Accreditation Process
FULL membership of the Association is open to the governing bodies of Trust Schools, “provided that such schools are effectively independent of control by anybody other than their Governing body or Trust and that the school shall not carry on its business for the acquisition of gain or profit by the school or its governing body”.
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01 Mar, 2023
Application
The school will submit a written application to the ATS office stating their desire for their school to become a member of ATS. The ATS office will circulate existing ATS members to request feedback if they know of any reason why the school might not be considered. The school will be sent a questionnaire to complete and return to the ATS office.
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01 Mar, 2023
Submission
The school will also submit certain documentation with their application, including the following:
i) Certificate of Registration with the Ministry of Education.
ii) Certified copy of the constitution of the Governing Body/Trust.
iii) List of the Board of Governors with a brief resume of each member.
iv) Current fee structures.
v) Copy of the current staff list with their qualifications.
vi) Copy of the school brochure, or items promoting the school, including the Mission Statement.
vii) Copy of their most recent external examination results report.
viii) A letter explaining the reasons why the school seeks membership, including what will be the advantages to the school and how the school believes that it will be able to contribute to the ATS..
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01 Mar, 2023
Confirmation
The school will, at the same time, confirm its willingness to adhere to the standards set within the following documents:
- Guidelines for Governors and Heads of Trust Schools
- CHISZ Code of Conduct
- CHISZ Charter for Sport
If the school is deemed to have met all the criteria up to this stage:
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01 Mar, 2023
Visit
CHISZ will arrange for a visit to the applying school, which will be undertaken by one representative from ATS (normally the Executive Director) and two representatives from CHISZ (appointed by the Chair of CHISZ), normally experienced or retired Heads, prior to any recommendation on membership being made. This visit will take a full day (two days for a boarding school) and will look at all aspects of the school in action.
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01 Mar, 2023
Report
The ATS representative and CHISZ representatives will draw up a report following their visit and submit the report to Stanco for their consideration. On the basis of this visit, Stanco will either recommend or not recommend the school’s application.
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01 Mar, 2023
Interview
If the school is still considered to be suitable at this stage, ATS (through the Executive Director and the ATS Chair or nominated representative) will conduct an interview with the Board Chair and other representatives from the school Board.
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01 Mar, 2023
Consideration & Approval
ATS will then take the recommendation from Stanco, along with their own findings from the interview, forward to its executive committee (Exco) for final consideration and approval.
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01 Mar, 2023
Workshop
Finally, if a school’s application to join ATS is approved, the ATS will be allowed to conduct a Governance workshop for the Board of Governors, within six weeks of the approval, to ensure the Board understands what due governance is required.
Continued membership of ATS is dependent on the school meeting the same criteria that was required on joining the ATS. A Compliance checklist will be completed and approved annually for that purpose. Once a school has been successful in becoming a member of ATS, the incumbent Head is eligible to apply for membership of the CONFERENCE OF HEADS OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS of ZIMBABWE (CHISZ). It is a prerequisite that the school be a member of ATS before the Head can become a member of CHISZ
The Accreditation Criteria
If the school is deemed to have met all the criteria up to this stage:
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It is a school, whether owned by a Trust, Association, religious or charitable body or a company, registered in terms of the Education Act as a non-governmental school in Zimbabwe, as evidenced by a copy of its certificate of Registration from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education;
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It is effectively independent of control by anybody other than its Governing Body;
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It does not carry on and will not carry on its activities for any acquisition of profit by the school, its Governing Body or any member thereof or its owner;
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It is a Primary or Secondary school (no ECD on its own may become a member).
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A school that wishes to become a member of ATS will be required to meet the following criteria:
ETHOS
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Any other properly constituted organisation of non-governmental and non-profit schools, whether in Zimbabwe or foreign
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The governing body of any foreign school which would, if in Zimbabwe, qualify as a Trust School;
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An Honorary member – any individual, nominated by ATS Exco, who has given significant service in and to the private education sector or the Association and is endorsed for such membership at an Annual General Meeting
