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PHILOSOPHICAL STATEMENT

Nairobi Jaffery Academy, May ‘21. © Sigve Austheim. 1

Naushad Merali Dr, Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: 0727 441218
Introduction
The purpose of this manual is to collect all policies, procedures, rules, regulations, guidelines and
recommendations in one place. As such, it will serve as a source for information for educators,
Heads of Departments, Management, as well as all other staff. This information will hopefully
provide answers and help all members of staff to make better decisions concerning their jobs.
Moreover, this manual shall also make sure that NJA comply with current rules and regulations as
set forward by the relevant authorities. It is divided into three different types of documents; Level 1;
Regulations. These are policies and procedures, and have to be followed. Chapters 21, 27 and 28 are
examples. Level 2; Recommendations. These serve as references and commendations for what or
how things should be done, but deviations and adaptations may be allowed. Chapters 7, 13 and 18
are examples. Level 3; Guidelines. These are explanations and proposals. They are not mandatory,
but make suggestions to help staff make the right decisions. When explanatory they simply state
facts for reference. Examples from this level include chapters 16, 17 and 19. The level of each
chapter is indicated in the “Contents” section (pages 10 and 11).

This manual is by no means exhaustive, and should be read and applied keeping that point in mind.
The same practice should me employed for the content, like policies, rules and regulations. They do
not cover all situations, nor unforeseen events, so a great deal of common sense has to be used
when interpreting these. For any changes to be admitted to any of the documents included in this
manual, a written proposal must be sent to the Section Heads or the Principal of NJA. The proposal
shall minimum contain:
(1) Proposers full name and position
(2) Current text that is proposed change
(3) Proposed new text
(4) The rationale behind the proposal
(5) Date of proposal

All changes to this manual are made once per year, during the final week of June, and take effect on
the 30th of June of that year. All proposed changes must be handed in to the correct person by the
end of May the same year. The only exemptions to the above rule are if there are required changes
that are of such a character or nature that they justify an immediate and extraordinary evaluation
and incorporation.

The content of this manual is hereby approved and enters into effect from this day onwards, and is
valid until the Second Edition has been approved and signed. As such, all documents herein also
replace former versions.

Nairobi, 1st September 2021

Husein Datoo Reza Fazel

Chairman of the Board Vice Chairman of the Board

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Philosophical Statement
Our philosophical statement is the declaration of our guiding principles about the purpose of our
education. It is based on the vision and mission of the college, as well as the goals, the motto, the
core values, religious standing and our educational philosophy statement. These are as follows:

School Vision
To be an international school that provides high-quality holistic education, embraces diversity and
fosters life-long learning.

School Mission
To provide a stimulating learning environment that nurtures intellectual, moral, religious and
physical excellence.

School Goals
1) Provide a leadership that encourage the development of committed, competent and caring
educators
2) Provide a challenging academic program that meets the different needs of our pupils
3) Develop a close partnership with parents and the community
4) To develop the following qualities in our pupils:
a) A desire to explore, learn, and think creatively
b) Appreciation of other cultures
c) Loyalty and commitment to the school, staff, fellow pupils, and the community
d) Ability to cooperate and work with others
e) Habits for a healthy living
f) Self-responsibility and a positive self-esteem
g) Determination to overcome challenges
h) Social skills and emotional intelligence

School Motto
Explore. Achieve. Become.

Core Values
Our core values are our central beliefs that shall deeply understood and shared by every member of
the organization, and shall guide the actions of everyone in the school. Our core values, which we
call PRECISE, are based on building quality lives and strong communities through:
1. Perseverance
2. Respect
3. Engagement
4. Compassion
5. Integrity
6. Self-Esteem
7. Excellence

Perseverance. We will:
• develop a strong work-ethic, where we do our best, work to the highest level and cooperate
with others for mutual benefit
• be diligent adhere to continuous effort
• never give up
• be punctual in order to be on time for attendance and tasks

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Respect. We will:
• believe in the inherent dignity and equality of all people
• celebrate individuality and value and appreciate diversity
• honour self and others through words and actions
• be humble

Engagement. We will:
• take ownership of our behaviour as individuals, and responsibility for our actions
• have the courage to think and act independently
• demonstrate problem solving and decision-making skills
• be reliable and trustworthy

Compassion. We will:
• understand the circumstances and viewpoints of others
• develop the capacity to forgive others and ourselves
• celebrate the contributions of others
• promote a peaceful, caring and safe community

Integrity. We will:
• stand up for what we believe
• be honest with ourselves and others
• demonstrate fairness in our judgments and actions
• fulfil commitments and promises

Self-Esteem. We will:
• be proud of, and believe in, ourselves and in the achievement of our potential, and pursue
individual interests in a manner which broadens horizons
• have respect for physical, mental and fiscal health, and pay attention to the importance of,
and conscious activity toward, maintaining fitness in these areas
• develop confidence through participation
• consider our own strengths

