisation of the National Somaliland Examination, Somaliland Nomadic Education Project, and the establishment of Girl Friendly Spaces. Additionally, in the last 3 years the Foundation has been working with the Ministry of Education and Science in creating kindergarten classes in public primary schools.

In September 2019, in line with its growth strategy, The Pharo Foundation took over operations of the Sheikh Secondary School plus the Primary School and Kindergarten from SOS Children’s Villages International (SOS-CVI).

As part of its plan of improving the schools to the highest level, the Foundation is keen to learn more about each school’s current situation and potential for improvement. The purpose of this TOR is

to express the expectation of the Foundation regarding the scope and quality of work and deliverables for potential candidates.

Objective

The overall objective of the consultancy assignment is to conduct a thorough assessment of the three Pharo Schools and make recommendations for improvement.

• Pharo Kindergarten Hargeisa
• Pharo Primary School Hargeisa
• Pharo Secondary Boarding School Sheikh

Scope of Work

The assessment is to be carried out by the consultant based on evidence gained from a literature review, interviews with relevant stakeholders and on site observations. It needs to cover all, but not limited to, the four areas outlined below. The consultant is also expected to provide recommendations for improvement in each of the four areas based on contemporary theories and practices of education and school management.

1. School administration and management

• Planning and budgeting
• Formulating and executing school policies
• Securing and managing school revenue
• Record keeping and reporting
• Human and other resources management
• School leadership and management including performance management
• Other administration matters

2. Teaching and learning

• Curriculum and instruction
• Teachers capacity and commitment
• Philosophy and principles of learning
• Learning assessment and achievement
• Other related matters

3. Student affairs

• Admission process and quality (entrance examination, attendance, dropout, fee payment, scholarships, etc.)
• Trend of student academic progression and achievement level
• Support system (safety and security, health, discipline etc.)

4. School community partnership

• Community engagement plan and level of engagement
• The role of parents
• Community resource mobilisation
• School’s communication strategy
• Other stakeholders engagement (type and level)

Specific tasks

The specific tasks of this assessment include the following:

• Prepare clear methodology and work plan (inception paper)
• Undertake background literature review and research on contemporary thoughts and practices related to the assignment.
• Analyze national and regional policies and practices that affect Pharo Schools positively or negatively
• Conduct on-site assessment of each school, including interviews with the staff, parents and students, review of documents and records.
• Working closely with and continuously updating the Foundation team on progress
• Prepare draft assessment report including recommendations and submit to the Foundation for a thorough review and secure feedback
• Make a presentation of the findings to each school community and secure feedback. ,
• Refine the assessment report based on feedbacks provided and finalize the report.

Expected deliverables

• Produce a well written and comprehensive assessment report for each school with clear and practical recommendations

Methodology (to be refined and presented by the consultant)

• Literature and document review
• Key informant interview with relevant stakeholders (school administrators, teachers, parents, students, SOS, MoES etc.)

• On site observation (school facilities, teaching learning in progress, etc.)

Duration of the work

The duration of contract shall be for a maximum of two working months (1 September 2020 – 31 October 2020). A detailed work plan will be agreed with the Foundation based on the proposed timetable by the consultant.

Mode of payment

• 1st payment: delivery of finalised methodology (to be agreed in writing by the Foundation). The relevant sum will be 20% of the overall fee.
• 2nd payment: delivery of draft report and delivery of the presentation. The relevant sum will be 40% of the overall fee.
• 3rd payment: delivery of final report in both soft and hard copy and delivery of the presentation. The relevant sum will be 40% of the overall fee.
• The consultant will be offered a lump sum fee inclusive of travel costs as per the payment schedule above.

Application procedure

To be considered for this post, the successful candidate should possess the following experience and qualifications:

Professional experience:

• At least 10 years’ experience in the Education field.
• Extensive experience in providing strategic advice and the development of educational policies.
• 5+ years in school management.
• Relevant experience in evaluating school performance and inspection, including teacher performance, students’ achievement, school leadership, school premises, school health and safety , etc.
• Outstanding communication skills, with excellent command of spoken and written English (knowledge of Somali is mandatory).
• Proven ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Action and goal-oriented, and well organized.

Educational qualifications:

• Master degree in Education or related field and/or Bachelor degree with commensurate experience in school inspections.

Required documents

Applicants should submit the following with their application

1. Technical proposal with detailed methodology and conceptual framework with expected deliverables and timelines, team composition, person days required (3-5 pages).
2. Financial proposal specifying a total lump sum amount and breakdown of costs for fee, travel and number of working days.
3. Profile of the consultant (max 1 page) explaining why they are the most suitable for the work.
4. Relevant experience (max 2 pages).
5. Recent CV of all team members

Interested candidates should send their application to Recruiting.SL@pharofoundation.org  before 19 August 2020.