Excellence. We will:
• be proud of personal achievement
• produce work of the highest quality
• be creative, productive and exhibit an entrepreneurial spirit and inventiveness
• set high standards and personal goals for improvement

Religious standing
Our school is a Shia Muslim school, but we welcome students from all philosophies, religions or
faiths. We promote Muslim values, but are neutral on the question of religion, which to us means
that;
• We pertain to Shia Islam, but are open to the adherents of any philosophy, religion, or faith
• We are mainly concerned with nonreligious subjects
• As a school, we will not promote any particular religious practice, denomination or sect, nor
will our employees

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Our approach as a Shia Muslim school is still to teach children in a neutral, objective way about the
different beliefs that different people have about gods, and leave it up to parents and churches to teach
specific religious beliefs outside of school hours, with the exception of the subject IRE.

Educational Philosophical Statement (EPS)

We believe that each child is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating
atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially, and
develop their self-esteem and core values. It is our desire as educators to help students meet their
fullest potential in these areas by providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and
invites a sharing of ideas. There are three elements that we believe are conducive to establishing such
an environment, (1) the educator acting as a guide, (2) allowing the child's natural curiosity to direct
his/her learning, and (3) promoting respect for all things and all people.

When the educator's role is to guide, providing access to information rather than acting as the primary
source of information, the students' search for knowledge is met as they learn to find answers to their
questions. For students to construct knowledge, they need the opportunity to discover for themselves
and practice skills in authentic situations. Providing students access to hands-on activities and
allowing adequate time and space to use materials that reinforce the lesson being studied creates an
opportunity for individual discovery and construction of knowledge to occur.

Equally important to self-discovery is having the opportunity to study things that are meaningful and
relevant to one's life and interests. Developing a content around student interests fosters intrinsic
motivation and stimulates the passion to learn. One way to take learning in a direction relevant to
student interest is to invite student dialogue about the lessons and units of study. Given the
opportunity for input, students generate ideas and set goals that make for much richer activities than
we could have created or imagined ourselves. When students have ownership in the content, they are
motivated to work hard and master the skills necessary to reach their goals.

Helping students to develop a deep love and respect for themselves, others, and their environment
occurs through an open sharing of ideas and a judicious approach to discipline. When the voice of
each student is heard, and environment evolves where students feel free to express themselves. Class
meetings are one way to encourage such dialogue. We believe children have greater respect for their
teachers, their peers, and the lessons presented when they feel safe and sure of what is expected of
them. In setting fair and consistent rules initially and stating the importance of every activity, students
are shown respect for their presence and time. In turn they learn to respect themselves, others, and
their environment.

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Organisational Structure
As far as organisational structure is concerned, we use a model based on line and staff organisation.
This is a modification of line organization although it is more complex. According to this
administrative organization, specialized and supportive activities are attached to the line of command
by appointing staff supervisors and staff specialists who are attached to the line authority. The power
of command always remains with the line executives and staff supervisors guide, advice and counsel
the line executives. I believe this is in line with the introduction of new functions like Quality Control
(Caroline), Human Resources (to be decided) and Business Management (Caroline).

Examples within staff organisation would be the Human Resource Specialist, Marketing Manager, the
SENCO and the Counselor and the Accountant. The latter two would also be referred to as staff
supervisors. The Business manager, the Principal, Head of Departments, Head of Years and Teachers
would all be line managers at different levels.

Line and Staff Organization is a compromise of line organization, but as mentioned, being more
complex than a pure Line Organisation. Division of work and specialization takes place in line and
staff organization, where the whole organization is divided into different functional areas to which
staff specialists are attached. Efficiency can be achieved through the features of specialization (or so
is the purpose), and the two lines of authority which flow are Line and Staff Authority. Power of
command remains with the line executive and staff serves only as counsellors. Moreover, it is based
on one of the most simple and oldest method of administration. In these organizations, superior-
subordinate relationship is maintained and scalar chain of command flows from top to bottom. The
control is relatively unified and concentrates on one or a few persons and therefore, he or she can
independently make decisions of his/her own. Unified control ensures better discipline. In this type of
organization, every line executive has got fixed authority, power and fixed responsibility attached to
every authority. This is also evident in the job descriptions. There is a co-ordination between the top
most authority and bottom line authority. Since the authority relationships are clear, line officials are
independent and can flexibly make decisions. This flexibility gives satisfaction of line executives.
Due to the factors of fixed responsibility and unity of command, the officials can also make prompt
decision.

Some of the advantages of this kind of organisational structure include:

1. Relief to line of executives: In a line and staff organization, the advice and counselling which
is provided to the line executives divides the work between the two. The line executive can
concentrate on the execution of plans and they get relieved of dividing their attention to many
areas.
2. Expert advice: The line and staff organization facilitates expert advice to the line executive at
the time of need. The planning and investigation which is related to different matters can be
done by the staff specialist and line officers can concentrate on execution of plans.
3. Benefit of Specialization: Line and staff through division of whole concern into two types of
authority divides the enterprise into parts and functional areas. This way every officer or
official can concentrate in its own area.
4. Better co-ordination: Line and staff organization through specialization is able to provide
better decision making and concentration remains in few hands. This feature helps in bringing
co-ordination in work as every official is concentrating on their own area.
5. Benefits of Research and Development: Through the advice of specialized staff, the line
executives get time to execute plans by taking productive decisions which are helpful for a
concern. This gives a wide scope to the line executive to bring innovations and go for
research work in those areas. This is possible due to the presence of staff specialists.
6. Training: Due to the presence of staff specialists and their expert advice serves as ground for
training to line officials. Line executives can give due concentration to their decision making.
This in itself is a training ground for them.
7. Balanced decisions: The factor of specialization which is achieved by line staff helps in
improving co-ordination. This relationship automatically ends up the line official to take
better and balanced decision.

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 8. Unity of action: Unity of action is a result of unified control. Control and its effectivity take
place when co-ordination is present in the concern. In the line and staff authority all the
officials have got independence to make decisions. This serves as effective control in the
whole enterprise.

Some of the disadvantages might include:

1. Lack of understanding: In a line and staff organization, there are two authorities flowing at
the same time. This can result in confusion between the two. As a result, the workers are not
able to understand as to who is their commanding authority. Hence the problem of
understanding can be a hurdle in effective running of a school. Clear job descriptions can
alleviate this.
2. Lack of sound advice: The line official get used to the expertise advice of the staff. At times
the staff specialist also provide wrong decisions which the line executive have to consider.
This can affect the efficient running of the school. It is therefore important that the staff
supervisors are keeping themselves up-to-date on all relevant matters concerning the running
of a school.
3. Line and staff conflicts: Line and staff are two authorities which are flowing at the same time.
Factors such as designations and status might cause sentiments which influence their relation,
and can create employee distress, leading to reduced co-ordination which might hamper a
school’s working.
4. Costly: With a line and staff structure, the school has to maintain a higher remuneration
because of staff specialists, which is a cause for concern if the school has limited finances.
5. Staff steals the show: In a line and staff organisation, the higher returns are often considered
to be a product of staff advice and counselling. The line officials may feel dissatisfied and
feelings of distress occur. The satisfaction of line officials is very important for effective
results.
6. Over reliance: The line executive’s decisions are implemented to the bottom. This results in
over-relying on the line officials. Whatever decisions are taken by the line officials, in certain
situations wrong decisions, are carried down and implemented in the same way. Therefore,
the degree of effective co-ordination is less.
7. Inadequate communication: The policies and strategies which are framed by the top authority
are carried out in the same way. This leaves less scope for communication from the other end.
The complaints and suggestions of lower authority are not necessarily communicated back to
the top authority, with a one way communication being dominant. Much of this can be
resolved with frequent meetings with line managers at different levels.
8. Authority leadership: The line officials may have a tendency to misuse their authority
positions. This might cause conflict between for instance teachers and teaching assistants.

Staff structure
• Business Manager – Responsible for the business side of the school, including accounting,
purchases, facilities, security and the food production.
• Principal – responsible for the leadership and management of the school, its staff, its
pupils and the education they receive.
• Heads of Sections – responsible for managing the school (their sections) in the absence of the
Principal. Supports the head with the management of the school.
• Heads of Department – responsible for the leadership and management of a particular
department, like EYFS, Primary, Secondary or Upper Secondary. Heads of Departments will
monitor standards to ensure high quality teaching, effective use of resources and improved
standards of learning and achievement.
• Heads of Year – responsible for particular year groups of the curriculum, including
monitoring and improving standards, and being responsible for the pastoral aspects of school
life.
• Advanced skills teacher (AST) – a teacher who has been recognised, through external
assessment, as having excellent classroom practice. Increased non-contact time is given so

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 ASTs can share their skills and experience with other teachers, within both their own and other
schools. This is possibly something we should introduce in the school.
• Special needs coordinator (SENCO) – responsible for the day-to-day provision for pupils
with special educational needs (SEN), including the implementation of the SEN code of
practice. This should also be introduced as soon as possible.
• Classroom teachers – plan, prepare and deliver lessons to meet the needs of all pupils, setting
and marking work and recording pupil development as necessary. Often work in partnership
with teaching assistants.
• Teaching assistants – assist the classroom teachers and help prepare the classroom.
• Supply teachers – substitute/temporary teachers, usually employed by a supply agency or
local authority to take classes when teachers are in training or absent due to sickness.

Other key roles

• Personal, social and health coordinator
• School sports coordinator
• Child Protection Officer
• Fire Safety Officer

Other staff in the school

• Site Manager or Caretaker
• Administrator
• Academic Registrar
• Purchase Manager
• Marketing Manager
• Stockkeeper
• Nurse
• Receptionist
• Technicians
• ICT technician
• Librarian
• Accountant
• Security staff
• Cleaners
• Gardeners
• Drivers

Based on the above, the following organisational chart is used:

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